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

A window on regeneration

A little physics can go a long way on that shortboard.

Buy discounted tickets online—hop-off at stop #3 to visit the Exploratorium.

A model for heart development

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

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

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

In the 1870s, an American woman could not vote. She could not own property in her own name after marriage. But she could play ball. . .

Activities and History

Decorate your desktop with some of the most intriguing pattern and perception images from the Exploratorium.

Can you tell the difference between human and nonhuman embryos?

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

The three most densely populated cities on the planet where seismologists expect major earthquakes are San Francisco, Tokyo, and Istanbul. Find out why the effects in each city will be very different.

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

This ancient temple holds a secret...can you reveal the mystery?

How do scientists establish the age of artifacts, rocks, and settlements?

Why is your shadow longer in winter than in summer? Grab a basketball and some paperclips and find out!

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

The earth moves in mysterious ways

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

Close your eyes – and open your ears.

Explore the ideas behind Science of Sharing with these Activities.

An introduction to spectra and to the space-based telescopes. The site includes a number of hands-on activities.

Learn how living things get energy from dead ones in this interactive exhibit.

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

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

Learn how Hubble Telescope scientists put together those lovely pictures.

Measure your reaction time with just a meter stick and some help from a friend.

Explore the science behind food and cooking with recipes, activities, and archived Webcasts.

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

For accuracy, it's best to use both a candy thermometer and the cold water test when making candy.

Meet Bart Hopkin, who listens closely to the subtle sonic qualities of wood, water, and pipes as he creates new instruments.

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

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

Why do road bikes have thin tires, while mountain bikes have fat tires?

With a lens, you can bend light to make pictures of the world.

I movimenti dei tuoi occhi faranno brillare questo disegno.

What's in that cup of coffee anyway? Find out about the history and chemistry of coffee.

Dig into the succulent science of making things grow.

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

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