MEL Lab’s Virtual Reality Chemistry Class
An immersive learning startup brings novel experiences to science education.
Can VR revolutionize science education for the masses? MEL Science, a UK-based science education subscription service with its R&D operations in St. Petersburg, Russia, thinks so — and has just raised $2.5 million to develop immersive scientific learning using virtual and augmented reality.
Improving scientific literacy has been the mission of science promoters like Neil DeGrasse Tyson, whose show Cosmos premiered on the National Geographic Channel in 2014. Like the late Carl Sagan (creator of the original 1980 Cosmos), Tyson and NPR’s Bill Nye (whose new Netflix series aims to combat “anti-scientific claims espoused by politicians”) are renowned for their innovative use of science to inspire young people to pursue scientific study, touring the country constantly to encourage other educators to the instill the same inspiration in their students.
My own limited scientific literacy surely places me in the target audience of these educators who seek a scientifically educated public. Like many distractable kids, I was never stimulated by science during my primary and secondary education. Science — chemistry especially — seemed like numbers on a piece of paper. There was nothing tangible I could relate to in the science classroom.
The MEL Starter Kit’s VR-enabled hands-on chemistry experiments allowed for more a curiosity-evoking experience, humanizing the chemistry and allowing me to have a meaningful experience.
Voyaging through virtual micromatter gave me a visceral feel for the molecules I would soon be working with.
MEL Science is an “immersive learning” service founded in 2014 which announced in October it had raised $2.5 million from Sistema Venture Capital. The company sends subscribers two of its 38 chemistry sets by mail every month, beginning with the Starter Kit and the first two experiment kits. The Starter Kit contains “VR goggles” — a large version of a Google Cardboard viewer — and other basic equipment needed to carry out the experiments.
I was excited to check out the HMD and VR app. The enlarged Google Cardboard-based MEL device enables users to plug in any type of smartphone. The MEL app turned my iPhone 6 into a virtual microscope, letting me walk through 360 degree, 3-D representations of the molecules featured in the experiment kits. Voyaging through virtual micromatter gave me a visceral feel for the molecules I would soon be working with — and a better overview of the chemical reactions I would soon witness.
After inspecting the goggles, I moved on to the experiment sets. Each includes instruction cards, plus any needed chemicals and equipment not included in the starter kit. Helpful links offer a comprehensive online guide for each experiment and instructional videos with fleshed-out scientific descriptions.
I recommend tackling the tin experiment set first, the most basic: you’re only working with solids and liquids. In this set, there are two experiments: the tin hedgehog and the tin dendrites. Both take 15–20 minutes to conduct.
The tin dendrite experiment seemed like a good place to start. I opened the step-by-step instructions along with the online guide and began following the measures to complete the experiment.
First, I mixed the chemical compound containing hydrosulfite (NaHSO4) with tin chloride dehydrate (SnCl2 · 2H2O). Then, I mixed the resulting compound with the provided liquid soap. Finally, I gave the solution an electric charge by immersing the battery pack’s alligator clips in the solution. The resulting electric charge spurred the growth of dendrite trees from the solution.
The tin hedgehog experiment involved mixing that same compound (NaHSO4 + SnCl2 · 2H2O) with a solid zinc pellet, which transformed the solid zinc into a hedgehog about six times its size!
Even from an adult’s perspective, seeing a dense solid zinc pellet transform itself into a hedgehog felt like watching magic. I was eager to throw the VR goggles back on, to examine the 3-D representations of the molecules I had worked with. The MEL website allowed me to make sense of the chemical reactions I witnessed and gain deeper insight into the processes. As MEL Science founder Vassili Philippov says, “First you touch the science physically with your hands, then you can look inside and see the processes at the molecular level. It helps you not just memorize but actually understand the essence of the event.”
The MEL Chemistry Starter Kit’s experiments inspired me to further educate myself on science. I would have no hesitation recommending a subscription — available from their website at $49.90 per month — either for at-home use by kids and parents, or for teachers hoping to educate and inspire their children with chemistry.
