# Merge Explorer — Hands-on science simulations

> Interactive science simulations for K-8 students using a Merge Cube. (iPhone/iPad app by Merge Apps.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merge-explorer/id1453098606 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Merge Apps](https://appshunter.io/developer/1253049593)
- Category: Education, Utilities
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.10/5 from 279 App Store ratings · 64 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 1.3 GB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2019-04-06
- Data updated: 2026-08-21
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merge-explorer/id1453098606/reviews.md

## What is Merge Explorer?

PLEASE NOTE: This app requires a Merge Cube and a smartphone or a tablet to experience. Find out how to get a Merge Cube and learn more at: https://www.MergeCube.com. 

Students can learn science effectively with over 100 science simulations they can touch, hold and interact with! Merge Explorer (along with a Merge Cube) allows students to investigate a smoking volcano in the palm of their hand, examine a great white shark up close, hold and explore the solar system, dissect a frog (humanely!), and so much more. With easy-to-follow activities and built-in quizzes, students gain key knowledge while immersed in learning, both in the classroom or while remote learning at home.

Merge Explorer includes NGSS-aligned topics for K-8th grade, like Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth & Space Science. 
 
If you have any questions or suggestions, we want to hear from you! Contact us at any time at support@mergeedu.com.

Privacy Policy:
https://MergeEdu.com/privacy-policy

Terms of Use:
https://MergeEdu.com/terms-of-use

## Key features

- Over 100 science simulations
- Interactive Merge Cube experiences
- Hands-on learning activities
- Built-in quizzes
- NGSS-aligned K-8 curriculum
- Physical, Life, and Earth/Space Science topics

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Merge EDU Individual | $9.99 | per month |
| Merge EDU Individual | $99.99 | per year |
| Explorer Premium Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Explorer Premium Annual | $99.99 | per year |


## What do users think of Merge Explorer?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 👍 Easy for young students
- 💡 Flexible for lesson needs
- 🔬 Used for research and experiments
- 💡 Introduces new content exploratorily
- 🤩 Engaging and versatile for learning
- 🧑‍🏫 Great for capturing student attention
- 🧑‍🏫 Meaningful interactive lessons
- 🧑‍🏫 Fantastic tool for parents, teachers, tutors, homeschoolers
- 🔬 Science tools are educational and engaging
- 🚀 Brings science to life
- 🧑‍🏫 Connects students to learning
- ❤️ Incredible for student learning and engagement
- 🔬 STEM lessons align with curriculum
- 💡 Multiple view modes available
- 🧑‍🏫 Great for large classes or group work
- 🤩 Students amazed by VR experiences
- 🤩 Wow factor leads to engagement
- 🔬 AR STEM tool
- 🧑‍🏫 Free options available
- 🧑‍🏫 School subscriptions for paid version
- 🧑‍🏫 Teachers and students love it
- 💡 Lots of lesson ideas for C&I integration
- 🧑‍🏫 Students hold and view objects not possible in real life
- 💡 Students can create and place objects
- 🚀 Elevates lessons with Merge cubes
- 🔬 NGSS aligned activities
- 🧑‍🏫 Students interact with normally inaccessible objects
- 🚀 Great product
- 🚀 Immersive learning
- 🧑‍🏫 Useful tool to make learning fun
- 🧑‍🏫 Wish it was used in schools
- 🚀 Amazing impact in the classroom
- 🚀 Supporting apps get better
- 🚀 Active learning tool
- 🧑‍🏫 Hands-on learning
- 🔬 Manipulate cube to explore dissections, space, body
- 🧑‍🏫 Lessons across content and grade levels
- 🧑‍🏫 Versatile product
- 🧑‍🏫 Engages all students meaningfully
- 🧑‍🏫 Memorable learning experiences
- 🧑‍🏫 Usable in classroom and digitally
- 🧑‍🏫 Best investment for students
- 🔬 Very educational
- 🚀 Wonderful app for teaching
- 🚀 Great app
- 🧑‍🏫 Teaches lots about different subjects
- 😄 Amazing app
- 🚀 Coolest potato creation
- 👍 Nice game
- 💡 Great activities
- 💡 Expensive product
- 💡 Great content
- 💡 Fun hands-on activities
- 💡 Engaging activities for all ages and subjects
- 💡 Fun to do
- 💡 Helpful and resourceful content
- 😄 So cool
- 🚀 Perfect app
- 🧑‍🏫 Inspires imagination
- 🧑‍🏫 Introduces educational information
- 💡 Great use of AR for learning
- 💡 Stimulates curiosity
- 🚀 Future of technology
- 🧑‍🏫 Must-have for all ages
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🧑‍🏫 Helps you study

