• Visit
    • Calendar
    • After Dark Thursdays
    • Buy Tickets
    • Exhibits
    • Museum Galleries
    • Artworks on View
    • Hours
    • Getting Here
    • Visitor FAQ
    • Event Rentals
    • Field Trips
  • Education
    • Professional Development Programs
    • Free Educator Workshops
    • Tools for Teaching and Learning
    • Learning About Learning
    • Community Programs
    • Educator Newsletter
  • Explore
    • Browse by Subject
    • Activities
    • Video
    • Exhibits
    • Apps
    • Blogs
    • Websites
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Partnerships
    • Global Collaborations
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Arts at the Exploratorium
    • Contact Us
  • Join + Support
    • Donate Today!
    • Membership
    • Join Our Donor Community
    • Engage Your Business
    • Attend a Fundraiser
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Thank You to Our Supporters
    • Donor & Corporate Member FAQ
    • Host Your Event
    • Volunteer
  • Store

Cells to Self

  • Visit Cells to Self
  • Exhibits & Artworks
  • Research Projects
    • Seeing Scientifically
    • Visitor Interactions in Microbiology
    • Living Liquid
    • Center for Cellular Construction
  • Video
  • Educator Activities

Masks and vaccinations are recommended. Plan your visit  

Visitor FAQ Buy Tickets Donate Today
Exploratorium
Exploratorium
  • Visit
    • Calendar
    • After Dark Thursdays
    • Buy Tickets
    • Exhibits
    • Museum Galleries
    • Artworks on View
    • Hours
    • Getting Here
    • Visitor FAQ
    • Event Rentals
    • Field Trips
  • Education
    • Professional Development Programs
    • Free Educator Workshops
    • Tools for Teaching and Learning
    • Learning About Learning
    • Community Programs
    • Educator Newsletter
  • Explore
    • Browse by Subject
    • Activities
    • Video
    • Exhibits
    • Apps
    • Blogs
    • Websites
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Partnerships
    • Global Collaborations
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Arts at the Exploratorium
    • Contact Us
  • Join + Support
    • Donate Today!
    • Membership
    • Join Our Donor Community
    • Engage Your Business
    • Attend a Fundraiser
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Thank You to Our Supporters
    • Donor & Corporate Member FAQ
    • Host Your Event
    • Volunteer
  • Store

EXHIBIT COLLECTION

Cells to Self

Exploring the Life Inside You

More than 20 Exhibits Now Open

Exploratorium, Pier 15 (Embarcadero at Green Street)

Buy Tickets

Museum Hours
Directions & Parking
Become a Member


How do the trillions of cells in your body work together to create a human self? How are you shaped by the genes you’re born with, and by your environment?

Through more than 20 new experiences, this collection reveals the wondrous variety of human cells, and the amazing things they’re doing in your body. See live heart cells beating in time with your own pulse, or find out which bacteria are living on your skin. Through living tissues, microscopes, and digital models, you’ll discover how cells move and communicate. And consider how genetic and environmental forces create your uniquely human self.

Cells to Self Exhibits and Artworks

Exhibits & Artworks

Exploring how cells divide, react, interact, and work together in an organism.

Cells to Self Research Projects

Cells to Self Research Projects

NSF-funded studies of visitor behavior, exhibit design, and user interfaces at biology exhibits.

 

Upcoming Events

 

There's always something interesting happening here—check out our upcoming events calendar.

More to Explore

Cells to Self Video Collection
Cells to Self Video Collection

Discover how cells sense, communicate, and shape who you are.

Probably Chelsea
Probably Chelsea

Twenty different sculptural portraits created from the same person's DNA. 

Cells to Self Activities
Cells to Self Educator Activities

Explore DNA, the diversity of cells, and the things cells do in human beings.

Microscope Imaging Station
Microscope Imaging Station

What do stem cells, fruit flies, and zebrafish look like under a microscope?

Living Systems
Gordon and Betty Moore Gallery Gallery 4: Living Systems

Investigate the living world.

Gallery 4 map

LOCATION

Gallery 4: Living Systems

You can find the new Cells to Self exhibit collection in the Gallery 4 corridor.

See a museum map.

  • Visit Cells to Self
  • Exhibits & Artworks
  • Research Projects
  • Video
  • Educator Activities

 


Cells to Self is a multiyear initiative encompassing both exhibit development and museum visitor research projects. Cells to Self is made possible through the generous support of the Troy and Leslie Daniels Fund for Life Sciences and from Genentech, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the National Science Foundation.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grants 1514612, 1612831, 1322828, and 1548297. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Genentech
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
National Science Foundation

Additional support for the Microscope Imaging Station was generously provided by:

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Science Education Partnership Award
 

The Microscope Imaging Station was supported by the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health under multiple Science Education Partnership Awards. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

Exploratorium
Visit
Join
Give

Pier 15
(Embarcadero at Green Street)
San Francisco, CA 94111
415.528.4444

Contact Us

  • Plan Your Visit
  • Calendar
  • Buy Tickets
  • Getting Here
  • Store
  • Event Rentals
  • About Us
  • Become a Member
  • Donate
  • Jobs
  • Volunteer
  • Press Office
  • Land Acknowledgment

Get at-home activities and learning tools delivered straight to your inbox

The Exploratorium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our tax ID #: 94-1696494
© 2023 Exploratorium | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Your California Privacy Rights |