Plan a field trip to the Exploratorium and use our resources for before, during, and after your visit. Investigate our Web site to find hands-on activities and information about a wide range of science subjects. Visit our Institute for Inquiry site for resources. Become a museum Member and join our Saturday Excursions around the Bay Area with your own kids or friends—to gather magnetic black sand for instance, or to learn about bicycle science. Have fun and bring ideas back to your classroom, too. And check out our Exploratorium Merchandise and other educational materials in our Store.

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Film Canister Farming

What makes a seed come out of its shell?

Introduce your students to Film Canister Farming, in which they germinate different kinds of seeds. And if you’re looking for science fair ideas, there’s a germ of a science fair project here.

You might like to join the Exploratorium’s Teacher Institute, which provides professional development for secondary science and math teachers. Apply to attend one of TI’s four-week Summer Institutes, which are open to out-of-state and foreign teachers as well as local teachers. If you’re a San Francisco Bay Area teacher who has taught for less than two years, our New Teacher Program may be just the thing for you. Also available for Bay Area teachers is our School Field Trips program. There’s an abundance of resources on our Website for teachers near and far, and in our Store, you’ll find Exploratorium merchandise that includes activity books and posters, as well as science books for adults.

Selected Web feature

Faultline:

Seismic Science at the Epicenter

Here’s a many-faceted Web feature about earthquakes that covers all the basics of seismic science, earthquake-safe engineering solutions, and hands-on activities. There’s a focus on San Francisco Bay Area quakes.

If you teach college science courses, our Web features that showcase working scientists might interest you. For example, our Origins series explores the origins of matter, the universe, and life, while our feature on Kamchatka presents scientists who study extremophiles. Our Microscope Imaging Station has images and videos that show life processes of the very small; articles and classroom activities are also provided.

If you teach in a school of education, you might be interested in the Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry, which offers workshops about inquiry-based teaching and learning. If you’re interested in mentoring programs for beginning teachers, you can find out about the Teacher Institute’s Teacher Induction Program [PDF].

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Evidence:

How Do We Know What We Know?

This video-rich Web feature examines how science is done, using the study of human origins to reveal the ways in which ideas and information become knowledge and understanding.

Come to the museum! We offer special rates for groups of ten or more. If you’d like to add some structure to your visit, check out the exhibit Pathways developed for our school field trips program. Members who are homeschool parents can attend our Homeschool Program classes and Workshops and Excursions with their families and send their children to Year-round Day Camps. For things to do outside the museum, we provide many engaging hands-on activities that use simple, inexpensive materials to convey important science ideas. Our AfterSchool Activities (which are equally suited for homeschoolers) include step-by-step video demonstrations. And investigate our Home School Resources and other educational materials available from our Store.

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Ear Guitar

Share some secret sounds with a friend.

This is a simple activity that helps children learn about vibrations and how they create sound.