18 interactive physics labs · Explore with your child
Hi, I’m Nallo! What would you like to find out?
Explore how things work with your child. Ask a question, test your prediction in a simulation and discover why it happens.
I’ll guide you with questions, tips and simple explanations.
Ask a question
What might happen? Talk it through and make a prediction.
Test an idea
Change a model. Run the test and watch what happens.
Understand why
Compare your observations. I’ll explain why.
What are you curious about?
Choose the question that interests you. Every lab has an experiment and an explanation.
Balloon Car
How does a car move without a motor? Change the balloon and watch the push.
Boat
How much cargo can a boat carry? Move the weights and discover when it tips or sinks.
Bridge
Which bridge holds more weight? Test beams and triangles and compare what the bridge can carry.
Canal Lock
How does a boat reach a different water level? Build a lock and compare filling time and water use.
Catapult
How can you hit the target? Test pullback and launch angle, one change at a time.
Egg Drop
What protects an egg on landing? Try a parachute and cushioning and see what changes.
Gravity Racer
Which car wins? Change its shape and weight and compare two runs on the same ramp.
Mirrors
How can you send light around a corner? Turn mirrors and build a light path to the target.
Paper Plane
What makes a plane climb or dive? Move the balance point and watch its flight.
Spin
What keeps spinning longer? Move the weights and compare starting speed and spinning time.
Tower
When does a tower tip? Change its height and base width and test its stability.
Trailer
Why does a trailer sway? Build your vehicle and trailer and test where the cargo works best.
Circuit & Motor
Connect a circuit, open the motor and change its parts. What does your build do?
Pulleys
Place pulleys and route your rope. Compare pulling force, lift and rope travel.
Gears
Build a gear train, join shafts and change tooth counts. Compare speed and direction.
Cooling workshop
How can you keep Nallo’s ice cold? Build an insulated box and turn it into a refrigerator.
Sound workshop
How can you create your own sound? Build strings, a resonator and a playable melody.
Hydraulics workshop
How can a small pump lift a car? Build lifting platforms and control the fluid paths.
Understand the experiments
Each lab has a parent guide with a clear explanation, a question to explore together and an activity away from the screen.
- Why do triangles help a bridge stay in shape?
- Which car rolls down a ramp faster?
- What protects an egg when it falls?
- Why does a balloon car move forward?
- What controls a catapult’s range?
- Why does a tower tip or buckle?
- How does weight placement change a spinning wheel?
- Why does a boat float or tip?
- Why does a paper plane climb or dive?
- Trailer Lab: cargo, axles and sway
- Mirror Lab: build and test your own light path
- Canal Lock Lab: build a lock and compare water use
- What makes a lamp light and a motor turn?
- How can you lift a load with less force?
- How do gears trade speed for torque?
- How do insulation and refrigerators work?
- How do strings and resonators make music?
- How does hydraulics trade force for distance?
For parents · Exploring together
Guide the experiment together
Stay with your child while you explore. Read the task together and invite them to make a prediction before pressing the test button. Change one setting at a time and invite your child to describe what they notice. Choose the pace and level of detail that suit your child.
Go deeper when you are ready
More to explore opens extra controls. Show the numbers explains the measurements. Each lab has a short home experiment and notes about what the computer model can and cannot tell you.
Turning experiments into understanding
Llama Test Lab is an independent learning project by Marius Kunkel. It is for parents and other adults exploring physics with children. Its workshops connect custom, changeable models with comparison tasks and explanations.
What you learn here
Make a prediction, change one property and explain an observation: this is the process behind every lab. A successful result is a starting point for questions. Which part changed it, and what stayed the same?
Nallo’s role
Nallo offers prepared questions, building tips and explanations suited to each lab and experiment. Reopen help with the Nallo button. The parent guides explain terms, comparisons and model limits.
How we check the models
Development checks include repeatable comparisons, units, energy and force relationships, and reachable mission goals. References beside each topic explain the physics principles. Readings remain results of a simplified learning model.
Limits and feedback
Simulations do not replace measurements on a real build. Each lab and guide describes its assumptions and omitted effects. Report unexpected results or unclear tasks with the lab name and settings.