A small lab for big questions.
A 25-minute activity for classroom iPads. Prediction, observation and a conversation about models.
Find your question in Ideas.
Open the relevant Ideas guide. Record the selected fly, simulated time, starting vitals, materials and environment. Agree on a comparison condition with another group.
See how an experiment develops
Before the lesson
Try the app on the school iPads first. The core simulation and offline help do not require a connection; linked research does. Use comparable starting conditions across groups. Do not enter student names.
- 0–5 min
Predict
Choose sugar versus yeast, or warmth versus hydration. Write one prediction. Identify the variable you will change and two things you will observe.
- 5–10 min
Set up
Open the relevant Ideas guide. Record the selected fly, simulated time, starting vitals, materials and environment. Agree on a comparison condition with another group.
- 10–18 min
Observe
Change one variable. Keep other settings comparable and agree on any time advances. Record simulated time as well as real elapsed time.
- 18–22 min
Compare
Discuss differences between groups. Could starting conditions, random behavior or the model’s rules explain them?
- 22–25 min
Question the model
Read one research source. Name one finding the model represents and one claim your observation cannot establish.
Use the simulation only. Do not ask pupils to starve, dehydrate, poison or dust real animals. No student account or identifying information is needed.
FLY LAB / FIELD NOTES