27 topics · Preschool to Grade 8

How plants and ecosystems work

How does a plant make food from sunlight, and why do leaves change color in the fall? These topics explore plants, fungi and the living systems around them. Children watch photosynthesis, follow water from the roots to the leaves, and see how seeds travel and flowers get pollinated. They meet carnivorous plants, climbing vines, mangroves and lichens, and find out what tree rings record. Beyond single plants, they explore food webs, decomposers and earthworms, wetlands, and how a forest grows back after a fire. Each topic has an animated explanation, a part-by-part look inside, a simulation to try and a challenge, with words that change for preschool, elementary and middle school.

1Watch it
2Look inside
3Try it
4Solve a challenge
5Go deeper

27 topics in Plants & ecosystems

Plants & ecosystems

#93 Plants & ecosystems How do plants grow and make their own food? Explore roots and leaves, adjust light and water, and follow a simplified photosynthesis animation showing the roles of water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight.

#99 Plants & ecosystems How do seeds travel to new places? Compare seeds carried by wind, water, animals, and bursting pods. Design virtual seeds and test how their shapes affect their journeys.

#226 Plants & ecosystems How does flower pollination work? Move pollen between flower parts and compare insect and wind pollination.

#227 Plants & ecosystems How does water travel from roots to leaves? Follow colored water through a transparent plant and explore evaporation from leaves.

#228 Plants & ecosystems Why do leaves change color in autumn? Reveal different pigments as the amount of chlorophyll changes through a seasonal timeline.

#229 Plants & ecosystems How do leaves control water loss? Open and close virtual stomata while balancing gas exchange and water loss.

#230 Plants & ecosystems How do carnivorous plants catch insects? Compare snap, pitcher, and sticky traps and trace the nutrients obtained.

#231 Plants & ecosystems How do climbing plants hold on? Guide tendrils, twining stems, and clinging roots around different supports.

#232 Plants & ecosystems How do plants grow toward light? Move a light source and use a time slider to observe directional growth.

#233 Plants & ecosystems How do mangroves survive in salty, muddy places? Explore specialized roots and adaptations for salt, unstable ground, and limited soil oxygen.

#234 Plants & ecosystems How do tree rings record growth? Build successive rings under changing conditions and inspect a trunk cross-section.

#235 Plants & ecosystems How do mushrooms and other fungi obtain food? Follow fungal threads and visualize external digestion followed by nutrient absorption.

#236 Plants & ecosystems How do fungi reproduce using spores? Release spores, compare landing conditions, and follow suitable spores into new growth.

#237 Plants & ecosystems How do lichens work as living partnerships? Explore their partners and trace the exchanges that support growth.

#238 Plants & ecosystems How do root bacteria help plants obtain nitrogen? Look inside legume root nodules and follow exchanges between plants and bacteria.

#239 Plants & ecosystems How do decomposers break down fallen leaves? Accelerate a forest-floor timeline and follow fungi, bacteria, and small animals at work.

#240 Plants & ecosystems How do earthworms change the ground? Follow tunnels and compare their effects on air spaces and organic material.

#241 Plants & ecosystems How do wetlands help clean water? Trace settling particles, plant uptake, and microbial activity through a model wetland.

#242 Plants & ecosystems How does energy move through a food web? Connect organisms and track energy transfers through their feeding relationships.

#243 Plants & ecosystems How do predators and prey affect each other? Adjust starting populations and observe their changing numbers in a simplified ecosystem.

#244 Plants & ecosystems How does a forest recover after a fire? Follow surviving roots, arriving seeds, and returning animals through a recovery timeline.

#245 Plants & ecosystems How can an invasive species change an ecosystem? Introduce a fictional species and investigate changes in competition and food relationships.

#246 Plants & ecosystems How do plants defend themselves? Compare thorns, tough leaves, and defensive chemicals against different plant-eating visitors.

#247 Plants & ecosystems How do trees survive winter? Follow seasonal changes in buds, leaves, and growth in selected tree species.

#248 Plants & ecosystems How do plant roots and fungi help each other? Trace sugars, water, and minerals through a simplified underground partnership.

#249 Plants & ecosystems How do plants make new plants without seeds? Explore runners, bulbs, and cuttings and follow them into new plants.

#250 Plants & ecosystems How do sensitive plants fold their leaves? Trigger a virtual touch and watch changing water pressure move leaf joints.

Keep exploring

Games to play

Habitat Builder 3DFind the right home for frogs, camels, polar bears and more.
Classification ExplorerSort living things by what you can see, then follow and build yes-or-no keys.
Label LabPut the right labels on beautiful science diagrams, from bean plants to heart chambers.

Guide for grown-ups

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