Digital Library

Exploratorium Exhibits

Here you'll find digital versions of Exploratorium exhibits. Please understand that these versions in most cases are not adequate replacements for the real experiences that you will have if you are able to visit us. Most of these exhibits are electronic versions from the museum floor, a few are unique.

• Trapezoidal Window - Sometimes things are not as they appear. Expectations of the shape of window frames leads to an interesting illusion.

• Common Cents-How good is your memory? Test it with this new exhibit!

• Cafe Wall Illusion-Interact with the Cafe Wall Illusion. This exhibit requires the Shockwave plug-in for Netscape.

• Postcard Exhibits-Four exhibits small enough to fit on postcards. Optical Illusions and other surprises.

• Ladle Rat Rotten Hut - Intonation is an important part of language. Listen to a familiar story told with familiar yet unexpected words.

• Mutant Fruit Flies - One fruit fly should look pretty much like any other. But the flies here all look different from "normal" fruit flies. That's because mutations-changes in each fly's genetic code-have altered their colors and shapes.

• Vocal Vowels - Hollow plastic models of the human vocal tract turn the squawk of a duck call into vowel sounds.

• Bronx Cheer Bulb - Your CRT screen may appear to wiggle when you give it the raspberry, but the only thing wiggling is you.

• Bird In A Cage - When your color vision tires, you can see colors that aren't really there.

• Shimmer - Your eye movements make this design seem to shimmer.

• Fading Dot - If you stare at this dot, for few moments it disappears.

• Mona - Leonardo's famous model is used in an interesting perceptual experiment.