Masks and vaccinations are recommended. Plan your visit
The Exploratorium continues to create the world’s best interactive exhibits for young children and their families, exhibits that encourage continued exploration, social interaction, and whimsical play. This curated collection of exhibits allows parents and children to co-investigate the world around them.
If you think shadows are a straightforward business, prepare for a surprise—actually, a whole bunch of surprises. Combining various light sources in various ways, you’ll quickly discover that there’s nothing simple about a simple shadow.
Use your hands and tools to create unexpected patterns in the sand.
Where: Ray and Dagmar Dolby Atrium
Fans simulate the swirling airflow in a thunderstorm and fog machines make the pattern visible, creating a miniature tornado that you can disturb with the wave of a hand.
Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems
Experiment with rotational motion (and collisions) here at one of our most addictive exhibits. Disks and balls moving on and across this spinning table swoop and veer hypnotically—and also reveal why storm systems often follow curved paths on weather maps.
Where: Crossroads: Getting Started
At this exhibit, an infrared camera detects the heat radiating from warm objects and projects it on a big screen, allowing you to see what’s hot (and not) about you and the other people and objects in your surroundings.
Where: Crossroads: Getting Started