Exploration Education is a hands-on physical science curriculum for grades K-10 that includes all experiment materials, online lessons, and video demonstrations—designed for independent, project-based learning.
What Is Exploration Education?
Founded in 2002 by former teacher and homeschooling dad John Grunder, Exploration Education is a hands-on physical science curriculum designed for homeschool students in grades K-10. The program takes a project-based approach where 75% of a student's grade comes from experiments and building projects rather than textbook work. Each kit arrives with all materials needed—motors, solar panels, circuits, chemicals—plus browser-based online lessons and video demonstrations. Students build real, functional projects like race cars and steamboats while learning the physics and chemistry behind them.
Key Takeaways
- Covers grades K-10 across three levels (Elementary, Standard, Advanced)
- All experiment materials included—no hunting for supplies
- Browser-based lessons with video demonstrations
- Designed for independent learning with minimal parent teaching
- One-time purchase with lifetime digital access
Course Levels
What Students Learn
The curriculum covers forces, machines, and motion; energy in various forms; electricity and circuits; magnetism; sound and light; density and buoyancy; matter structure; chemical reactions; and thermodynamics. Students don't just read about these concepts—they experience them by building electric motors, creating chemical reactions, and constructing working machines. The approach emphasizes doing science like real scientists: collecting data, interpreting results, and forming hypotheses.
Strengths and Considerations
Families consistently report high engagement—children love the hands-on projects and often develop genuine interest in physics and engineering. Everything arrives ready to use with no supply hunting. The digital lessons include text-to-speech for struggling readers, and students can work largely independently. For limitations: the curriculum covers several grade levels per kit, so you can't reuse it sequentially for the same child. Some families spread the Advanced level across two years given the content volume. Physical science is the sole focus—you'll need separate curricula for life science and earth science.
The Bottom Line
Exploration Education delivers what it promises: genuine hands-on science learning with minimal parent prep. The complete kits eliminate the common homeschool science problem of experiments requiring obscure supplies. For kinesthetic learners especially, building working projects creates understanding that textbooks can't match. Consider it for your physical science year and supplement with other resources for biology and earth science topics.
