Learn with us online while the Exploratorium is temporarily closed. You can help us reopen—donate today.

Nature of Science

Person with shadow.
Outdoor Shadows

Trace your shadow, then make it change.

Too Slow to Notice
Too Slow to Notice

This is a glass of water sitting on scale doing nothing. Or is it nothing?

Who needs a microscope to see what lives in a drop of water? Instead, shine a laser pointer through a water drop and be...
Plankton Projector

Who needs a microscope to see what lives in a drop of water? Instead, shine a laser pointer through a water drop and be dazzled by a display of tiny organisms.

Open your eyes to the amazing world of the ultra-tiny when you convert your cell phone into a portable, picture-taking...
Cell Phone Miniscope

Open your eyes to the amazing world of the ultra-tiny when you convert your cell phone into a portable, picture-taking Miniscope using a simple plastic lens from a laser pointer.

Throwback: Monitoring Climate Change

Find out what it takes to monitor climate change.

Science activity using straight lines to learn about circles
Pi Graph

Use straight lines to learn about circles.

Science activity to demonstrate pi using circumference and string
Cutting Pi

String and scissors are all you need to find pi all around you.

Science activity to convert your cell phone into a Miniscope
Cell Phone Miniscope

Use your cell phone to explore the mini-scopic world.

Photosynthetic Floatation

These leaf bits float like bubbles, thanks to photosynthesis. 

Wiggle Pressure

See how air molecules behave, using self-rolling pet toys.

Observatory Library
Observatory Library

The Observatory Library is the Bay Observatory’s research center, providing context and historical insight to the local landscape just beyond the windows.

Time Shift
Time Shift

Select archived time-lapse sequences that reveal human and natural processes at work.

Pages