Temporary Exhibitions

Explore fantastical, often amusing mechanical sculptures known as automata. These small, handmade flying, sailing, and cycling machines bring whimsical dramas to life through low-tech mechanisms, inviting you to investigate how they work.

Have you ever wondered what makes you you? Explore the many converging facets of identity on this journey to the center of the self.

Wonder at gigantic, fantastical air-filled artworks at Inflatable. These ephemeral sculptures include otherworldly organisms by Jason Hackenwerth and Shih Chieh Huang, a forest of cushiony columns by Jimmy Kuehnle, and an inflatable insect-eye room from Pneuhaus, and Amanda Parer’s monumental humanoid figures peeking around corners.

Armed with box cutters and glue guns, the artists of the Cardboard Institute of Technology are coming to the Exploratorium this summer to bring a cardboard cosmos to life: Welcome to WildCard.

The special exhibition Strandbeest: The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen was at the Exploratorium May 27–September 5, 2016.