34 topics · Preschool to Grade 8

How the human body works

How does your heart pump blood, and what happens to lunch after you swallow it? These topics are a tour of the human body. Children watch the heart and lungs work together, follow food through the digestive system, and see how bones and muscles move us. They find out how eyes, ears, the nose and the tongue sense the world, how the brain and nerves send messages, and how the immune system fights germs and heals a cut. Everyday puzzles get answers too: why we get hiccups, goosebumps and sneezes, how teeth grow and decay, and why sleep helps memory. Each topic has an animation, a look inside, a simulation to try and a challenge.

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2Look inside
3Try it
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34 topics in Human body

Human body

#84 Human body How does the heart pump blood? Follow blood through the heart, lungs, and body. Explore chambers and valves, and compare a resting heartbeat with one during exercise.

#85 Human body How do our lungs help us breathe? Move a virtual diaphragm and watch the lungs expand and contract. Zoom into a simplified animation of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange.

#86 Human body What happens to food after we eat it? Follow a bite through the mouth, stomach, and intestines. Explore how food is broken down and how nutrients enter the body.

#87 Human body How do bones, muscles, and joints help us move? Activate muscles around a skeleton's joints to bend an arm, walk, or kick. Compare joint types and discover how muscles work together.

#88 Human body How do our eyes see? Follow light through the pupil and lens to the retina, then trace signals toward the brain. Adjust focus for nearby and distant objects.

#89 Human body How do our ears hear? Follow sound through the ear canal, eardrum, tiny bones, and inner ear. Compare how different pitches create different patterns of vibration.

#90 Human body How does the brain send messages around the body? Follow simplified signals through nerves and the spinal cord. Touch a virtual fingertip or choose an action and watch messages travel.

#91 Human body How does the immune system protect us? Explore protective barriers and different immune cells. Follow a simplified response to an invading microbe and learn how the body coordinates its defenses.

#92 Human body How does a small cut heal? Use a non-graphic time slider to watch clotting, cleanup, new tissue growth, and repair. Arrange the healing stages in the correct sequence.

#251 Human body How do kidneys filter blood? Follow a simplified kidney filter and sort substances retained or removed in urine.

#252 Human body How does the liver process and store substances? Trace nutrients through storage, chemical processing, and bile production.

#253 Human body How does sweating cool us? Change temperature and humidity and compare cooling as sweat evaporates.

#254 Human body How does our sense of smell work? Follow odor molecules into the nose and match receptor patterns with familiar smells.

#255 Human body How do we taste food? Explore taste buds and combine taste and smell signals into familiar flavors.

#256 Human body How does the body keep its balance? Combine information from inner-ear structures, vision, and body position while tilting a model head.

#257 Human body What happens while we sleep? Move through sleep stages and compare brain activity, breathing, and movement.

#258 Human body How does the brain form memories? Explore attention, repeated experiences, and changing connections in a simplified brain model.

#259 Human body How do hormones guide growth? Follow chemical messages from glands to tissues and explore their developmental roles.

#260 Human body How do body cells make copies of themselves? Arrange division stages and follow chromosomes as one model cell becomes two.

#261 Human body How do inherited traits pass through families? Combine fictional gene versions and compare outcomes using a clearly simplified inheritance model.

#262 Human body How does a baby develop before birth? Follow a gentle developmental timeline exploring growth, the placenta, and changing proportions.

#263 Human body How do adult teeth replace baby teeth? Reveal changes above and below the gums through a dental-development timeline.

#264 Human body How does tooth decay develop? Explore plaque, acids, enamel damage, and protective saliva on a model tooth.

#265 Human body How do hair and nails grow? Follow newly produced cells into growing hair and nails beneath a skin cutaway.

#266 Human body How do fingerprints form? Explore developing skin ridges and compare loops, arches, and whorls.

#267 Human body Why do we get goosebumps? Activate tiny muscles attached to hair follicles and observe changes in the skin.

#268 Human body How does a sneeze happen? Follow an irritation signal and coordinate the muscles involved in a sneeze animation.

#269 Human body How do hiccups happen? Animate a diaphragm contraction and the associated rapid closure of the vocal folds.

#270 Human body How do we produce our voices? Adjust airflow and vocal folds, then shape sounds with mouth and tongue positions.

#271 Human body How does the body signal hunger and fullness? Follow messages between the digestive system and brain around a model meal.

#272 Human body How does the lymphatic system move fluid? Trace fluid through lymph vessels and valves and back into blood circulation.

#273 Human body How do cells release energy from food? Follow a simplified cellular-respiration pathway and connect energy release to cell activities.

#274 Human body How do cells build proteins? Follow a message from DNA to a ribosome and assemble an amino-acid chain.

#275 Human body How does skin make its pigment? Explore pigment-producing cells and follow melanin into surrounding skin cells.

Keep exploring

Games to play

Body ExplorerTap, match and label your way around the amazing human body.
Label LabPut the right labels on beautiful science diagrams, from bean plants to heart chambers.
Science QuizzesOlly's Science Quiz Show: plants, animals, the body, weather, space and more, for every grade.

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