Showing 1 - 50 of 79 Things to Make and Do

Lorenz Butterfly INTERACTIVE Explore the strangest of strange attractors, the Lorenz butterfly. TRY IT

Cardboard Automata Cardboard Automata are a playful way to explore simple machine elements such as cams, levers, and linkages, while creating a mechanical sculpture. DOWNLOAD PDF

Strange Attractor HANDS-ON The attraction and repulsion of magnets produces entrancing, unpredictable motion. MAKE IT

Bottle Blast-Off HANDS-ON Make a simple rocket and a rocket launcher, and watch a demonstration of how the finished rocket will fly. MAKE IT

Magnetic Pendulums HANDS-ON Copper coils become electromagnetic swings. MAKE IT

Bubbularium HANDS-ON Make an observatory to see the amazing colors in bubbles! MAKE IT

Color Chromatography Discover the secret colors hidden in black ink. With a paper towel, a black marker, and a cup of water, create a rainbow of colors while exploring capillary action and chromatography. VIEW IT

Crystal Creations HANDS-ON Grow spikes of crystals in the sun. MAKE IT

Bubble Bomb HANDS-ON Using baking soda and vinegar, you can pop a plastic bag with the power of fizz. MAKE IT

Cold Metal HANDS-ON "Cold" metal and "warm" wood may be the same temperature. MAKE IT

Electrical Fleas HANDS-ON Start your own electric flea circus! MAKE IT

Wind Tubes HANDS-ON Wind tubes are a playful and inventive way to explore the effect that moving air has on objects. MAKE IT

Gas Model HANDS-ON Caged molecules do their thing. MAKE IT

Dipping Bird HANDS-ON The dipping bird seems to go forever but it's not perpetual motion! MAKE IT

Balancing Stick HANDS-ON Try to balance a stick on the tip of your finger. Does it matter which end is up? MAKE IT

Resonant Rings HANDS-ON Find out one reason that buildings aren't equal in an earthquake. MAKE IT

Give and Take HANDS-ON Dark-colored materials both absorb and emit energy more readily than light-colored materials. MAKE IT

Blue Sky HANDS-ON Now you can explain why the sky is blue and the sunset is red. MAKE IT

Building for the Big One ARTICLE The three most densely populated cities on the planet where seismologists expect major earthquakes are San Francisco, Tokyo, and Istanbul. Find out why the effects in each city will be very different. READ IT

Skewer Structures HANDS-ON Explore cantilevers and other structures by building with skewers. MAKE IT

Solar Brightness HANDS-ON Use a lamp and a grease spot to estimate the power output of the sun. MAKE IT

Damage Control: Retrofitting ARTICLE In an earthquake, some older structures collapse and others stand tall. The difference is usually retrofitting. READ IT

Marble Machines A Marble Machine is a creative ball-run contraption, made from familiar materials, designed to send a rolling marble through tubes and funnels, across tracks and bumpers, and into a catch at the end. DOWNLOAD PDF

Glue Stick Sunset HANDS-ON Why is the sky blue? That's a sticky question. MAKE IT

Slinky in hand HANDS-ON Making waves. MAKE IT

Bottle Blast-Off! HANDS-ON Launch a rocket with a plastic pop bottle and use Height Site to figure out how high it flies. MAKE IT

Short Circuit HANDS-ON What happens when you blow a fuse? MAKE IT

Falling Feather HANDS-ON Prove to yourself that Galileo was right! MAKE IT

Electroscope HANDS-ON What's your (electrical) sign? MAKE IT

Cantilevers HANDS-ON Build cantilevers from bamboo garden poles and drinking straws and discover the importance of scale. MAKE IT

Geyser HANDS-ON Build a geyser and observe its cyclic nature. MAKE IT

Diamagnetism HANDS-ON Push me a grape. MAKE IT

Giant Lens HANDS-ON A lens creates an image that hangs in midair. MAKE IT

Disappearing Glass Rods HANDS-ON You can make glass objects disappear. MAKE IT

Downhill Race HANDS-ON Two cylinders that look the same may roll down a hill at different rates. MAKE IT

Drawing Board HANDS-ON A pendulum moving in two directions creates beautiful designs. MAKE IT

Pie Pan Convection HANDS-ON By heating a solution of soap, water and food coloring, fluid motion can be visualized. MAKE IT

Eddy Currents HANDS-ON A magnet falls more slowly through a metallic tube than it does through a nonmetallic tube. MAKE IT

Holding Charge HANDS-ON Make it stick. MAKE IT

Hot Spot HANDS-ON You can focus the invisible light from an electric heater. MAKE IT

Bernie Lubell PHOTO ESSAY Meet a kinetic sculptor. VIEW IT

Magnetic Lines of Force HANDS-ON Iron filings will trace out the lines of a magnetic field in three dimensions. MAKE IT

Seismic Science: Damage Control ARTICLE We can't predict when an earthquake will occur, but we can avoid some potential disasters. READ IT

Descartes' Diver HANDS-ON Make an object sink or float with a simple squeeze. MAKE IT | WATCH THE VIDEO

Resonant Pendulum HANDS-ON Big swings from little pulls grow. MAKE IT

Resonator HANDS-ON If you vibrate something at just the right frequency, you can get a big reaction. MAKE IT

Convection Currents HANDS-ON Make your own heat waves in an aquarium. MAKE IT

Straws and Pins HANDS-ON What can you build with 50 straws and 50 pins? MAKE IT

Touch the Spring HANDS-ON You can see the spring, but you can't touch it. MAKE IT

Magnetic Shielding HANDS-ON Magnetic lines stop here. MAKE IT

Showing 1 - 10 of 10 Websites

Complexity / Turbulent Landscapes An introduction to the concepts and theories that contribute to contemporary complexity research.

Geometry Playground Geometry Playground will change the way you think about geometry. This exhibition engages your hands, brain, and body in playful investigations of this most visible branch of math.

Exploring Paper Learn about origami, make your own paper, and find out the best way to fold a paper airplane.

Origins Explore the places, people, tools, and ideas behind the origins of matter, the universe, and life itself.

The Heart of the Matter: Inside CERN Visit the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, which studies what the universe is made of and how the universe works.

Structures Around the World Learn about scale and structure with eight great activities designed for the elementary classroom from our book The Exploratorium Guide to Scale and Structure. Available in English, French and Italian!

How to Build a Spectroscope Using a spectroscope, you may see that what appears to be a single color of light is really a combination of colors called a spectrum.

Bubbles Everything you ever wanted to know about bubbles, but were afraid to ask.

Science Explorer Get messy with ExploraGoo and Outrageous Ooze! Get airborne with the Fabulous Foam Flyer! Get loud with the Water Gong or Straw Oboe!

Beyond Einstein: World Wide Webcast In celebration of Albert Einstein's work in 1905, science laboratories and museum around the world (including the Exploratorium) participated in a twelve-hour webcast that explored Einstein's influence on current physics research.