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LabTrainingVR: Biosafety Cabinet Edition

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Free Lab Safety / Biology 🇺🇸 CDC Published Steam + Meta Quest University / Vocational
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

LabTrainingVR:
Biosafety Cabinet Edition

The first-ever CDC virtual reality laboratory training course: a free, 60-minute practical walkthrough of safe working procedures for Class II Biological Safety Cabinets. Available on Steam and Meta Quest.

Developer/Publisher: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Price: Free
Platforms: SteamVR • Meta Quest • SideQuest
Duration: ~60 minutes
8.0
/10
XR School Score
Recommended (Specialist)
The most credible developer imaginable for a biosafety training tool — the US Centers for Disease Control, free, 100% positive
100% Positive 17 Steam reviews • Free
Steam • Meta Quest
Overview

LabTrainingVR: Biosafety Cabinet Edition is the first virtual reality laboratory training course developed and published by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Released in August 2020 in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on laboratory training needs, it is a free, structured 60-minute course teaching safe working procedures for Class II Biological Safety Cabinets (BSCs).

The CDC describes a BSC as "a primary engineering control used to keep laboratory professionals safe by providing a physical barrier and an environmental barrier against biohazardous or infectious agents." Class II BSCs are the standard enclosed ventilated workspaces used in BSL-2 laboratories worldwide for working safely with pathogens and potentially hazardous biological materials. Knowing how to correctly set up, use, and shut down a BSC is a core competency for microbiologists, clinical laboratory technicians, public health workers, and research scientists.

Developer Credibility There is no more authoritative developer imaginable for a biosafety training tool than the CDC itself — the US federal agency responsible for protecting public health. The course was developed in response to a real identified need: COVID-19 restricted access to physical laboratories for training purposes, creating an urgent requirement for virtual alternatives. This is not a hobbyist project or a commercial simulation: it is a government-published professional training resource.

The experience is also available on the CDC's own LabTraining online portal, which hosts the course as part of its catalogue of continuing education resources for laboratory professionals. The Steam and Meta Quest releases make it accessible beyond the CDC training network. It has a companion app: LabTrainingVR: PPE Edition, a 30-to-45-minute course covering personal protective equipment selection, use, and doffing procedures.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, learners are able to:

🔬
Identify BSC PartsRecognise the major components of a Class II Biosafety Cabinet and understand each part's function in maintaining containment.
🌬️
Maintain AirflowDemonstrate how to maintain positive airflow within the BSC to ensure the directional airflow that protects both the operator and the material.
🥥
Prepare the CabinetSet up the BSC correctly before work begins, including decontamination of the work surface, UV lamp use, and sash positioning.
⚖️
Safe Work PracticesApply correct techniques for working within the BSC, including pipetting, handling vials, and avoiding movements that disrupt the protective airflow.
⛬
Decontaminate and ShutdownComplete the correct decontamination and shutdown sequence at the end of a work session, including surface decontamination and blower shutdown.
🚨
Emergency ShutdownConduct emergency shutdown procedures in the event of power failure, accidental exposure, or spill within the BSC — a critical safety skill.
What a Biosafety Cabinet (BSC) Is A Class II Biological Safety Cabinet is a ventilated laboratory workstation designed to protect the operator, the laboratory environment, and biological samples simultaneously. It works by drawing air through a HEPA-filtered laminar flow system that prevents pathogens from escaping into the room while also filtering incoming air to protect samples. BSCs are standard equipment in any laboratory working with potentially infectious biological agents, from university microbiology labs to hospital clinical labs to pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Educational Context and Audience

This course was designed for laboratory professionals: microbiologists, clinical laboratory technicians, public health workers, biologists, and research scientists working at BSL-2. The CDC explicitly developed it as a supplement to its existing eLearning course on the same topic, providing a hands-on practice environment that reading-based training cannot offer.

A UK VR centre operator asked in the Steam community whether the experience could be used for school children in a commercial VR educational setting. The course is designed for laboratory professionals. However, for students in A Level Biology, BTEC Applied Science, university biology or biosciences programmes, nursing, or biomedical science, the subject matter — understanding what a BSC is and why safe working procedures matter — is directly curriculum-relevant.

Secondary School vs. Vocational / University Use For general GCSE or KS3 science, this experience is too specialist in its procedural focus. The learning objectives assume the student is learning a professional skill, not a conceptual one. For A Level Biology students who may go on to work in laboratories, BTEC Applied Science students, or university bioscience students, the CDC's free biosafety training is a genuinely valuable resource that professional laboratory workers use.
Curriculum Fit
University Biosciences
9.0
BTEC Applied Science
8.2
Lab Safety Training
9.4
A Level Biology (enrichment)
6.2
GCSE Science
2.2
CEIAG / Science Careers
7.5
What Users Say
Steam Reviewer (laboratory professional) Steam Community
"Excellent training tool. As someone who works with BSCs daily, I was impressed by how accurate the procedures are. This would genuinely help new laboratory staff understand what they need to do before they ever touch a real cabinet. Well done CDC."
Upload VR Games media
"The CDC says the course was developed in response to evolving training needs in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. A future LabTrainingVR: PPE Edition is also due on CDC Train and Steam, covering personal protective equipment."
Steam Community (UK VR Centre) Steam Community
"Hi Devs. Is this available for commercial use? We run educational classes for school children in our 30-station VR centre in the UK and would like to offer this title."
Steam: Positive (unrated), 100% of 17 reviews. Too few for an overall rating score but unanimous. Also on Meta Quest and SideQuest. Available via CDC Train online learning portal.
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
  • Free on Steam and Meta Quest
  • Developed and published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • 100% positive Steam reviews (unanimous among 17 reviews)
  • 60-minute structured course with specific, testable learning objectives
  • Procedures are accurate and grounded in real BSL-2 practice
  • Available on standalone Meta Quest as well as SteamVR
  • Companion PPE Edition also available free
  • Also accessible via CDC LabTraining portal (no VR headset required for that version)
Considerations
  • Designed for laboratory professionals, not general school students
  • Too specialist for GCSE or KS3 science lessons
  • 60-minute duration: longer than most classroom VR sessions
  • Procedural focus means conceptual understanding must come from elsewhere
  • VR Only on Steam; some PC VR setup required for that version
FREE
Steam • Meta Quest • SideQuest
Get on Steam → Get on Meta Quest →
Quick Facts
Developer
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Price
Free
Platforms
SteamVR • Meta Quest • SideQuest • CDC Train
Released
August 2020
Steam Reviews
Positive • 100% (17 reviews)
Duration
~60 minutes
Subject
Class II Biosafety Cabinet safe working procedures
Primary Audience
Laboratory professionals, BSL-2 workers
Companion App
LabTrainingVR: PPE Edition (also free)
Age Rating
Everyone
Verdict
The developer is the CDC. The content is a professional biosafety training course. The reviews are 100% positive. The price is free. Within its intended audience — laboratory professionals and vocational/university bioscience students learning to work safely with biological agents — this is an exceptional resource with unimpeachable credentials. For general secondary school science lessons, it is too specialist and procedurally focused. For sixth form BTEC Applied Science, university biosciences, nursing, or any programme that includes laboratory work, it is worth deploying as a preparation tool before students encounter a real BSC for the first time.
Platform: SteamVR • Meta Quest • SideQuest
Subject: Biology, Lab Safety, Applied Science
Key Stage: HE / Vocational (A Level enrichment)
Price: Free
Review: The XR School — 2026