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

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.

Discover the secret colors hidden in black ink. With a paper towel, a black marker, and a cup of water, create a rainbow of colors while exploring capillary action and chromatography.

A collection of auditory illusions found in indigenous folk practices, popular music, and scientific research.

Scientists dig under the surface for clues to past climate

Use this handy conversion calculator to convert between the many units found in recipes.

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

Take a virtual journey to the frog capital of the world, Rayne, Louisiana.

A model for heart development

Pickling is the art of manipulating the microbial garden in foods.

Modelos plásticos huecos del aparato vocal humano convierten el graznido de un pato en sonidos de vocales.

Make amazing architecture with candy and toothpicks

Build a stripped-down motor, a simple, easy-to-make version of the electric motors found in toys, tools, and appliances.

Meet David Goodsell, a molecular biologist and artist who finds beauty in the molecules of cells.

Make it grow . . . bigger, lusher, juicier.

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

I movimenti dei tuoi occhi faranno brillare questo disegno.

Get a lesson in listening from Doniga Markegard, an expert wildlife tracker.

Learn about the search for life elsewhere in the universe.

What brings archeologists and astronomers alike to this ten-mile canyon in remote New Mexico?

A downloadable series of graphics from our Faultline website gives a snapshot of seismic science.

What do you really know about what you see?

Specialized cells have a common origin. What sets them on separate paths?

Make a paper model that helps explain the changing tides.

A brief history of Chichen Itza.

Close your eyes and listen to tell where the paddle is when you play this all-listening version of the classic game Pong.

Activities and workshops for playful invention, investigation, and collaboration

Learn how Hubble Telescope scientists put together those lovely pictures.

Recycle a potato chip can into a simple camera.

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

Explore the ideas behind Science of Sharing with these Activities.

White-coated Arctic icons, these supreme hunters are under threat

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

Sometimes we can learn about outer space when space objects come to us.

Cuatro exposiciones lo suficientemente pequeñas para caber en tarjetas postales.

Get a behind-the-scenes look at activities and ideas we’re exploring.

Test your memory and compare it with your friends'.

What's the science behind a home run? Why do curveballs curve? Learn about the game from players from the S.F. Giants & Oakland A's.

Test your memory–and learn how to improve it!

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

Darkening polar skies often bring beautiful light displays.

Our reactions may be trained, but the devices that make music sound "sad" are real enough.

Los movimientos del ojo hacen parecer que el dise�o brilla.

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

See recent articles on polar science.

A trash-filled median blossoms into a community oasis.

A collection of auditory illusions found in indigenous folk practices, popular music, and scientific research.

Share some secret sounds with a friend.