Abstract— Laboratory experiments constitute a significant educational tool in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education. During the past two decades, a considerable number of published research papers have been devoted to Virtual and Remote Labs (VRLs), the use of which is currently spreading across STEM domains and educational levels. Lately, Augmented Reality Remote Labs (ARRLs) have entered the research field. In this paper, some current trends and challenges are identified and discussed, after a brief overview of the state-of-the-art concerning the different types of labs related to STEM in secondary education and lifelong learning. Index Terms— local labs∙ remote labs∙ real labs∙ virtual labs∙ augmented reality∙ engineering∙ STEM∙ state-of-the-art. I. I NTRODUCTION Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education is an area receiving increased attention by societal stakeholders [1]. All educational levels in the area of STEM include lab-based courses, while experimentation holds an essential role by providing students with practical knowledge. Science is enlivened by experiments in labs for two reasons: (a) experiments constitute a critical part of the engineering education and (b) they promote better understanding of the taught theories among students [2]. Despite the effectiveness of lab-based STEM education, there are several issues pertaining to the use of traditional hands-on labs including cost, availability, maintenance, concurrency of use, etc. [3]. In order to address some of these issues new approaches have been initiated during the last two decades [4] by employing Virtual and Remote Labs (VRLs). VRLs have provided numerous important benefits such as reduced costs, supported availability and accessibility, large- scale observability, and increased safety [5]. There is a significant number of studies that underline the potential of Ilona-Elefteryja Lasica is with the School of Arts & Education Sciences, European University of Cyprus, 6, Diogenis Str., Engomi, P.O. Box: 22006, 1516 Nicosia-Cyprus (e-mail: e_ilona@outlook.com). Konstantinos Katzis is with the School of Sciences, European University of Cyprus, 6, Diogenis Str., Engomi, P.O. Box: 22006, 1516 Nicosia-Cyprus (e-mail: K.Katzis@euc.ac.cy). Maria Meletiou-Mavrotheris is with the School of Arts & Education Sciences, European University of Cyprus, 6, Diogenis Str., Engomi, P.O. Box: 22006, 1516 Nicosia-Cyprus (e-mail: M.Mavrotheris@euc.ac.cy). Christos Dimopoulos is with the School of Sciences, European University of Cyprus, 6, Diogenis Str., Engomi, P.O. Box: 22006, 1516 Nicosia-Cyprus (e-mail: C.Dimopoulos@euc.ac.cy). VRLs for the enhancement of the educational process within classrooms or generally within an e- and/or b-learning context [4] [6]. Despite the many benefits of VRLs, there are still some disadvantages that need to be addressed. The most serious shortcoming of VRLs is the fact that students suffer from the weak realistic representation of the experiment equipment [7]. More specifically, students visualize experiments and their components graphically∙ a fact that makes it difficult for them to deal with actual work settings in the future. Augmented Reality (AR) comes as a solution to this, defined as a blended reality including real environment enhanced with virtual computerized objects [8] [9]. In this paper, we discuss some current trends and challenges that are identified after a brief overview of the state-of-the-art concerning VRLs and ARRLs related to engineering in secondary education and lifelong learning. We specify the kinds of labs that can be distinguished and we present their characteristics. Finally, we suggest some topics of interest within this field that could become areas of further scientific research. II. LAB TYPES IN STEM EDUCATION As mentioned before, labs constitute a critical part of STEM since they enhance student understanding of the theory taught. But what are the kinds of labs available for experiments? This section describes the specific characteristics of each type of lab, as categorized by Dormido [10] according to the way resources are accessed (remote or local) and according to the physical nature of the lab (simulated or real). Recent studies have identified an extra category of blended physical nature (real with virtual objects), which is mentioned as ‘augmented’ [8]. Figure 1 illustrates the combinations that could be created from the categories mentioned. STEM Education: Current and future trends in laboratory-based education Ilona-Elefteryja Lasica, Doctoral Student, Konstantinos Katzis, Associate Professor, Maria Meletiou- Mavrotheris, Professor and Christos Dimopoulos, Dean, Associate Professor, European University of Cyprus