About
The laboratories are collections of experiments by their subjects. They feature investigations based on interactive instruments, remote access experiments and virtual scenarios using real data. The number of experiments is growing. Some are open to everyone while others are only available to The Open University (OU) students. Select the laboratory of your interest to explore the experiments it has.
On the laboratory page, you’ll find:
Filters enable you to find the experiments of your interest easily. You can use ‘Subject’, ‘Study level’, ‘Type’, ‘Availability’ and ‘Favourites’ to narrow the list of experiments. With the ‘Sort by’ feature, you can sort the list in alphabetical order.
Popular experiments are listed by default unless you have any favourites or recently visited experiments. Favourites and recently visited experiments will only be available if logged in.
Experiments show all the activities in the laboratory. Each activity has a recognisable image, a title, a short description, and an indication of how long it should take you to work through the application and associated materials. You can select the favourite icon to mark an experiment as a favourite. The open padlock signifies that the experiment is open to everyone. A person with a tick signifies an experiment only open to users in certain groups or modules. ‘Visit experiment’ will take you to the activity.
On each experiment’s page, you’ll find:
A fuller description including further guidance
Links to get you started
'About the experiment' box showing 'subject', 'study level' and 'type' information
Popularity statistics displaying the trend in usage of this experiment and its popularity among all experiments.
OU students access some activities which require remote access to instruments. For those experiments, we have a booking system in place. Booking links are also available on experiment pages. To book a time:
Select the booking link with the icon.
Choose a date.
Select ‘Book’ for a time.
As an OU student, after booking a time you’ll receive an email including a link to the activity. Using that link, you can manage your booking or access the experiment during the booked time.
If you’re interested in becoming an OU student and having access to more experiments, check our study site.