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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 265–288

Every topic

#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. #276 Food & farming How is yogurt made? Follow helpful bacteria changing milk and compare simulated fermentation conditions. #277 Food & farming How is butter made? Churn virtual cream and watch fat gather and separate from the remaining liquid. #278 Food & farming How is tofu made? Follow soybeans through soaking, grinding, heating, coagulation, and pressing. #279 Food & farming How is fruit juice made? Run fruit through sorting, washing, crushing, pressing, and packaging. #280 Food & farming How is olive oil made? Follow olives through cleaning, crushing, mixing, and separation into oil and other material. #281 Food & farming How is sugar made from plants? Extract juice from cane or beets and explore purification, concentration, and crystallization. #282 Food & farming How is maple syrup made? Collect virtual sap and follow filtering and evaporation as it becomes concentrated. #283 Food & farming How does fruit become jam? Combine fruit, sugar, and pectin and observe thickening as the mixture cools. #284 Food & farming How is peanut butter made? Follow peanuts through shelling, roasting, grinding, and mixing to compare textures. #285 Food & farming How is chewing gum made? Mix a virtual gum base with flavorings, then roll, cut, and wrap it. #286 Food & farming How is breakfast cereal made? Choose a cereal style and follow cooking, shaping, drying, toasting, and packaging. #287 Food & farming How does pasteurization work? Follow controlled factory heating and cooling and visualize changes in microbial numbers. #288 Food & farming How does fruit ripen? Explore changes in color, firmness, aroma, and stored carbohydrates over time.

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