The stirring apparatus is an electronic design that generates rotating magnetic fields to drive magnetic stir bars within vials placed above the cover of the stirring apparatus. Below the cover is a magnetics board containing multiple vial groups of four air core coils arranged in rectangular patterns. Each vial group has with two pairs of diagonal coils. The coils in each pair are wired in series and have opposite winding directions. Each pair is driven by a different phase of a stepper motor driver. The vial groups are spaced appropriately for placing one vial above each group. The adjacent coils of adjacent vial groups are driven by the same phase and have the same magnetic direction. The cover contains an array of pole standoffs that matches the coil pattern. The hollow center of each air core coil contains at least a portion of one pole standoff.