This paper was presented at the ASEE 2000 conference (session 3226). The Virtual Soil Mechanics Laboratory is used in conjunction with the introductory undergraduate course in Soil Mechanics, which is required of all students majoring in Civil Engineering at the Cooper Union. Integrating the laboratory Soil Mechanics course with the world wide web has many significant benefits. At the forefront is the ability to improve the students’ perception of the material at hand. An on-line laboratory provides students with the capability to perform experimental calculations directly from their home computers using regular browsers. Furthermore, the availability of the Virtual Soil Mechanics Laboratory on the world wide web allows students from all over the world access to Cooper Union’s Virtual Soil Mechanics Laboratory, its manual and procedures.