Biology course concept for Duolingo
Concept
2026
This is a speculative project, imagining what a biology course could look like inside Duolingo's app.
Science subjects have an image problem. Not a lot of students enjoy taking a science class. I witnessed this first hand while tutoring biology to high school students. Rote memorization, abstract concepts that don't feel connected to everyday life, and the strict guidelines of the scientific method can make learning any science subject uninteresting. Low interest often leads to low engagement, ultimately resulting in low scores.
[insert user journey map]
But, what if Duolingo can make learning science something worth caring about?
Duolingo has approximately 137.6 billion monthly active users worldwide. Through lovable characters and engaging content, Duolingo has successfully created a framework that has helped many learn a new language. People are invested not just because the Duo owl sends you messages that keep you up at night, but because it has added value to learning. The learning path, the characters, the gamification — they exist to turn something unfamiliar into something personal.
The sciences deserve the same treatment. This speculative project simply applies an already successful framework to biology.
This isn't a new app. It's an extension of an existing one — designed inside Duolingo's system, using its characters, its learning path structure, and its gamification engine to do something it hasn't done yet: make science fun.
The design challenge was restraint. Not what to invent, but what to borrow — and how to extend it without breaking what already works.
How it works?
The learning path: The learning path structure remains the same. The only change is including a section for labs. Labs are a hands on AR interactive labs that allow students to explore the real world through the lens of biology. (think of it like pokemon go but for learning). The learning path sticks to pedagogy, filling in gaps in knowledge and the labs take what is learned and helps students apply it in the real world in real time. Since one of the things students struggled with the most is learning to interpret data, the labs will help them gather and create databases for the topic they are currently learning.
DuoRadio for science: Lovable Duolingo characters host podcasts on specific sub topics in biology. For example, Falstaff can give a podcast about living in the woods. Through his podcast, he talks about food webs and ecology. Oscar can talk about genetics and explore new scientific findiings. Since science changes rapidly, DuoRadio podcasts can serve as a vehicle for discussing new scientific news, thus expanding student's knowledge.
Duo stories: Duostories help students improve their reading comprehension skills while teaching them more about that specific sub-topic.
Lily AI: Lily will function as a companion that the student can review or check back what they learned. One of the key tenants of leanring is making sure you are able to articulate what you learned to someone else. Lily will be there to test the knowledge the student ahs learned and also provide feedback.
Instead of rote memorization (although some memorization is included), students are bale to engage directly with biology and learn in the process.
This is a concept — but if it shipped, success would look like students returning to biology the same way they return to Spanish: habitually, because something that once felt irrelevant now feels personal. Daily active users and lesson completion rates within science units would be the primary signals. I
Working on Life, Explained pushed me to think at two levels simultaneously: big picture — what science education could look like inside Duolingo — and detail level — designing within an existing system for a specific audience while still making it feel personal.
That tension between constraint and creativity is where the most interesting design problems live. And it's exactly the kind of problem I'd want to keep solving.
