Ilgiz SatkynovSoftware engineerBay Area, CA

STEM Explorer

An interactive science workspace with 3D models, labs and calculators.

Status
Live web app. Five subjects implemented; no accounts or backend.
Type
Software project
Built with
  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Vite
  • Three.js
  • React Three Fiber
  • KaTeX
  • Vitest
  • Playwright
Open websiteView source
STEM Explorer home page with the headline “Science, made clearer.”, a search field and subject cards for Chemistry, Anatomy, Biology, Physics and Mathematics.
Home: search and the five subjects.
STEM Explorer chemistry workspace with a 3D water molecule labelled O1, H1 and H2, a molecule library and an information panel.
Chemistry → Molecules → Water, labelled as an experimental structure with its source.
Projectile motion lab with launch inputs, a predicted trajectory and results.
Physics → Projectile motion lab.

What it does

Students can rotate, zoom, select and measure parts of models, then read a short explanation with its source.

  • Anatomy, chemistry, biology, physics and mathematics, each with its own models and labs.
  • 27 molecules with distance and angle measurement, plus a periodic table and reaction lab.
  • 21 calculators for first-year college topics, each showing the formula, steps, assumptions and source.
  • Search across subjects, saved explorations, notes and a presentation mode.

My contribution

I designed and built it. Every commit and merged pull request in the repository is mine.

Challenges and decisions

WebGL isn’t always available: it can be disabled, blocked on school computers or lost when a graphics driver resets.

Each 3D view sits in a shared frame that detects WebGL, catches rendering errors and loads Three.js only when needed. Without WebGL, the text, sources and tours still work, and a browser test checks that. The tradeoff is that some models are less useful without 3D, but nothing essential disappears.

Current limitations

  • Models are schematic, and flexible molecules show a single shape.
  • Tests check structure and sources; they don’t prove anatomical accuracy.
  • Saved work stays in one browser unless you export it to a file.

Possible next steps

  • Test it with students and fix what they trip over first.
  • Add more molecules with experimental geometries.