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Bringing Neuroscience to every classroom

Empower students with hands-on neuroscience experiments

Neuroscience is no longer just for college labs—now, high school and middle school students can engage in real scientific inquiry with interactive experiments designed for the classroom. Our neuroscience education kits align with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Advanced Placement (AP) frameworks, making them a seamless fit for Biology, Anatomy & Physiology, Psychology, Engineering, and AP Courses.

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Two students arm-wrestling while a SpikerBox records their muscle signals

Curriculum standards

Student recording her muscle signals with a SpikerBox and a smartphone

The High school neuroscience curriculum

Bring the cutting-edge of brain science into your AP Biology, AP Psychology, or Human Anatomy & Physiology classrooms with real-time neural experiments.

Our affordable, research-grade tools let students record real neuron activity, explore reaction times, and even control movement using bioelectric signals.

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What neuroscience adds to your curriculum:

Browse NGSS neuroscience labs in our Lesson Finder to see how each experiment maps to national science standards.

  • AP Biology

    Explore teacher-written investigations, plant recordings, neural signals and reaction time. Read the existing methods before planning your lab.

  • AP Psychology

    Connect reaction time, EEG, reflexes and neural signals to psychology. Explore existing investigations, classroom research and teacher materials.

  • Anatomy & Physiology

    Connect muscle recordings to body-system explanations. Preview a first EMG activity and plan devices, group roles and classroom supplies.

  • Engineering

    Turn muscle signals into control signals... build neuroprosthetics and micro:bit projects with Spiker:bit.

The course Three units. Fourteen modules. 61 periods.

Periods are 50 minutes. Every module also has a 75-minute version, which takes fewer periods.

  • Unit 1 · 22 periods

    1.1 See & Hear a Neuron: 6 · 1.2 Neurons for Touch: 4 · 1.3 Neuronal Adaptation: 3 · 1.4 Neuropharmacology: 4 · 1.5 Capstone Research Project: 5

  • Unit 2 · 21 periods

    2.1 Muscle Fatigue: 4 · 2.2 Motor Units & Recruitment: 3 · 2.3 Reaction Time: 5 · 2.4 Reflexes & Reactions: 4 · 2.5 Capstone Research Project: 5

  • Unit 3 · 18 periods

    3.1 See Your Own Brain: 4 · 3.2 Dealing with the Unexpected (P300): 4 · 3.3 How to Read Like a Scientist: 5 · 3.4 Capstone Research Project: 5

Try one full module

Module 1.1, See & Hear a Neuron, is one complete module from the course: the teacher pages for each lesson, ready to teach.

What's inside

  • The module summary, learning objectives and both lesson plans: six 50-minute lessons, or four 75-minute lessons
  • Teacher notes for each lesson, with slide-by-slide prompts, the clay neuron model and the action-potential flipbook
  • Setup for recording from a cockroach leg with the Neuron SpikerBox, and the materials list
  • Data analysis, graphing guidance and the reflection questions for group discussion
Download module 1.1 (PDF)

PDF · 24 pages · 8.8 MB

Students placing electrodes on a classmate's face during a neuroscience experiment

For School districts & STEM coordinators

Are you looking to enhance STEM education across an entire school district? Our neuroscience lab packages allow schools to equip multiple classrooms with engaging, hands-on neuroscience kits—designed to spark curiosity and prepare students for careers in STEM fields. Schools can also participate in student-led neuroscience research programs, contributing to real scientific discoveries.

BROWSE ALL PRODUCTS

Explore our Classroom & District Lab Packages

Get in touch with our education team.

GET A QUOTE

Build your class lab

Pick your course and class size. You get the kit list, the total and the price per student. Then add it all to your cart, get a formal quote, or send a one-page summary to your principal.

The kits are shared; supplies count every student.

We suggest 2 to 4, so everyone gets hands on.

In dollars, like 5000.

