Explore, Play, Discover: Websites, Activities, and More

Get a taste of how the earth's plates move.

Does the sun rise in the east? Not exactly.

Build cantilevers from bamboo garden poles and drinking straws and discover the importance of scale.

Will the "real" South Pole please stand up?

Use live data to make your own wave predictions, wherever you are.

Learn about origami, make your own paper, and find out the best way to fold a paper airplane.

Follow along with expedition leader Bob Ballard and his crew on the exploration vessel Nautilus as they search for hydrothermal vents, underwater volcanoes, and ancient shipwrecks.

Make it grow . . . bigger, lusher, juicier.

How many objects can you follow at once?

What is a gear ratio? And how do gears help make the bicycle so efficient?

Do hot water and cold water mix?

From 1977 until 2003, the Exploratorium published a quarterly magazine. The Exploratorium Magazine Online is a companion to selected issues of the print magazine, providing key articles and activities and including multimedia features.

In September 2004, the Exploratorium covered a conference in the Galapagos Islands, organized by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, that considered the implications of El Niño forecasting.

Identify misalignments in your body by looking at your feet.

Search a geological map of Ethiopia for fossils.

Stand outside on a sunny day with a watch in your hand, and you can tell which way is north.

Remote sensing allows geologists to peek under the ice – and find a big surprise.

Can you trust your own memory? Find out with this activity.

White-coated Arctic icons, these supreme hunters are under threat

How do scientists establish the age of artifacts, rocks, and settlements?

On March 29, 2006, a total solar eclipse occurred when the new moon moved directly between the sun and the earth. The moon’s shadow fell on the eastern tip of Brazil, sped eastward across the Atlantic, through northern Africa, across the Mediterranean, an

Watch old pennies turn bright and shiny right before your eyes!

Make your own refracting telescope from a pair of reading glasses.

One man's journey into blindness

The fruit flies in this exhibit show just a few of the mutations that occur in natural fruit fly populations.

fat, proteins, collagen, and more

Get a taste of how the earth's plates move.

Teeth are the most common fossils found. What can they tell us?

Make a scale model of the Solar System and learn the REAL definition of "space."

Where is the Center of the Universe? Here, there, and everywhere.

Bone conduction is another pathway to listening.

The Exploratorium is taking it outside to explore natural and human-made phenomena in and around San Francisco. Look for new episodes twice each month.

What can you do with a frozen water balloon? Plenty!

Interact with the Cafe Wall Illusion.

An ordinary metal spoon can make some astounding sounds!

A brief history of Chichen Itza.

What happens to meat when you cook it?

If you're a patient gardener, you can grow your own hybrid flowers.

What's in that cup of coffee anyway? Find out about the history and chemistry of coffee.

Visit an organic egg farm, and see the science behind raising those eggs.

A collection of auditory illusions found in indigenous folk practices, popular music, and scientific research.

Visit Las Cuevas Research Station in Belize and the Natural History Museum in London to learn about the study of biodiversity.

Get a taste of how the earth's plates move.

Dig into the succulent science of making things grow.

In the 1870s, an American woman could not vote. She could not own property in her own name after marriage. But she could play ball. . .

How do you stop and steer a bicycle? What forces keep the bicycle from falling over?