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

Your thumb and index finger can help you test a steak's degree of doneness.

Explore the important engineering concepts of yield strength, ultimate strength, and elasticity as they relate to building a better bicycle.

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

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

Take an animated tour of Antarctica's variety of ice formations, which give it a beauty unrivaled anywhere on Earth.

Make a paper model that helps explain the changing tides.

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.

Activities and History

Far north in the night sky, a faint glow appears on the horizon. Green and red flames of light stretch across the sky.

Join us as we visit the Hubble Space Telescope, and see what's happening at Mission Control.

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

Your brain is always looking for blank spaces and filling them in. Sometimes, your brain leaps to the wrong conclusion. Then you get a surprise!

Explore the places, people, tools, and ideas behind the origins of matter, the universe, and life itself.

How many objects can you follow at once?

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

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

Listen to internationally recognized authorities on human thought and behavior, including Temple Grandin and Paul Ekman.

Professional development resources for teacher educators.

Seasoned gardeners depend on a community of bacteria, worms, and insects to get the most out of their plantings. Find out why.

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

To understand how skaters turn in midair, try this little experiment.

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

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

Wind tubes are a playful and inventive way to explore the effect that moving air has on objects.

Interact with the Cafe Wall Illusion.

Learn how some vibrant seniors exercise their minds, and find out what you can do to help your own memory.

Learn about the body's vital defense force.

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

Decorate your white walls with rainbow colors!

In this activity, students make bridges using an oil-based modeling clay (plasticene).

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