Teaching students the names of laboratory equipment may seem like one of the simplest things we do at the beginning of a science course. Show them a beaker. Show them a graduated cylinder. Point out the test tube rack. Move on.
But knowing the name of a piece of lab equipment is not the same thing as knowing how to use it.
Before students begin working independently in the laboratory, they need to recognize the equipment they will encounter, understand its primary function, choose the correct tool for a particular job, and eventually use that equipment safely and accurately.
Those skills are worth teaching deliberately.
Over the years, I developed a simple progression for teaching science lab equipment that worked well in my high school science classes. I started by introducing the actual equipment, gave students opportunities to identify it and think about its function, and then moved them into activities where they had to decide which piece of equipment was appropriate for a particular laboratory task.
Only after that did we begin using the equipment to make measurements, collect data, create graphs, and carry out laboratory investigations.
If you are looking for practical ways to teach science lab equipment, my Lab Equipment Identification and Functions Reference Guide and Quiz gives students a structured way to learn the names and functions of common laboratory equipment before they begin using it in the lab.
Why Teach Science Lab Equipment Before the First Big Lab?
It is easy for us as science teachers to forget how unfamiliar a laboratory can be to students. We are so used to being in the lab that everything seems perfectly normal to us.
We know the difference between a beaker and a graduated cylinder. We know why we would reach for forceps instead of a medicine dropper, when to use test tube tongs, and what belongs on a ring stand. We have handled this equipment so many times that those decisions are automatic. Our students are not there yet.
Even students who have taken previous science classes may arrive with very different levels of laboratory experience. Some can immediately identify common lab equipment. Others may recognize an item but have no idea what it is called. Still others know the name but don't understand what the equipment is actually designed to do.
I don't want students learning those things in the middle of an experiment while everyone is trying to collect data.
A little time spent teaching laboratory equipment at the beginning of the year pays off throughout the rest of the course. Students become more comfortable in the lab, can locate what they need more quickly, and are better prepared to make good decisions during laboratory investigations.
Amy's Classroom Tip: Don't assume that because students have taken science before, they already know how to use basic laboratory equipment. I taught high school students, and I still reviewed the equipment we would use throughout the year. It gave everyone the same starting point before we began more complicated laboratory work.
Start With the Actual Laboratory Equipment
In my chemistry classes, one of my first steps was surprisingly simple.
I rolled a cart filled with laboratory equipment into the classroom.
The cart contained the pieces I wanted students to recognize and use throughout the course: beakers, graduated cylinders, Erlenmeyer flasks, test tubes, safety goggles, clamps, forceps, a mortar and pestle, and many of the other tools we would encounter during our labs.
Students had a reference sheet containing pictures of the equipment. I held up each item, we talked about its name and primary function, and students recorded that information on their handouts.
This wasn't intended to be a long lecture about laboratory equipment. The actual equipment was the lesson.
I allowed the students to pass the items around the room. Students could see the difference between items that can look surprisingly similar in a drawing. They could see the relative sizes of the equipment. I could point out important features and explain why we might choose one item instead of another.
Most importantly, the names on the page became connected to real objects they would soon be using in the laboratory.
Create a Lab Equipment Reference Guide Students Can Keep
I recently turned this classroom routine into my Lab Equipment Identification and Functions Reference Guide and Quiz.
The student identification guide includes pictures of 49 common pieces of laboratory equipment. As each item is introduced, students record its name and primary function. When the guide is complete, students can keep it in their science notebook or binder and refer to it whenever they work in the laboratory.
The resource also includes a 50-question lab equipment quiz that assesses both equipment identification and functions. Students first identify equipment from pictures and then answer questions requiring them to identify equipment from its function.
Printable files are included, along with digital options using Google Slides and a self-grading Google Form.
Amy's Classroom Tip: Whenever possible, show students the real equipment rather than teaching identification entirely from pictures. A photograph or drawing is useful as a reference, but nothing replaces holding up the actual item and talking about how it will be used in your lab.
Move Beyond Memorizing Lab Equipment Names
Once students can recognize the equipment, the next step is much more important:
Can they determine which piece of equipment they need? There is a big difference between answering: "What is this?" and answering: "Which piece of equipment should I use to measure 37 mL of water accurately?"
The second question requires students to understand function rather than simply memorize a vocabulary word. Students need opportunities to connect a piece of equipment with a real laboratory task. That is where I like to get students out of their seats and into the lab.
Try a Science Lab Equipment Scavenger Hunt
One activity I sometimes used with my students was a laboratory equipment scavenger hunt.
I spread the pieces of equipment I wanted students to review around the laboratory tables. Instead of giving students a list of equipment names to find, I gave them clues based on the functions and uses of the equipment.
