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Exploratorium
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  • Tinkering at Home

    Try this collection of prompts for tinkering at home.

  • Learning Toolbox: Engage in activities about the science of coronavirus and explore our online resources for learning at home.

  • Explore water's crucial role in food and cooking.

    Science of Water: Food   Explore water's crucial role in food and cooking.

  • Shadow Box exhibit

    Browse our growing online collection of interactive exhibits.

  • Global Climate Change Explorer • Discover how researchers study climate change and examine the latest scientific data.

  • Science Snacks

    Low-cost, teacher-tested activities for the classroom and the curious.

  • Wired Pier Environmental Field Station • Explore weather, air quality, and water conditions from San Francisco Bay

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

Dive into websites, activities, apps, and more.

Getting Started with Light
Getting Started with Light

Use the Science Journal mobile app to investigate the light around you.

40th Anniversary
40th Anniversary
Make Your Own Petroglyph
Make Your Own Petroglyph

Try your hand at explaining symbols both modern and ancient, and then make your own.

Hands Up!
Hands Up!

A rock-climbing physicist explores the mechanics of his hands.

How Far Can You Hit One?
How Far Can You Hit One?

How can something as light as air slow down a hit?

Hockey Check Force Calculator
Hockey Check Force Calculator
About the Arctic
About the Arctic

A brief introduction to the land of the midnight sun.

Baseketball
"Baseketball" A Physicist Party Trick
Hello Dahlia
Hello Dahlia

See why these beautiful flowers have attracted generations of admirers.

The Lighter Side of Wonder: A Conversation with Lena Herzog

Join curator Marina McDougall for a conversation with photographer Lena Herzog.

The Exploratorium Shop

Visit the beating heart of the Exploratorium—our shop.

Light and Landscape: The Science and Art of Perception
Light and Landscape: The Science and Art of Perception

Explore the mysterious interactions between light and geography through the eyes and works of artists Charles Ross and James Turrell.

Any Little Patch of Dirt
Any Little Patch of Dirt

A trash-filled median blossoms into a community oasis.

Ancient Observatories
Ancient Observatories

Journey into Chaco Canyon, where ancient people built monuments to the cosmos. Journey to Chichén Itzá, where the Maya built monuments to the sun.

Gorazd Planinsic 2014
Can you use your dinner to pop a balloon?
ECHO Climate Change Symposium
ECHO Climate Change Symposium

In 2009, the ECHO (Education through Cultural and Historical Organizations) Partners hosted a national symposium held at the Exploratorium to discuss the effects of climate change on the planet. You can watch archived webcasts of the symposium.

Driven
Driven

How are creative investigations sparked? What does a state of inspiration feel like? Can inspiration be transmitted from person to person? Join us for an audio slideshow series that explores the fascinating world of how we work creatively.

Looking at the Moon

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

Fireworks in a Bottle

by • July 3, 2015

Make your own liquid “fireworks” with this simple and safe activity.

Goose Bumps
Goose Bumps

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

Getting Started with Motion
Getting Started with Motion

Use the Science Journal mobile app to investigate movement.

Take a Trip to WildCard

You’ll never think inside the box again.

Braking & Steering
Braking & Steering

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

Other Solar Eclipses
The Tinkering Studio
The Tinkering Studio

Activities and workshops for playful invention, investigation, and collaboration

Bastoncini da giardinaggio
Bastoncini da giardinaggio
Jin Hi Kim Part 1
Musician Jin Hi Kim reflects on her varied life and career.
The Great Shake: San Francisco 1906
The Great Shake: San Francisco 1906

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

Memory Solitaire
Memory Solitaire

Test your memory - and learn how to improve it!

Total Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017
Where You Want to Be for the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

by Eileen Campbell • August 19, 2016

On August 21, 2017​, a total solar eclipse will cross the continental USA. You want to be there to see it!

Transit of Mercury
Transit of Mercury

See the tiny disk of Mercury slowly travel across the face of the sun in this rare event.

Science of Sailing 102: Tip, Don't Flip!
Find out how America's Cup catamarans balance...and tip over.
Martian Snowflakes
Martian Snowflakes

What do snowflakes look like on Mars?

Make Your Own Rainstick
Make Your Own Rainstick

Listen to the sound of a rainstorm – anytime, anywhere.

Super Sparker
Super Sparker

Make very, very, very tiny lightning, anytime you want!

Imaging Station Wallpapers
Imaging Station Wallpapers

Download desktop wallpaper for your computer.

The Exploratorium Shop

Visit the beating heart of the Exploratorium—our shop.

Seismic Slinky
Seismic Slinky

What goes on under the ground during an earthquake? Use a Slinky to model the various seismic waves that make the earth tremble.

Bird in a Cage: Do the experiment

Do you have a staring problem?

Antarctic Food Web
Antarctic Marine Ecosystem

The Antarctic food web is the simplest on the planet, and krill are at its hub.

Why Save Seeds?
Why Save Seeds?

Find out why biodiversity benefits plants and people alike.

Open Make: Meet the Makers/Wood
Flash back to the Open Make program showcasing local makers.
Why Save Seeds?
Why Save Seeds?

Find out why biodiversity benefits plants and people alike.

Bottle Blast-Off
Bottle Blast-Off

Make a simple rocket and a rocket launcher, and watch a demonstration of how the finished rocket will fly.

Surf the Data for Perfect Waves

by Mary Miller • February 1, 2018

Big wave secrets are all in the data.

Yeast-Air Balloons
Yeast-Air Balloons

How can a microscopic organism lift several pounds of dough? Find out with this activity.

Going Up? Get Fit
Going Up? Get Fit

The 18,000-foot Mt. Parinacota presents some fitness challenges for climbers.

The Mayan Calendar Round
The Mayan Calendar Round

Did you know the Maya used two calendars? How did they know when to plan their big New Year's parties?

Cheese FAQ
Cheese FAQ

Have you ever wondered what makes blue cheese blue, or why some cheeses are hard and others soft?

de wetenschap van het fietsen
de wetenschap van het fietsen
Penny Battery: What's going on?

Illuminate your understanding of how batteries work.

The Domino Effect
The Domino Effect (pdf)

Use dominoes to model a nerve cell's transmission of a signal

External Content: The Amazing Adaptable Frog
The Amazing Adaptable Frog

A comprehensive tour through the weird and wonderful world of frogs.

Gluten Balls
Gluten Balls

Play with the stuff that makes dough stretchy.

Exploratorium at JPL: Explorando con Curiosidad
About Antarctica
About Antarctica

The only continent without any countries or government . . .

Comet Mapping
Explore Comet 67P with the Rosetta Mission and Paul Doherty.
Turbulent Landscapes
Turbulent Landscapes

An introduction to the concepts and theories that contribute to contemporary complexity research.

Cafe Wall Illusion
Cafe Wall Illusion

Interact with the Cafe Wall Illusion.

Ear Guitar
Ear Guitar

Share some secret sounds with a friend.

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