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

A fish-eye view of the brain

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

Does the sun rise in the east? Not exactly.

Learn how Hubble Telescope scientists put together those lovely pictures.

Touch supercooled water drops with an ice crystal and trigger them to freeze instantly.

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

Learn more about the process of making Champagne.

See why these beautiful flowers have attracted generations of admirers.

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

Explore new social science exhibits at San Francisco’s Civic Center.

Explore webcasts, stories, dispatches, photos, and articles of total and annular solar eclipses and transits.

Learn how sparkling wine is made, what makes it different from still wine, and where all those little bubbles come from!

A profile of frog researcher Dr. Tyrone Hayes.

Music, fear, sadness all can cause goosebumps. But why?

Find out why biodiversity benefits plants and people alike.

An artist paints his childhood home from memory.

Listen in on conversations with Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, and others in Speaking of Music Rewind.

Activities and History

Find out how your eyes work and watch a real dissection of a cow's eye.

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.

Activities and workshops for playful invention, investigation, and collaboration

Watch tiny blue, green, and white molds grow on leftover food.

Why do road bikes have thin tires, while mountain bikes have fat tires?

This simple paper toy spins through the air like a mini-helicopter!

Make yourself giant or tiny with a snip of the scissors.

An evening of wine, food, and talk.

Find out how a cochlear implant helped one man regain the ability to listen.

Exploring the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans

Explore the unknown world inside your brain with these fun activities.

See a map of recent earthquakes in the United States, and learn why earthquakes happen so frequently on the West Coast.

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

Decorate your desktop with some of the most intriguing pattern and perception images from the Exploratorium.

The more astronomy changes, the more it stays the same. This series of images juxtaposes ancient and modern study of the celestial bodies.

Want to see where the biggest quakes have been this week? Follow a few of the links below to see what's shaking in your neighborhood and around the world.

What happens to meat when you cook it?