Lab
See the idea. Put it to the test.
956 practicals from Kindergarten to Year 12, in 9 subjects. A practical gives the idea, what you need, the steps, what you should see and a safety card. A teacher-led practical gives the idea and its hazards; its method is for tutors on the learning platform.
Review
Reviewed before publication (owner’s confirmation, 24 September 2026). That covers every practical here, and a practical’s page lists the sources its author read.
A safety card on every page
The risk, who supervises and the hazards. The 38 teacher-led practicals show their idea and hazards here; their materials, steps and sources, and any result, control or note that states a number or an amount, are for tutors and administrators on the learning platform.
School laboratory, not for home
207 practicals are medium or high risk. Each says so on its page: In a school laboratory, with a teacher supervising, under the school's risk assessment. Not for home.
Curriculum references
Each practical lists the NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes it supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.
Find a practical
16 practicals
Science and Technology K–6 · Environment and sustainability
Daily weather chart with symbols
Weather changes from day to day, and recording it with the same symbols each day reveals patterns that help people plan.
PracticalLow riskInvestigating the wind with a streamer
Wind is moving air that cannot be seen but can be measured by what it moves.
PracticalLow riskMaking and reading a rain gauge
Rain collects to the same depth in every straight-sided container, whatever the width of its opening, and that depth in millimetres is what a rainfall figure means.
PracticalLow riskA day of temperatures: morning, midday and afternoon readings
Air keeps warming for hours after the sun is highest, so three readings from one shaded spot show a rise from morning to mid-afternoon rather than a peak at noon.
PracticalLow riskA week of weather as symbols and a picture graph
Observations become data when they are recorded with agreed symbols, and a picture graph shows the pattern in one look.
PracticalLow riskCloud cover and rain: is a cloudier morning a wetter day
Patterns in weather records can be used to make predictions, and the class tests whether morning cloud cover is a sign of rain.
PracticalLow riskIs it hotter in the sun: thermometer readings in sun and shade
Air temperature changes through the day, and at the same moment a thermometer in sunshine reads higher than one in shade, which is why official air temperatures are measured in a shaded, ventilated screen.
PracticalLow riskWhere is it windiest: comparing wind across the school
Wind strength differs from place to place because buildings and trees block, slow or funnel moving air, and a simple instrument makes the difference measurable.
PracticalLow riskSoil in a jar: sand, silt and clay settle in layers
Soil is a mixture of particles of different sizes, and larger particles sink through water faster, so shaking soil in water sorts it into visible layers.
Practical, model not builtLow riskWhich soil holds the most water? Sand, clay and potting mix
Different soils hold and drain water differently because of particle size, and the difference can be measured in millilitres.
PracticalMedium riskBuild a rain gauge and read rain in millimetres
Rainfall is measured as the depth of water that would cover flat ground, in millimetres, and a wide funnel feeding a narrow tube multiplies that depth so small falls can be read.
PracticalLow riskEvaporation race: sun, shade, wind and surface area
Evaporation is faster when water is warmer, when the air is drier or moving, and when more surface is exposed, and the rate can be measured as mass lost per hour.
Practical, model not builtLow riskWater cycle in a bag on a sunny window
Water evaporates when warmed, condenses on a cooler surface and falls back as drops, the same evaporation, condensation and precipitation that move water through the sky, land and ocean.
PracticalLow riskWhere does the water on a cold can come from? Finding the dew point
Air holds invisible water vapour, and when it touches a surface cold enough it condenses into drops, at a temperature called the dew point that a learner can measure with a can, ice and a thermometer.
Practical, model not builtLow riskRising salt: how salty water affects germinating seeds
Salt in soil water is a physical condition that is rising in parts of Australia's farmland, and as its concentration increases fewer seeds germinate, they germinate later and their roots grow shorter.
PracticalLow riskWattle seeds and heat: why some Australian plants need fire
Many wattle seeds have a hard, waterproof coat that keeps water out until heat, such as the heat of a bushfire, cracks it, so a change in a physical condition decides when a new generation starts to grow.
Teacher-led practicalPracticalMedium risk
For tutors and administrators
The materials and steps of every teacher-led practical are on the learning platform, with the safety card first. Sign in with a tutor or administrator account to read them.