Cells are typically studied outside the body under controlled laboratory conditions. However, conventional flat cell culture methods do not fully reproduce the complex three-dimensional environments that cells experience in living tissues. Tiny hydrogel capsules offer one way to culture cells in a confined three-dimensional space, allowing researchers to study how cells grow, organize and interact under more tissue-like conditions. Current methods to do this come with a high cost and a set of requirements that put such research out of reach to many.