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Exhibits

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  • A colorful closup of the Sun Painting exhibit at the Exploratorium museum.

    Sun Painting

    Sunlight–reflected and refracted–paints an ever-changing color composition.

  • Two boys play with the Balancing Ball exhibit at the Exploratorium museum.

    Balancing Ball

    Suspend a ball in a stream of air.

  • Visitors play inside the Shadow Box exhibit at the Exploratorium museum.

    Shadow Box

    Capture a moment in time.

  • Soap Film Painting exhibit

    Soap Film Painting

    A thin window of soap creates an ever-shifting array of colors.

  • All Eyes on Me

    Make yourself the center of attention—and reflect.

  • A girl playing with Sip or Squirt? exhibit at the Exploratorium museum.

    Sip or Squirt

    Do you trust your partner—or end up all wet?

Here at the Exploratorium, you don’t look at exhibits—you play with them. Dance with your own shadow, levitate, touch a tornado, mix colors and break light apart, stop time, start a conversation, capture a wave, explode your mind; it all can (and does) happen here.

We’ve been making our own interactive exhibits since 1969. With six spacious indoor and outdoor galleries and hundreds of exhibits on display in our museum, we’re working to create a browsable collection of these exhibits online.

 

Exhibit Making
What makes a good exhibit?

Explore Our Exhibits

Colored Shadows
Colored Shadows

Not all shadows are black.

Look Inside a Developing Fish
Look Inside a Developing Fish

Use a microscope to investigate developing zebrafish eggs.

Energy from Death
Energy from Death

One creature’s end is another’s beginning.

Rolling Through the Bay
Rolling Through the Bay

Ping-pong balls take a spin through a toothpick San Francisco.

See all
Random

Plan Your Visit

Museum Map preview
Museum Map

Download our visitor map to learn about our galleries.

Field Trips
School Field Trips

Register now and bring your class on a field trip.

Let Them Grow mural in progress by artist Mark Harris
Highlighted Artworks + Exhibits

Explore diverse offerings of temporary artworks and exhibits that are as unique as you are.

 


 

The Exploratorium, established in 1969, is an internationally renowned museum of art, science, and human perception located in San Francisco, California. Its hundreds of hands-on exhibits are designed to promote science discovery.

Global Collaborations The Exploratorium's mission is to create inquiry-based experiences that transform learning worldwide. Through Global Collaborations, we share our deep knowledge of exhibit making, program creation, and professional development with partner organizations around the world.

Exploratorium CookbookEverything you need to build your own versions of the Exploratorium's interactive exhibits. Buy the Exploratorium Cookbooks.


IMLS acknowledgment

This web project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-30-16-0175-16].

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