Comparison

Hands vs VR Science Lab

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Hands

Features
Read full description

Hands-On Math: Interactive Color Tiles provides students with an open-ended tool for exploring fundamental math concepts. The use of a Color Tiles is one of the best ways to give students an insight into a variety of important mathematical topics. Students place Color Tiles on an interactive Playground to represent mathematical ideas. Using Hands-On Math: Interactive Color Tiles students can develop and explore a variety of important mathematical concepts. Very young children can learn positional terms such as above, below, right,and left while creating colorful designs. Equivalency and related concepts for example, equal to, not equal, more, less, greater than, and less than are easily represented using Color Tiles. The basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division can all be represented using Color Tiles. Visualizing the meaning of these operations is a fundamental skill. More advanced ideas such as working with integers, fractions, decimals and percents are topics including in the lesson strategies. Color Tiles are especially well suited for introducing symmetry and asymmetry. Fact familes can be studied using two different Color Tiles to represent sets. An extensive Instructor's Guide for this app is available at the support website. Download the document and install it in iBooks to access ideas about how to use Color Tiles for teaching elementary mathematics.

About

VR Science Lab

Explore scientific principles through 25 engaging augmented and virtual reality experiments. Learn about chemical reactions, sound waves, and acidity with hands-on activities like volcano eruptions and slime making. Requires a physical kit to activate the AR/VR experiences.

Highlights
  • 25 AR/VR science experiments
  • Learn chemical reactions
  • Explore sound waves
  • Understand acidity
  • Hands-on activities
  • Augmented and virtual reality integration
Features
Read full description

Dive into Professor Maxwell's virtual lab to explore the wonders of science through 25 fun experiments that come alive in augmented and virtual reality! Learn key scientific principles including chemical reactions, sound waves and acidity with integrated AR and VR. Then get hands on with favorite experiments including erupting a volcano, using lemons to light up an LED, making gooey slime and more, all in Professor Maxwell's VR Science Lab! To activate the experiences, simply download the app and hold your phone over the book included in the kit to see Professor Maxwell come to life!

Screenshots

VR Science Lab3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: VR Science Lab at Free against Hands's $2.99. VR Science Lab also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 25 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

VR Science Lab is free to download; Hands costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hands ships an update every 25 months, VR Science Lab every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on March 26, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Hands versus VR Science Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHandsVR Science Lab
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating—4.1 (13 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—13 — better
Update frequencyEvery 25 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS12.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB976 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVentura Educational SystemsAbacus

In-app purchases

None

Hands

No in-app purchases

None

VR Science Lab

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hands free?
Hands costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is VR Science Lab free?
VR Science Lab is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hands or VR Science Lab have ads?
Neither Hands nor VR Science Lab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hands or VR Science Lab?
Hands ships an update every 25 months, and VR Science Lab every 2 months. Most recently, Hands was updated on March 26, 2026 and VR Science Lab on September 10, 2026.

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