For example, students might be asked to:
- Find a piece of equipment used to measure mass.
- Find the laboratory glassware best suited for accurately measuring a specific volume of liquid.
- Find a piece of equipment used to measure and transfer small amounts of liquid.
- Find the equipment used to support glassware above a Bunsen burner.
- Find the protective equipment used to protect the eyes from splashes and broken glass.
Now students weren't simply matching a word to an object. They had to look at the available equipment, think about what each item was designed to do, compare possibilities, and make a decision.
I've now created a classroom-ready version of that activity. My Science Lab Equipment Scavenger Hunt contains 70 clues covering 49 pieces of common laboratory equipment.
The clues make students think about equipment in several different ways. They include:
- Function clues that ask students to identify equipment from its primary use.
- Laboratory application clues that place students in realistic situations and ask them to choose the appropriate tool.
- Comparison clues that require students to distinguish between equipment with similar uses or appearances.
- Physical examination clues that encourage students to look carefully at the actual equipment.
Some pieces of equipment appear in more than one clue, which is intentional. Students may need to think about the same tool in different ways rather than solving the entire activity by process of elimination.
You Don't Need to Set Up 49 Lab Stations
One thing I especially like about this activity is that there are no formal stations to construct.
Number the pieces of equipment, place them randomly throughout the laboratory, and let students move around the room using the clues to locate each item. Students record both the number attached to the equipment and the equipment name on their handouts.
I prefer having students work in pairs because the clues give them something meaningful to discuss. One student may immediately recognize the answer, while another may notice a physical detail or remember how the equipment was used in a previous lab.
Amy's Classroom Tip: Don't have every group start with Question 1. Assign different starting questions around the room. When students reach the final question, they can return to Question 1 and continue. Staggering the starting points prevents the entire class from gathering around the same piece of equipment.
And if you don't have time for all 70 clues, you don't have to use them all. The activity is editable, so teachers can select the number of questions that works with their class period and their students.
Then Let Students Actually Use the Equipment
Identification and function are only the beginning. Eventually students need to pick up the graduated cylinder, read the meniscus correctly, use the balance, measure with a metric ruler, read a Celsius thermometer, and safely operate the equipment required for their experiments.
This is where students move from knowing about laboratory equipment to actually developing laboratory skills.
One of the first laboratory activities I used with my students was my FREE Science Lab Equipment Skills Lab with Graphing and Data Analysis.
This activity focuses on the proper use of five basic pieces of science lab equipment:
- Celsius thermometer
- Graduated cylinder
- Triple- or quadruple-beam balance
- Metric ruler or meter stick
- Bunsen burner
Students don't simply identify the equipment. They actually use it.
The activity also brings in another group of skills students will need throughout the year: organizing, graphing, and analyzing data. Students work with data tables and construct line graphs, bar graphs, and circle graphs.
Teach Measurement Along With Laboratory Equipment
Teaching science lab equipment also gives us the perfect opportunity to review scientific measurement.
I found that many students needed at least a short refresher on the metric system and on how to make careful measurements. Teenagers have a tendency to rush through an experiment, record the first number they see, and move on to the next step.
Learning to collect good data requires students to slow down. Students need practice reading scales carefully, recording measurements with appropriate units, recognizing the limits of the equipment they are using, and deciding whether a measurement seems reasonable.
Whenever time allowed, I also liked having students repeat measurements or complete multiple trials. Repeated trials reinforce an important idea: the first piece of data collected is not automatically perfect simply because it has been written in a data table.
Amy's Classroom Tip: When a student gets a measurement that is obviously unreasonable, resist the temptation to immediately tell them what went wrong. Ask, "Does that answer make sense?" Learning to evaluate their own data is an important laboratory skill, too.
What Science Lab Equipment Should Students Know?
The exact laboratory equipment students need to learn will depend on the course you teach and the investigations you conduct. A biology classroom will not use every piece of equipment with the same frequency as a chemistry classroom.
However, middle and high school students benefit from becoming familiar with several broad categories of laboratory equipment.
Equipment for Measuring
Common measurement tools include graduated cylinders, balances, thermometers, metric rulers, meter sticks, stopwatches, and pipets. Students should not only recognize these tools but understand what each one measures and when one tool provides a more appropriate measurement than another.
Laboratory Glassware and Containers
Students commonly encounter beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, test tubes, watch glasses, evaporating dishes, crucibles, spot plates, and Petri dishes. These items may all hold materials, but they are designed for very different purposes.
Equipment for Transferring and Handling Materials
Forceps, medicine droppers, pipets, Beral pipets, scoopulas, spatulas, funnels, stirring rods, weighing paper, and weighing dishes help students safely transfer or manipulate laboratory materials.
