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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.

The Domino Effect
The Domino Effect (pdf)

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

Auroras: Paintings in the Sky
Auroras: Paintings in the Sky

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

Exploratorium Exhibit Phenomena

Enjoy the colors and textures of phenomena demonstrated by Exploratorium exhibits.

Using the Wired Pier Web App

by Mary Miller • April 19, 2017

Launch our new web app to explore environmental data. 

Molecular Meat
Molecular Meat

What happens to meat when you cook it?

The Science of Wine
The Science of Wine

An evening of wine, food, and talk.

The Domino Effect
The Domino Effect (pdf)

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

Girls of Summer
Girls of Summer

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. . .

Comet Approach Maneuvers

Learn the details of NASA's 2014 Rosetta Mission.

Pictures from Light
Pictures from Light

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

The Dirt on Dirt
The Dirt on Dirt

Get down and dirty with the surprising science of soil.

Bread Science 101
Bread Science 101

What's really going on when you bake? Find out.

Cardboard Automata
Cardboard Automata

Explore mechanical elements such as cams, levers, and linkages to create your own moving sculpture.

How Is Technology Changing Ocean Research and Exploration?
Find out how technology is changing ocean research.
Molecular Meat
Molecular Meat

What happens to meat when you cook it?

Clay Beams
Clay Beams

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

About Alignments
About Alignments

The Maya were expert sky-watchers, careful observers of the motions of the celestial bodies...

Cookie Subduction
Cookie Subduction

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

Paul Clipson

Follow filmmaker Paul Clipson as he captures the Exploratorium's waterfront site.

Zebrafish

A model for heart development

About Antarctica
About Antarctica

The only continent without any countries or government . . .

Twisting Feet
Twisting Feet

Identify misalignments in your body by looking at your feet.

Saving Seeds, Saving Culture
Saving Seeds, Saving Culture

Saving seeds helps preserve the culture of Native American farmers in the American Southwest and northern Mexico.

Investigating Comets
Discover the primitive objects under investigation by NASA's Rosetta Mission: comets.
Beyond Einstein: World Wide Webcast
Beyond Einstein: World Wide Webcast

In celebration of Albert Einstein's work in 1905, science laboratories and museum around the world (including the Exploratorium) participated in a twelve-hour webcast that explored Einstein's influence on current physics research.

Step Re-Mix
Step Re-Mix

Experiment with rhythm through stepping, a musical dance form that uses the body as a percussion instrument.

Why Save Seeds?
Why Save Seeds?

Find out why biodiversity benefits plants and people alike.

Moon to the Eclipse:
7/8/17 Full Moon

by Eileen Campbell • July 8, 2017

Watch the moon pass through its phases as we count down to the total solar eclipse. Tonight: a full moon.

The Amazing Water Trick
The Amazing Water Trick

Do hot water and cold water mix?

Color Uncovered App
Color Uncovered App

Explore the surprising side of color.

Outdoor Exploratorium at Fort Mason
Outdoor Exploratorium at Fort Mason

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

Sutro Tower: From Eyesore to Icon
Visit Sutro Tower, an icon as beloved as it was once abhorred.
Crystal Creations
Crystal Creations

Grow spikes of crystals in the sun.

The Art of John Edmark

What do plants know about numbers? Paul Dancstep investigates.

Antarctic Seals
Antarctic Seals

Crabeaters have extraordinary teeth, Weddells are downright cute, and leopards are as fierce as their namesake

Gear Exploration
Gear Exploration

A bicycle, masking tape, paper, pencil, and a little curiosity are all you need to find out how the gears of a bicycle work.

Your Age on Other Worlds
Your Age on Other Worlds

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

External Content: The Amazing Adaptable Frog
The Amazing Adaptable Frog

A comprehensive tour through the weird and wonderful world of frogs.

Resonance: Unheard Sounds & Undiscovered Music

Watch contemporary musicians and sound artists perform and discuss their work.

Monthly Wallpaper
Monthly Wallpaper

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

Bastoncini da giardinaggio
Bastoncini da giardinaggio
Zebrafish

A model for heart development

Your Body in Your Mind's Eye
Your Body in Your Mind's Eye

Can you take a sip of water from a cup with your eyes closed?

Color Your Judgment
Color Your Judgment

Can your eyes fool your nose? Find out with this experiment.

Drives & Gears
Drives & Gears

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

Polar Bears
Polar Bears

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

Divided Attention exhibit on Exploratorium Island in Second Life
Divided Attention Exhibit on Exploratorium Island: Porting a Museum Exhibit to 2D and 3D Web

by Rob Rothfarb • May 3, 2010

Find the Fat
Find the Fat

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

Video: “Eclipse Chasers”
Video: “Eclipse Chasers”
Desvanecimiento del punto

Si mira fijamente este punto por algunos momentos, éste desaparece.

L'illusione del muro del caffé
L'illusione del muro del caffé

Sperimenta interattivamente l'illusione del muro del caffé.

Bikes: Brakes
Bikes: Brakes

Find out about bicycle brakes and balance, and calculate your stopping distance on a bicycle.

Big and Tall Bikes

Bike builder David Folch builds supersized bikes for supersized riders.

 
UV Beads
UV Beads

Study ultraviolet radiation from the sun and other sources using UV beads.

Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics

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

Highway Seismograph
Highway Seismograph

How good is your friend's driving? You be the seismometer, and find out whether your pal is a smooth sailor or a mover and shaker.

Transit of Venus: Sonification

Experience Wayne Grim's sonification of the transit of Venus.

Reflecting Rainbows
Reflecting Rainbows

Decorate your white walls with rainbow colors!

Sound Puzzle
Sound Puzzle

See if you can put these sounds back together in this sonic jigsaw puzzle.

Voyages of Discovery: NOAA's Okeanos Explorer
Voyages of Discovery: NOAA's Okeanos Explorer

The Okeanos Explorer is the newest vessel in NOAA's fleet and the first to be dedicated solely to exploration and discovery missions. Follow along with the scientists and crew on their discovery voyages.

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