Frequently Asked Questions

Virtual Science Teachers, or VST, is a nonprofit organization that creates interactive science learning resources for teachers and students.

Our resources are designed to help students actively think through science by observing phenomena, working with data, using models, making predictions, identifying patterns, explaining ideas, and applying what they know.

Yes. VST's public online educational resources remain free to use.

Teachers can share links to public VST activities with students without requiring students to create VST accounts.

We also offer an optional Teacher Membership that provides educators with additional printable and teacher-focused materials.

Most VST resources are designed with middle school science in mind, but many are also useful in upper elementary, high school, intervention, review, and enrichment settings.

Teachers know their students best, so we encourage educators to preview resources and decide which activities are appropriate for their classes.

Our growing resource library includes:

• Life Science
• Earth and Environmental Science
• Physical Science
• General Science
• Scientific investigation and data analysis

VST resources include interactives, simulations, virtual labs, Bell Ringers, Mini-Challenges, graphing tools, vocabulary activities, review games, and other classroom resources.

Teacher Membership is an optional membership for educators who want additional classroom materials to accompany VST's free online resources.

Member resources may include:

• Printable student worksheets
• Printer-friendly classroom resources
• Editable materials when available
• Teacher support materials
• Access to a growing teacher-resource library

Teacher Membership is currently $5 per month or $40 per year.

The annual option provides the same membership access at a lower overall cost.

View Teacher Membership options

No. Students do not need VST accounts to use our public online science resources.

Paid memberships and account-based teacher services are intended for educators and other adults.

VST remains committed to providing public online science learning resources without requiring students to purchase memberships or create accounts.

Teacher Membership supports the continued development of VST while providing educators with additional printable and teacher-focused materials.

An individual Teacher Membership is intended for the educator who holds the membership. That educator may use eligible member materials with their own students, including printing classroom copies and placing materials in a protected classroom LMS when permitted.

Member files should not be publicly reposted, placed in unrestricted shared staff repositories, or distributed to other educators as a substitute for their own access.

For department, school, or district use, please contact VST so we can discuss the best option.

Hands-on investigations are an important part of science education, and VST is not designed to replace them.

VST resources can complement laboratory investigations, demonstrations, discussion, outdoor learning, reading, and teacher-led instruction. Digital tools are especially useful when they help students visualize a difficult process, manipulate variables, analyze data, practice a skill, or explore something that would be difficult to reproduce in a classroom.

For most public VST resources, teachers can simply copy the activity URL and share it with students through their normal classroom system.

This can include Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, Microsoft Teams for Education, Blackboard, a district LMS, or another protected classroom platform.

Yes. Many VST resources work well for whole-class instruction on a Smart Board, projector, or other interactive classroom display.

Bell Ringers, graphs, simulations, models, review activities, and phenomenon-based prompts can be especially useful for class discussion.

VST's public student-facing resources are designed to be available without requiring individual student accounts.

Because students are not required to create VST accounts for public resources, VST does not currently function like a full student learning management system with individual student dashboards and gradebooks.

Individual activities may provide completion screens, feedback, scores, or other ways for students and teachers to check progress.

Teachers may use VST materials according to the permissions provided with the resource and VST's Licensing & Use policy.

Teacher Membership includes printable materials and, for some resources, editable versions intended for use by the member educator with their own students.

Read VST Licensing & Use

VST is built around the idea that students learn science by actively thinking about science.

Rather than focusing only on fact recall, we look for opportunities for students to observe, ask questions, interpret evidence, analyze data, make predictions, use models, identify patterns, explain reasoning, and revise their thinking.

Technology can handle some of the lower-value work involved in presenting content, providing practice, displaying models, and giving immediate feedback.

That can give teachers more opportunities to focus on the work that requires a human educator: listening to student thinking, identifying misconceptions, asking productive questions, providing feedback, and helping students move their thinking forward.

Many VST resources are developed around specific science standards and learning expectations, including Virginia Standards of Learning and the Next Generation Science Standards.

Because standards vary by state and course, teachers should review each activity and determine how it fits their local curriculum and instructional goals.

VST aims to make science concepts visual and interactive while keeping student-facing text focused and purposeful.

Depending on the resource, students may encounter diagrams, animations, models, images, audio, guided questions, immediate feedback, and step-by-step experiences that provide multiple ways to engage with the science.

Yes. VST has a growing collection of science interactives available in Spanish.

Explore Recursos en Español

No. Students can use VST's public online educational resources without creating VST accounts.

Teacher Membership accounts and other account-based services are intended for teachers and other adults.

VST designs its public student-facing science resources so students do not need individual VST accounts in order to participate.

The website may use limited technical information needed for website operation, security, authentication, and general site analytics. VST does not use student information to create behavioral advertising profiles.

For more detailed information about website data practices, please read our Privacy Policy.

Read the VST Privacy Policy

Accessibility is an ongoing priority for VST. We continue to improve resources with features such as keyboard navigation, meaningful image descriptions, readable layouts, clear contrast, and other accessibility practices where supported by the technology used to build each resource.

If you encounter an accessibility barrier, please contact us. Knowing exactly which resource and feature caused difficulty helps us prioritize improvements.

Many VST resources are designed for computers, Chromebooks, and tablets. Compatibility can vary depending on the activity, browser, device, district network settings, and the technology used to build the resource.

We recommend that teachers preview an activity on the same device and network students will use before assigning it to a class.

Yes. VST works with schools and school divisions to help teachers use science resources effectively and integrate interactive learning, scientific reasoning, data analysis, and other VST tools into classroom instruction.

Professional development can be customized around the needs of a school, department, or district.

Yes. VST works with educators, schools, school divisions, scientists, universities, community organizations, and other partners.

Partnerships may include professional development, resource development, teacher review, classroom pilots, STEM outreach, standards alignment, and other collaborative projects.

VST is a nonprofit organization supported through a combination of grants, donations, sponsorships, partnerships, and other mission-aligned revenue.

Teacher Membership also provides a way for educators to access additional classroom materials while helping support continued resource development.

We value feedback from classroom teachers and other science education professionals. Educator input helps VST identify classroom needs, review resources, catch problems, and improve future materials.

If you are interested in contributing your expertise, please contact us.

You can support VST by using and sharing our public resources, providing educator feedback, partnering with us, volunteering, sponsoring resource development, or making a charitable contribution.

Every form of support helps us continue developing high-quality science learning experiences and supporting the teachers who bring those experiences to students.