Heating and Support Equipment
Students may also need to recognize Bunsen burners, hot plates, ring stands, iron rings, wire gauze, clay triangles, clamps, crucible tongs, test tube tongs, and heat-resistant ceramic squares.
Observation and Biology Equipment
Microscopes, microscope slides, coverslips, hand lenses, probes, forceps, scalpels, and Petri dishes are especially common in biology laboratories.
The goal isn't to have students memorize a giant list simply for the sake of memorizing it. The goal is laboratory independence.
When students can recognize a tool, explain what it does, select it when appropriate, and use it correctly, laboratory work becomes much smoother for everyone.
If your students are beginning microscope work, you may also want to read my post on teaching students to use the compound microscope.
Keep Reviewing Lab Equipment Throughout the Year
Introduce the equipment students will need most often first. Then revisit specific pieces before a laboratory activity that requires them.
For additional hands-on practice, my Science Skills Chat contains 17 collaborative science skills stations. Many of those stations require students to work directly with laboratory equipment.
Students practice laboratory equipment identification as well as using the graduated cylinder, metric ruler, laboratory balance, Celsius thermometer, and Bunsen burner. Other stations have students determine volume and density, separate a mixture, create scientific drawings, graph and analyze data, and practice other foundational science skills.
The stations are independent, so teachers can choose only the four or five that support the skills their students need at that point in the year. Additional stations can come back out later for review and reinforcement.
You can read more about the complete activity in my post 17 Essential Science Skills All Students Should Master.
Amy's Classroom Tip: Try a "Science Skills Friday." Once a week or periodically throughout the year, pull out one or two short skills activities. Students get repeated practice, and you don't have to devote several consecutive class periods at the beginning of school to every science process skill they will eventually need.
Make Lab Equipment Review Fun
Once students have received instruction and handled the actual equipment, review doesn't always have to look like another traditional worksheet or quiz. Changing the format gives students another opportunity to retrieve the same information while keeping practice from becoming repetitive.
Lab Equipment Color by Number
My Lab Equipment Color by Number Activity has students answer 55 questions covering the names and functions of 42 pieces of laboratory equipment. Some questions give students the function and ask them to choose the correct equipment, while others show an equipment picture that students must identify.
Digital Hidden Picture Lab Equipment Review
The Science Lab Equipment Digital Hidden Picture Activities provide paperless practice in Google Sheets. The set contains three games with 25 questions each. Correct answers turn green and reveal part of a hidden picture, while incorrect responses remain red so students receive immediate feedback.
Lab Equipment Acrostic Puzzle
My Lab Equipment Acrostic Puzzle reviews 46 pieces of laboratory equipment. As students solve the clues, selected letters from their answers reveal two science riddles. The jokes are corny, but fun!
These types of activities work well after initial instruction, before a laboratory practical, for homework, on review days, with a substitute teacher, or whenever students need another encounter with lab equipment vocabulary and functions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Teaching Lab Equipment
Should students memorize the names of lab equipment?
Students do need to know the names of the equipment they regularly use, but memorizing names should not be the final goal. Students should also understand the primary function of each tool, know when to select it, and eventually be able to use it correctly.
What lab equipment should I teach first?
Start with the equipment students will use most often and the tools they need for their first few laboratory investigations. Common starting points include safety goggles, beakers, graduated cylinders, balances, thermometers, metric rulers, test tubes, droppers or pipets, and basic heating or support equipment used in your course.
How can I make lab equipment identification more engaging?
Use the actual equipment whenever possible. Let students handle or closely examine it, complete a scavenger hunt, respond to function-based clues, use collaborative lab stations, and rotate through different forms of review rather than relying entirely on equipment-labeling worksheets.
When should I teach lab equipment?
I like to introduce the most commonly used equipment near the beginning of the course, before students begin significant laboratory work. Additional equipment can then be introduced throughout the year just before students need it. This approach gives students repeated exposure instead of asking them to memorize every item at once.
Lab Equipment Is Only the Beginning
Laboratory equipment is just one part of preparing students to work successfully in science.
Measurement, graphing, data analysis, laboratory safety, scientific reasoning, experimental design, and other science process skills all work together. Students are much more confident during laboratory investigations when we explicitly teach these foundational skills instead of assuming they already know them.
For a much broader look at building those skills, visit The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Science Process Skills.
And if you are getting your own laboratory ready for the school year, take a look at Returning to Your Science Lab After Summer for ideas on organizing equipment, checking supplies, and preparing your lab before students arrive.
Taking the time to teach laboratory equipment at the beginning of the year is not time taken away from your curriculum. It is preparation for everything that comes next.
When students know where to find the equipment, what it is called, what it does, which tool to choose, and how to use it correctly, they are much better prepared to walk into the laboratory and get to work.