**Cons**

- 💰 Expensive purchase
- 💰 Forced subscription for software
- 💰 Cannot view software before paying
- 💰 Money trap
- 💰 Only for rich people
- 💰 Requires additional payments beyond cube and goggles
- 💰 Required sign-in and money grab
- 💰 Wasted money on items
- 💰 Premium features locked
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 💰 Extortionate subscription model
- 💰 Play to pay model
- 💰 Force to pay money per week/day/year
- 💰 Expensive and doesn't pick up cube well
- 💰 VR function broken
- 💰 VR doesn't work with iPhone XS Max
- 💰 Totally useless
- 💰 Automatic subscription after free trial
- 💰 Waste of money
- 💰 Cube is a redundant purchase
- 💰 Want more games, not education
- 💰 Bring back fun apps
- 💰 Makes phone hot
- 💰 Screen freezes
- 💰 Hard to share with kids at home
- 💰 App crashes often
- 💰 Silent video recording
- 💰 Not ideal for second graders
- 🐛 Crashing on iPad
- 🐛 App crashes when pressing play
- 🐛 Keeps on crashing
- 🐛 App crashes or loads forever
- 🐛 Problems with galactic explore
- 🐛 VR doesn't work
- 🐛 Bad functionality
- 🐛 Not good times
- 🐛 Super bad
- 🐛 Actual ass cheeks
- 🐛 Not what I expected
- 🐛 No instructions
- 🐛 Instructions on box not helpful
- 🐛 Camera doesn't work in app
- 🐛 Black screen when using cube or camera
- 🐛 Defeats purpose of merge cube
- 🐛 Mid.
- 🐛 Un skibidi
- 🐛 So un Ohio rizzler
- 🐛 Only for rich people
- 🐛 Premium
- 🐛 Garbage
- 🐛 It is not the same
- 🐛 Midway
- 🐛 Takes long time to load
- 🐛 Reset Quiz issue
- 🐛 Does not pick up the cube well at all
- 🐛 VR function is completely broken unfortunately
- 🐛 VR doesn’t work with iPhone XS Max
- 🐛 Am trying to use with an official Merge Headset and Merge Cube, but always get the same behaviour.
- 🐛 Works fine in 2D normal screen mode, but switching to Headset Mode results in a black screen that never changes.
- 🐛 Problems
- 🐛 This app when ever I try to do anything it just won’t let use the galactic explore
- 🐛 Keeps on Crashing
- 🐛 Whenever I use this app and try to access a lesson or something Of that sort it crashes or it loads forever
- 🐛 Challenging to use during distance learning
- 🐛 Not there yet for remote teaching.
- 🐛 App still has trouble recognizing the cube
- 🐛 No way to record experience without additional device
- 🐛 Screen recording only records cube, not overlay
- 🐛 Words appear sideways in horizontal mode
- 🐛 Content appears incorrectly
- 🐛 Developers need to consider remote teaching
- 🐛 App crashes.

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes on iPad
- App crashes when pressing play
- Camera not working in app
- Black screen when using cube or camera
- VR function broken
- VR doesn't work with iPhone XS Max
- App crashes or loads forever
- Problems with galactic explore
- App has trouble recognizing the cube
- Screen recording only records cube, not overlay
- Words appear sideways in horizontal mode
- Content appears incorrectly
- App crashes

**Most requested features**

- Make the app free to play
- Add more fun things, not just learning
- Bring back the fun apps (time bomb, block courses)
- Allow users to create their own games for the merge cube
- Add a way to reset quizzes for class sets of devices
- Improve functionality for remote teaching, including screen recording
- Add more content in the future
- Add dark mode option
- Add advanced analytics dashboard

## Recent user reviews (10 of 64)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merge-explorer/id1453098606/reviews.md

### 5/5 — A Must-Have App for Engaging Student Learning

*2026-06-15, version 1.8.6*

As a Technology Coordinator and former classroom teacher, I am always looking for tools that genuinely engage students while enhancing learning. Merge Explorer does exactly that.

When paired with the Merge Cube, the app transforms learning into an interactive, hands-on experience. Students are fascinated as they explore 3D objects, scientific concepts, and simulations that appear right in their hands. The level of engagement and curiosity it generates is remarkable.

What sets Merge Explorer apart is how easy it is to use while still providing meaningful educational content. The lessons and activities are well-designed, curriculum-friendly, and help bring abstract concepts to life in ways that traditional instruction simply cannot.

Whether you're teaching science, STEM, or simply looking for innovative ways to engage learners, Merge Explorer is an outstanding tool. My students consistently ask to use it, and it has become one of the most impactful educational apps in our learning environment.

