In February 2013, Curiosity drilled into a rock called "John Klein" and then analyzed the sample material with its on-board scientific instruments. On March 12, NASA announced that the analyses show conditions on Mars were once favorable for life! Join us to learn more about this breakthrough discovery.
Exploratorium at the Piers: Exploratorium at Pier 15: Green Machine(Clip)
Running Time: 00:05:21
Catch a sneak peak of our new nine-acre campus at Piers 15/17 with Building Operations Manager Chuck Mignacco. Learn about features of the building that will help us achieve our goal of becoming the largest net-zero energy use museum in the United States.
Come see for yourself—doors open at Pier 15 on April 17, 2013.
Southeast of San Francisco, on the way out to California's Central Valley, thousands of wind turbines dot the landscape of Altamont Pass. Mounted both in rows and individually, machines with large propellers catch the wind, turning round and round at different speeds. Learn how wind energy is generated and stored for use in this most peculiar area, and its impact on living things both near and far.
Science in the City: Golden Gate Bridge Dynamics(Clip)
Running Time: 00:06:27
Admit it: Hasn't the Godzilla inside you always wanted to grab the Golden Gate Bridge and shake it silly? Finally, you can. In honor of the iconic span's 75th birthday, Exploratorium exhibit developer Dave Fleming presents a dynamic model of the Golden Gate Bridge. What happens to the bridge during an earthquake? How about strong winds and heavy traffic? The model dances and wiggles realistically, displaying the same vibrational modes and motions that occur in the actual bridge.
Exploratorium Science at America's Cup: Wind Modeling(Clip)
Running Time: 02:50
The Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (http://sccoos.org/) gathers live data about winds, waves, surface currents, temperature, and water quality, and makes it available to everyone. In this piece, Oceanographer Art Miller tells us about this system, and about how America's Cup sailors can use this kind of data and modeling to improve their race performances.
To access wind modeling data, visit:
http://www.sccoos.org/data/observations/
Exploratorium Science at America's Cup: Science of Sailing 101(Clip)
Running Time: 04:53
How can a wind-powered sailboat move faster than the wind? Why do the America's Cup sails look like airplane wings? With the beginner in mind, Exploratorium senior scientist Paul Doherty introduces the basic physics of sailing and sail design.
This After Dark event presented a collection of objects, organizations, and activities use various alternative energy sources, and also looked at sustainably raised food.
Watch the process of a deceased monitor lizard providing energy for other organisms to live in this time-lapse video. Look for this exhibit in the museum, upstairs in the Traits of Life area.
Have you ever wondered exactly what clouds are made of, or what the difference is between a cumulus and lenticular cloud? Clouds are an ever-present, ever-changing part of our natural landscape. They come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, and capture our imagination with their endless permutations. Join Exploratorium Senior Scientist Paul Doherty for a live Webcast about cloud physics. Paul will discuss the basic makeup of clouds, and explore some of the aspects that make them such a rich part of our daily lives.
As a special event in conjunction with the 2009 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, we connected a live audience at the Exploratorium with scientists at the South Pole. Learn about atmospheric research at the South Pole from NOAA's Nick Morgan, the IceCube neutrino detector from Mark Krasberg and Laura Gladstone, and the South Pole Telescope from Bill Holzapfel.
Webcasts made possible through
the generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, The Jim Clark
Endowment for Internet Education, the McBean Family Foundation,.and the Corporation for Educational Networks Initiatives in California (CENIC).