Your Backyard Brains class lab

Classroom lab (high school biology)

30 students: 8 stations of up to 4

Lab stations
QuantityItemEachLine total
8 × Neuron SpikerBox10% off $249.99 $1,800.00
8 × Human SpikerBox10% off $299.99 $2,160.00
Supplies for one school year
QuantityItemEachLine total
3 × Large Muscle Electrodes $24.99 $74.97
1 × Electrode Gel $25.00 $25.00
2 × Box of 3 Cockroaches $13.00 $26.00
List price
$4,525.81
Class-set saving
−$439.84
Total
$4,085.97
Per student
$136 (30 students, rounded to the dollar)

List price is our education price. Buying a class set? 5 or more of the same kit: 10% off those kits. 10 or more: 15% off.

Get a formal quote Send to my principal

Funding lines

  • A DonorsChoose project (the average is $551): over
  • A $1,000 district purchasing card: over
  • Example grant budget: $5,000: fits
  • Under $10,000, where many districts ask for two quotes: fits
  • The $15,000 federal micro-purchase line: fits

These lines compare your total with common budgets; none is an award or a sign that you qualify. Find classroom funding

Our neuroscience education kits align with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Advanced Placement (AP) frameworks.

Paperwork: W-9 (PDF) · Sole-source letter (PDF)

This plan: https://backyardbrains.com/teachers?course=classroom-lab&students=30&sections=1&perStation=4#class-lab-builder

Class sets

  • Classroom Lab

    Serves 30 students in 8 stations

    Eight lab stations, each with a Neuron SpikerBox and a Human SpikerBox: students record real neurons in a cockroach leg and the signals of their own muscles, heart and brain.

    What’s inside

    List price
    $4,399.84
    Class-set saving
    −$439.84
    Total
    $3,960.00
    Per student
    $132 (rounded to the dollar)
    Get a formal quote

    Add a semester of supplies: electrodes, electrode gel and cockroaches, at list price.

  • Human SpikerBox Class Set

    Serves 30 students in 10 stations

    Ten Human SpikerBoxes, so every lab group records muscle, heart and brain signals from their own bodies.

    What’s inside

    List price
    $2,999.90
    Class-set saving
    −$449.90
    Total
    $2,550.00
    Per student
    $85 (rounded to the dollar)
    Get a formal quote

    Add a semester of supplies: electrodes and electrode gel, at list price.

  • Neuron SpikerBox Class Set

    Serves 30 students in 10 stations

    Ten Neuron SpikerBoxes, so every lab group hears and records real neurons firing in a cockroach leg.

    What’s inside

    List price
    $2,499.90
    Class-set saving
    −$374.90
    Total
    $2,125.00
    Per student
    $71 (rounded to the dollar)
    Get a formal quote

    Add a semester of supplies: cockroaches, at list price.

  • Claw Class Set

    Serves 30 students in 10 stations

    Ten Claws: every group controls a robotic gripper with the electrical signals of their own muscles.

    What’s inside

    List price
    $1,499.90
    Class-set saving
    −$224.90
    Total
    $1,275.00
    Per student
    $43 (rounded to the dollar)
    Get a formal quote

    Add a semester of supplies: electrodes and electrode gel, at list price.

  • Spiker:bit Class Set

    Serves 20 students in 10 stations

    Ten Spiker:bits for a classroom that already has micro:bits: students work in pairs and code with their own muscle signals.

    What’s inside

    List price
    $999.90
    Class-set saving
    −$149.90
    Total
    $850.00
    Per student
    $43 (rounded to the dollar)
    Get a formal quote

    Add a semester of supplies: electrodes, at list price.

  • Spiker:bit Class Set with micro:bits

    Serves 20 students in 10 stations

    The same ten Spiker:bits with ten micro:bits, for a class starting from scratch.

    What’s inside

    List price
    $1,199.80
    Class-set saving
    −$149.90
    Total
    $1,049.90
    Per student
    $52 (rounded to the dollar)
    Get a formal quote

    Add a semester of supplies: electrodes, at list price.

List price is our education price. Buying a class set? 5 or more of the same kit: 10% off those kits. 10 or more: 15% off.

Buy for your school or lab

  • Instant quote

    Build a quote with your items and shipping address, and see tax and your total before you order.

    Build a quote

  • Pay by purchase order

    Net 30. Open your quote, choose Send PO, enter your PO number and upload the PO as a PDF. We invoice you, due in 30 days. $20 PO processing fee on orders of $1,000 or less; no fee over $1,000.

    Start a PO quote

  • Tax-exempt?

