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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.

Exploratorium @ Piers 15/17
Exploratorium @ Piers 15/17

We Moved! Follow Us to San Francisco’s Historic Waterfront

Middle Ground
Middle Ground

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

Pringles Pinhole
Pringles Pinhole

Recycle a potato chip can into a simple camera.

Visitor at After Dark : Get Surreal sampling an augmented reality Meta Cookie
Meta Cookie: Olfactory and Gustatory Augmented Reality

by Rob Rothfarb • February 11, 2011

Visitors experienced the sights and smells of "Meta Cookie', an augmented reality installation at After Dark: Get Surreal.

Building the Exploratorium at Pier 15: Timelapse

The Exploratorium wasn't built in a day—watch it go up in a minute. 

Building the Exploratorium at Pier 15: Timelapse

The Exploratorium wasn't built in a day—watch it go up in a minute. 

Give Heart Cells a Beat

Go deep into the development of our Give Heart Cells a Beat exhibit.

Fermentation and Food
Fermentation and Food

The common ground between pickles, cheese, bread, wine, and many other foods.

The Science of Wine
The Science of Wine

An evening of wine, food, and talk.

Cell Explorer
Cell Explorer

Learn about the inner workings of a cell through this interactive exhibit.

Neanderthal Bones
Neanderthal Bones

Explore the process of extracting DNA from Neanderthal bones.

Zebrafish

A model for heart development

Lightning in Your Mouth
Lightning in Your Mouth

Why do wintergreen LifeSavers spark in the dark?

Susie Ibarra: Interview

Join an interview with avant-garde percussionist Susie Ibarra.

Mars Viewer
Mars Viewer

Investigate actual images of the Martian surface taken by the rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

What is Community Radio?

Get your antennae ready for what's on the airwaves.

Okkyung Lee Interview

Listen in on the mind behind cellist Okkyung Lee's kinetic style.

Exploratorium Magazine
Exploratorium Magazine

From 1977 until 2003, the Exploratorium published a quarterly magazine. The Exploratorium Magazine Online is a companion to selected issues of the print magazine, providing key articles and activities and including multimedia features.

Antarctic Geology

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

Science Snacks
Science Snacks

Try these low-cost, teacher-tested activities for the classroom and the curious.

Pájaro en una jaula
Pájaro en una jaula
Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger Hunt

Are there meat by-products in makeup? Can you guess where you might find them?

Dan Deacon: Performance

Baltimore-based musician Dan Deacon connects the audience to the player-piano.

Any Little Patch of Dirt
Any Little Patch of Dirt

A trash-filled median blossoms into a community oasis.

The Domino Effect
The Domino Effect (pdf)

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

Antarctica: Ice Gallery
Antarctica: Ice Gallery

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

Strandbeest: Animaris Adulari

Enjoy strandbeests making their way across the beach.

Going Up? Get Fit
Going Up? Get Fit

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

Tying the Knot
Tying the Knot

Learn how to tie the six knots most useful on a voyaging canoe.

Antarctica: Ice Gallery
Antarctica: Ice Gallery

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

The Heart of the Matter: Inside CERN
The Heart of the Matter: Inside CERN

Visit the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, which studies what the universe is made of and how the universe works.

Secret Bells
Secret Bells

An ordinary metal spoon can make some astounding sounds!

Why Save Seeds?
Why Save Seeds?

Find out why biodiversity benefits plants and people alike.

Swell Swell
Swell Swell

Want to understand how to predict when the good waves are coming to your shore? It helps to start with the basics behind the formation of ocean waves.

Molecular Meat
Molecular Meat

What happens to meat when you cook it?

Science of Gardening: Feed
Science of Gardening: Feed

Plants and people alike. We all have a need to feed.

Transit of Mercury
Transit of Mercury

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

The Evolution of Languages
The Evolution of Languages
Mix-n-Match

You can mix just three colors of light to make over 16 million different colors!

Planetarium
Planetarium

View the night sky from any latitude on earth, and take a guided tour of the Hawaiian star families.

Collaboration between a father and son
The Tinkering Studio's Projects

Learn how you too can enjoy our activities in your kitchen, garage, classroom, and community.

Bronx Cheer Bulb
Bronx Cheer Bulb

Your CRT screen may appear to wiggle when you give it the raspberry, but the only thing wiggling is you.

How to Build a Spectroscope
How to Build a Spectroscope

Using a spectroscope, you may see that what appears to be a single color of light is really a combination of colors called a spectrum.

Sport! Science Q&A
Sport! Science Q&A

Find the answers to common Sport! Science questions.

Drives & Gears
Drives & Gears

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

Yeast-Air Balloons
Yeast-Air Balloons

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

Conversation with Ocean Explorer Robert Ballard
Learn about ocean exploration from a famous explorer, Dr. Robert Ballard.
The Nose Knows
The Nose Knows (pdf)

Discover the difference between taste and smell.

From Jungle to Lab: The Study of Life's Complexity
From Jungle to Lab: The Study of Life's Complexity

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

Glitter Globe
Glitter Globe

Make a fantastic toy that shimmers when you shake it.

Roto-Copter
Roto-Copter

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

Look Inside a Tooth
Look Inside a Tooth

Teeth are the most common fossils found. What can they tell us?

Swell Swell
Turning Garbage into Gold

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

The Body Farm
The Body Farm

Human corpses decay alfresco, all in the name of forensic science.

Super Sparker
Super Sparker

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

Sunspots
Sunspots

Map sunspots and build an apparatus for safe sunspot viewing!

Nautilus
Nautilus

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.

Microscope Imaging Station
Microscope Imaging Station

What do stem cells, fruit flies, and zebrafish look like under a microscope?

Drives & Gears
Drives & Gears

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

Seeing
Seeing

What do you really know about what you see?

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