### 5/5 — Instructional Technology Coach

*2026-05-06, version 1.8.6*

This app is easy for even our youngest students to use. It is flexible to meet your lesson needs. We use it to do research, conduct experiments, and provide an exploratory introduction to new content.

### 2/5 — Payment and 14day trail

*2026-03-16, version 1.8.6*

I would love it if you guys made the app free to play I would very much appreciate it. But it’s your choice

### 1/5 — Un skibidi

*2024-09-12, version 1.7.23*

This is so un Ohio rizzler

### 5/5 — Fun and engaging learning!

*2024-06-03, version 1.7.18*

My grandkids love using Merge Explorer. It’s so engaging and versatile. This would also be perfect for capturing students’ attention in the classroom with meaningful interactive hands-on lessons. Whether you are a parent, classroom teacher, tutor, or homeschooling, this is a fantastic learning tool!

### 1/5 — So bad!

*2024-05-11, version 1.7.18*

The cube is an expensive purchase, followed by an expensive forced subscription for software you can’t view before you pay, that really is terrible.

So disappointing for a product claiming to be educational, to be such a money trap.

### 5/5 — Huge Merge Fan

*2024-03-22, version 1.7.17*

This app definitely gets 5 stars in my book! It works amazingly well and the science tools viewable are truly educational and engaging for students! This app definitely brings science to life and allows students to become personally connected to their learning!

### 1/5 — 망할 ㅅㄲ들

*2024-02-14*

야 확인 코드 한번 주고 숨기는게 어딛냐 빨리 뇌나라 차라리 이거할 버엔 코스페리시스를 쳐하고 있겠다

### 5/5 — Love love love!!!

*2024-02-06, version 1.7.15*

This app is incredible for student learning AND engagement! The science and STEM lessons provided work perfectly with our middle school curriculum. Bonus! Students can use two other view modes instead of utilizing the cube!! This is great for larger classes or group work! I can’t wait to work more within the explorer app!

### 1/5 — only for rich people

*2023-12-16, version 1.7.13*

This was a useful app when it didn’t require additional payments beyond the cube itself and the goggles. Object viewing is all processing done on device and should not require uploading to some website. Very disappointed with the required sign in and money grab. Wasted my money on these things.

## Frequently asked questions about Merge Explorer

### What is Merge Explorer?

Merge Explorer is an educational app that offers over 100 hands-on science simulations. It requires a Merge Cube and a smartphone or tablet to provide interactive learning experiences for students.

### What kind of science topics does Merge Explorer cover?

The app covers a wide range of NGSS-aligned topics for K-8th grade, including Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth & Space Science. Students can explore simulations like volcanoes, sharks, the solar system, and frog dissections.

### How much does Merge Explorer cost?

The app itself is free to download. However, it requires a Merge Cube to function, and there may be in-app purchases for additional content or features.

### What devices are compatible with Merge Explorer?

Merge Explorer is designed to be used with a smartphone or tablet. A Merge Cube is also a mandatory component for experiencing the augmented reality simulations.

### Can Merge Explorer be used for remote learning?

Yes, the app is suitable for both classroom and remote learning environments. Its interactive nature and built-in quizzes help students gain key knowledge immersively, whether at school or at home.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.8.6 — 2025-12-11

Bug Fixes and improvements

### 1.8.5 — 2025-10-20

Bug fixes and improvements

### 1.8.4 — 2025-10-07

Bug fixes and improvements

### 1.8.2 — 2025-09-09

Bug fixes and improvements

### 1.8.1 — 2025-05-08

Bug fixes and improvements

## Apps similar to Merge Explorer

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Virtual Reality Dinosaurs!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-reality-dinosaurs/id1596112198) | 4.2 (62) | Free | Education |
| [Virtual Reality OCEANS!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-reality-oceans/id1671877984) | 4.0 (35) | Free | Education |
| [Virtual Reality Human Body!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-reality-human-body/id1633068813) | 3.7 (51) | Free | Education |
| [Virtual Reality Animals!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-reality-animals/id6444455070) | 3.7 (37) | Free | Education |
| [Floreo Legacy](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/floreo-legacy/id1160329033) | 4.3 (32) | Free | Education |
| [Virtual Reality World Atlas](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-reality-world-atlas/id1584868274) | 3.0 (34) | Free | Education |

## More apps by Merge Apps

- [Merge Object Viewer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merge-object-viewer/id1367544362)
- [Merge HoloGlobe](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merge-hologlobe/id1586658852)
- [3D-Scanner](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/3d-scanner/id6449950944)
- [Merge Creator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merge-creator/id6479258434)

All apps by Merge Apps: https://appshunter.io/developer/1253049593

## Related topics

[object viewer](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/object-viewer) · [merge object viewer](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/merge-object-viewer)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-21.*