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

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

What happens to meat when you cook it?

Find out how proteins make muscles work in this original Exploratorium poster, illustrated by David Goodsell.

San Francisco was born in gold dust, and nearly died in rubble and ashes.

Using a simple trick of perspective, you can dress your friends in tiny cutout clothing.

Why is your shadow longer in winter than in summer? Grab a basketball and some paperclips and find out!

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

This stuff can't make up its mind -- is it a liquid or a solid?

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

Who lives in the Arctic, and how did they get there?

Learn about the inner workings of a cell through this interactive exhibit.

Everyone seems to love the sound of their own voice in the shower. That's because a simple shower stall produces some complex sound-altering effects.

Using a spectroscope, you may see that what appears to be a single color of light is really a combination of colors called a spectrum.

San Francisco was born in gold dust, and nearly died in rubble and ashes.

Use the Science Journal mobile app to investigate movement.

Learn how changes in genes over generations created the modern goldfish.

Learn how to bridge the digital generation gap

See living stem cells and find out why they are the "stem" from which all other cells develop.

Learn how Hubble Telescope scientists put together those lovely pictures.

Meet a kinetic sculptor.

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

Is there life on Mars? Our best evidence so far is a baked-potato-sized chunk of rock found in Antarctica.

Kid-friendly explorations and experiments for curious minds.

Amino acids and corn syrup combine to create new aromas.

By looking at satellite and climate data that's available on the Web, surfers can follow storms into shore and be there in time to catch the biggest waves.

Geometry Playground will change the way you think about geometry. This exhibition engages your hands, brain, and body in playful investigations of this most visible branch of math.

Explore the surprising side of color.

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

Vsit a quirky kitchen where you can compose music with ordinary (and not-so-ordinary) objects.

The brightest buds get all the glory – but they're not just for show.

Learn how to use physics to distinguish between raw eggs and hard-cooked eggs.

Four downloadable workshop guides for teaching introductory genetics in a museum or other informal education setting.

Can you tell the difference between human and nonhuman embryos?

Learn how eyes work, and watch a cow's eye dissection. Then follow step-by-step instructions to do a cow's eye dissection yourself.

Find out why people who love birthday parties should move to Mercury.

A Marble Machine is a creative ball-run contraption, made from familiar materials, designed to send a rolling marble through tubes and funnels, across tracks and bumpers, and into a catch at the end.

Activities and workshops for playful invention, investigation, and collaboration

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

Experiment with water, temperature, and light to see what makes a seed come out of its shell.

Looking at the night sky can help you see how your eyes and brain make sense out of moonlight.

Explore the scientific, historical, and cultural context behind a new opera about the first atomic bomb test.

These tricky pictures shift and change as you look at them.

Find out why wind resistance is a big drag for bicyclists, and use our calculator to estimate drag for yourself.