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PlayOwl

Explore · Wonder · Discover

How Things Work

Ever wondered how airplanes fly, why popcorn pops or how your heart pumps? Pick a question, then watch it, look inside, try it, solve a challenge and go deeper. Every topic changes for Preschool, Elementary and Middle school.

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

500 topics to explore · showing 241–264

Every topic

#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. #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.

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