    If your school or district has a sales-tax exemption, check its status in the tax exemption section of your account.

    Check tax status

  • Paperwork

    Our signed W-9 is one click away. Purchasing offices that need a sole-source justification can use our sole-source letter (PDF).

    Download W-9 (PDF)

  • Questions?

    Our education team can help you choose kits, plan a district order or answer a paperwork question.

    Ask our team

For school and district administrators

Science lab equipment for schools: each class set shows its price per student beside the total in the class lab builder above. The standards, proof and paperwork a school or district needs are below.

  • NGSS-aligned lab kits

    Every recording module of the course meets MS-LS1-8 and HS-LS1-2. Module 2.1 adds HS-LS1-7 (HS-LS1-3 supporting); module 2.4 adds HS-LS1-3. Browse by standard in the Lesson Finder.

  • Evidence it works

    Peer-reviewed papers on these lab activities, with links to each one in the list below.

  • School purchase order

    Net 30. Build a quote, choose Send PO, and upload your PO as a PDF. A $20 PO fee applies to orders of $1,000 or less; there is no PO fee over $1,000.

  • Sole source science equipment

    For a purchasing office that needs a sole-source justification, our letter is ready to attach. Tax-exempt schools check their status in their account.

  • Title IV-A STEM funding

    District funding: Title IV-A allows “hands-on learning and exposure to STEM”. Ask our team for a quote you can attach to your district’s request.

  • District STEM program

    Plan professional development for your teachers: send the group, number of teachers, location and dates, and our team will plan it with you.

Find classroom funding

Peer-reviewed lab papers

Teacher and student working with a Neuron SpikerBox

For Middle & elementary schools

Younger students are naturally curious about how their brains and bodies work! Our entry-level neuroscience kits allow middle schoolers and advanced elementary students to record muscle signals, test reflexes, and explore electrical impulses in plants and animals—perfect for NGSS-aligned life science curricula.

FIND OUT NOW!

Will it run on your devices?

Today the SpikerBoxes work on Windows, macOS, Linux, Chromebook and Android. On iPhone and iPad only Neuron SpikerBox, Human SpikerBox and SpikeStation (coming 2027) work, because they have Apple's iAP chip.

Device compatibility for classroom kits
KitWindowsmacOSLinuxChromebookAndroidiPhone & iPad
Neuron SpikerBoxWorksWorksWorksWorksGet SpikeRecorder 3.0 for Chromebook through support.WorksWorksiPhone and iPad with SpikeRecorder (iAP chip).
Human SpikerBoxWorksWorksWorksWorksGet SpikeRecorder 3.0 for Chromebook through support.WorksWorksiPhone and iPad with SpikeRecorder (iAP chip).
Plant SpikerBoxWorksWorksWorksWorksGet SpikeRecorder 3.0 for Chromebook through support.WorksConnects over USB.Not supportedNot supported on iPhone or iPad.
The ClawStandalone: it needs no device and does not use SpikeRecorder.
Spiker:bit - Muscle EMG Sensor Kit for Micro:bit ProjectsProgrammed in Microsoft MakeCode, not SpikeRecorder.
SpikerBot: Build a Brain, Create a Creature (Pre-Order)WorksRuns in its own SpikerBot app.WorksRuns in its own SpikerBot app.WorksRuns in its own SpikerBot app.WorksRuns in its own SpikerBot app.WorksRuns in its own SpikerBot app.WorksRuns in its own SpikerBot app.
  1. Not yet verified means we have not checked that kit on that device yet. It never means the kit works.
  2. The Claw and Spiker:bit do not use SpikeRecorder, so they get a note instead of device cells.
  3. SpikeStation (coming 2027) also has Apple's iAP chip. It is not in this grid yet.

AS FEATURED ON

  • Popular Science
  • TED
  • Netflix
  • CNN
  • BBC World Service

Keep exploring

Follow these paths to compare labs, kits and research.

  • Lesson Finder

    Filter NGSS-aligned labs by course, time and standard, and see every step.

    Open the Lesson Finder

  • Kits and class sets

    Compare each kit’s devices and price, with the class-set bundles for your classroom.

    Browse kits

  • Publications

    Read the peer-reviewed lab papers behind the course.

    Read the papers