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

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

A Scribbling Machine is a motorized contraption that moves in unusual ways and leaves a mark to trace it's path.

A fish-eye view of the brain

Test your memory - and learn how to improve it!

Why do teens take risks, and what do our notions of risk tell us about the dangers of growing up?

How has imagery changed the way we look at our bodies—over time and in different cultures?

How has imagery changed the way we look at our bodies—over time and in different cultures?

Visit the Outdoor Exploratorium at Fort Mason to explore the science behind wind, waves, and more.

Scientists dig under the surface for clues to past climate

Put on a mask and see how we communicate with our bodies as well as with our faces and words.

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

A window on regeneration

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

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

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

Recycle some cans to make after-dinner music!

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

Listen to bird songs and try to figure out which are songs, which are companion calls, and which are alarms.

Richter and beyond

Before there were clocks, people used shadows to tell time!

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

When you ride a bike in a straight line, you must make many minor corrections in order to stay upright.

Watch this timelapse video to see a zebrafish develop from a single cell into an embryo

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

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.

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

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

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

Learn more about the process of making Champagne.

Are you quick enough to hit a 90 mph fastball?

Each webcast, the Exploratorium staff and teachers demonstrate their science projects and compete for the title of IRON SCIENCE TEACHER!

Use the Science Journal mobile app to investigate movement.

Just how much fat is in ground beef? You may be surprised.

This clay building activity shows that when you make things bigger, weight increases faster than strength.

Learn about bike gears using thread spools and a rubber band.

Explore the ideas behind Science of Sharing with these Activities.

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

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

How many objects can you follow at once?

Explore the ancient knowledge of the Maya, who built sophisticated monuments to the sun.

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

Make a photographic image without a camera!

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

These tricky pictures shift and change as you look at them.

What happens to a cylinder when you scale it up?

Get down and dirty with the surprising science of soil.

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