Blog

18/08/2026

The laboratory that goes to where the student is.

How mobile labs expand access to experimental science


A school can have a complete curriculum, prepared teachers, and motivated students, and still not offer students the experience of seeing a scientific concept happen before their eyes. This is The reality in some educational institutions in Brazil, where experimental practice remains the exception, not the routine.

A national scenario of unequal access

According to the 2024 Brazilian Yearbook of Basic Education, prepared by Todos Pela Educação based on microdata from the School Census (MEC/Inep), only 10% of the country's educational establishments have a science laboratory. The breakdown by educational stage deepens this inequality: data from the 2018 School Census (MEC/Inep) show that, even in secondary education, the stage where experimentation is...

Despite being a subject most demanded by the curriculum, only 44.1% of schools had a science lab, with 38.8% in the public school system and 57.2% in the private system. Among public school systems, the disparity is even greater: 83.4% in federal schools, 37.5% in state schools, and 28.8% in municipal schools.

The numbers explain a problem known to those who are At the forefront of education: thousands of schools cover the content of Science, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology entirely through theory, because they simply have nowhere, nor the means, to put the experiment into practice.

The mobile laboratory as a strategic response

It is against this backdrop that the mobile laboratory is consolidating itself as a relevant strategy for school networks and private schools: a way to bring experimental practice to the classroom, regardless of the existence of a dedicated fixed space. More than just a set of equipment, the mobile laboratory represents a shift in logic; experimentation no longer depends on a specific room and starts happening where the student already is, during regular class time.

For public school systems, this feature is especially strategic: it allows for standardized access to experimental practice among units with very different infrastructure realities, without the inequality of structure between schools automatically translating into inequality of learning. For private schools, the mobile laboratory expands the capacity to offer applied science in multiple classes and shifts, optimizing the use of the same set of equipment.

What changes in the school and teacher's routine

The most immediate gain from the mobile laboratory is in regularity. Instead of reserving the laboratory as a one-off event on the calendar, a few times per semester, the teacher can now include experimental practice as part of the weekly planning, at the same pace as the content being taught.

This regularity has a direct effect on classroom engagement.

Several studies on science education indicate that experimentation favors the development of hypotheses, discussion among peers, and the testing of ideas, processes that result in a better understanding of scientific concepts and a closer connection between the theory studied and the student's reality. When this practice becomes frequent, and not exceptional, the pedagogical gain accumulates throughout the school year.

For the school administrator and the education department, the mobile laboratory also simplifies management: it does not require construction, renovations, or permanent allocation of space, only planning of use among the classes that will use it, within the routine that the school already has.

Experimental science as policy, not as an exception

The fact that only one in ten Brazilian schools has a science lab is a reflection of how many students grow up without ever having tested, measured, or proven a scientific concept with their own hands. Cidepe's mobile labs were developed to reduce this gap, offering a structure designed for real-world school use: organized, tested equipment ready to accompany the teacher to the classroom.

Bringing experimental science into the school routine, and not just for isolated dates on the calendar, is what transforms exceptional practical teaching into a consistent pedagogical policy with a direct impact on how the student learns.

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