Free Android app

StarlyLab The science lab in your phone: 26 instruments and a lab notebook

StarlyLab turns the sensors already in your pocket (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, microphone, camera, light sensor and barometer) into 26 measuring instruments, with a lab notebook that guides you step by step through the scientific method.

Get it onGoogle Play See the features

Free · Contains ads · Works without an account and mostly offline · 6 languages

26instruments

8lab benches

10steps per experiment

6languages

StarlyLab home with the live accelerometer panel

What is StarlyLab

A real laboratory, built from your phone's sensors

StarlyLab is a free Android app for doing real science with a smartphone. Developed by Starlyware, an independent studio based in Chieti, Italy, it is made for high school and university students, teachers, makers and science enthusiasts who want to measure, test hypotheses and learn the scientific method by doing.

Its 26 instruments are organized on 8 benches: physics, acoustics, light and colour, Earth sciences, weather, biology, chemistry and astronomy. Measure g with a pendulum, see the harmonics of a whistle on the spectrum analyser, check the absorbance of a solution with the colorimeter, follow this week's earthquakes live or track the International Space Station in real time.

Every experiment is a page of the lab notebook in 10 steps: question, hypothesis, variables, materials, procedure, prediction, data, result, conclusion and improvements. Record data from the instruments, write measurements in a table, see the graph with the best-fit line and the error from the expected value, then export a PDF report or the data as CSV.

Features

26 instruments on 8 lab benches

Every bench of a school laboratory, plus a notebook that keeps your experiments organized.

Physics

Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, level and inclinometer, a pendulum to measure g and a stopwatch started by a sound.

Acoustics

Sound level meter, spectrum analyser (FFT), tuner and tone generator.

Light and colour

Light meter and colorimeter with absorbance, to explore the Beer-Lambert law.

Earth sciences

Geological compass (dip and dip direction), geological time, live earthquakes of the week and mineral identification with the Mohs scale.

Weather

Barometer and altimeter, dew point and cloud base.

Biology

Heart rate with the camera and flash, and a reaction time test.

Chemistry

Periodic table of the 118 elements, molar mass and dilution calculators.

Astronomy

Moon phases and the Sun, the International Space Station in real time, space weather and auroras.

Lab notebook and AI tutor

10-step pages, tables, graphs with best-fit line, PDF and CSV export, plus an optional AI tutor that helps you reason without doing the work for you.

Screenshots

StarlyLab at a glance

Grid of the 26 science instruments on 8 benches — 26 instruments

Spectrum analyser showing the harmonics of a whistle — See sound

World map of this week's earthquakes with the Gutenberg-Richter line — Live earthquakes

Notebook page with data table, graph and best-fit line — Lab notebook

How it works

Science, step by step

Ask a question

Pick a guided experiment or start your own page, then write your hypothesis and prediction before measuring.

Measure with your phone

Record data from the instruments or type your measurements into the table.

Analyze and conclude

Compare the result with the expected value on the graph, write your conclusion and export a PDF report or CSV.

Free & privacy

Your notebook stays yours

StarlyLab works without an account and mostly offline.
Experiments, measurements and photos stay on your phone, with backups to the private folder of your Google Drive or to a file.
The camera and the microphone are used only to measure: no photo or audio is saved or sent.
The app is free and contains ads; an optional purchase supports the developer and unlocks the Supporter badge.
Phone sensors are not certified instruments, and the heart rate is an educational experiment, not a medical device.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about StarlyLab

Acceleration, rotation, magnetic field, inclination, sound level and frequency spectrum, light intensity, absorbance, air pressure and altitude, heart rate and reaction time, plus live data on earthquakes, the International Space Station and space weather: 26 instruments in total, grouped into 8 benches.

Most Android phones have an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, microphone, camera and light sensor. The barometer is found only on some models and is needed for the barometer and altimeter instruments.

Yes. It is designed for high school and university students and their teachers: every experiment follows the scientific method in 10 steps, guided experiments ask for a hypothesis before showing the expected result, and reports can be exported as PDF or CSV.

For example: measuring gravity with a pendulum, discovering the inverse square law with a lamp, finding the speed of sound by blowing over a bottle, weighing the air on the stairs and computing the b-value of this week's earthquakes.

No account is needed and most instruments work offline. Live data (earthquakes, the International Space Station, space weather), the optional AI tutor and Google Drive backups need a connection.

Yes. It is free on Google Play and contains ads. An optional one-time purchase supports the developer and unlocks the Supporter badge, without unlocking other features.

Phone sensors are not certified instruments, but they are precise enough for educational experiments. The notebook shows the error from the expected value, so you can discuss the sources of error. The heart rate is an educational experiment, not a medical device.