An Online Mini-Game for Novices to Understand the Basics of a Schlenk Line

A Schlenk line is a feasible way to implement air-sensitive experimental techniques. However, due to limited resources and safety concerns, many colleges─especially those with higher student–teacher ratios─do not provide practical experiments using Schlenk lines in undergraduate lab courses. This may prevent students from fully meeting the skill requirements for scientific research or industrial jobs. To overcome this gap, a free mini-game, Learn Schlenk Line (LSL), was developed based on a popular social media app to help beginners learn Schlenk line techniques. This game introduces an interactive way to learn background knowledge and understand the general apparatus, basic operation, and application scenarios for Schlenk lines without face-to-face assistance. It also helps players improve their ability to identify hazards and understand the significance of standardized operations. Research, including control groups, showed that students who played LSL performed better in answering operational questions. For the delivery of college curricula or other training activities, LSL could help participants gain an intuitive understanding of Schlenk systems before entering a wet lab and assist novices in self-evaluating their operational understanding during hands-on practice. For undergraduates, even if hands-on activities are not part of their coursework, LSL could also help them perform more successfully in their follow-up wet-lab training.