The project now designs, develops, and releases over 125 free interactive simulations for educational use in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and mathematics.

The simulations have been translated into over 121 different languages, including Spanish, Chinese, German, and Arabic; and in 2011, the PhET website received over 25 million visitors.

Perkins hopes that the simulations’ accessibility and interactive nature will increase scientific literacy and promote student engagement in the classroom.

PhET Interactive Simulations incorporates research-based practices on effective teaching to enhance the learning of science and mathematics concepts.

A PhET simulation starts with three to five people including a content expert (scientist), a teacher, an educational researcher, and a professional software developer.

Contributors on the PhET site follow Open Education Practices (OEP), enabling teachers to use or adapt the activities freely.

In the JCE Chemical Education Xchange (ChemEd X), members have blogged about how using PhET can help with specific topics like Stoichiometry Resources,[34] First Week Excitement,[35] PHYSICS 2000,[36] and Adding Inquiry to Atomic Theory.