• Visit
    • Calendar
    • After Dark Thursdays
    • Buy Tickets
    • Exhibits
    • Museum Galleries
    • Artworks on View
    • Hours
    • Getting Here
    • Visitor FAQ
    • Event Rentals
    • Field Trips
  • Education
    • Professional Development Programs
    • Free Educator Workshops
    • Tools for Teaching and Learning
    • Learning About Learning
    • Community Programs
    • Educator Newsletter
  • Explore
    • Browse by Subject
    • Activities
    • Video
    • Exhibits
    • Apps
    • Blogs
    • Websites
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Partnerships
    • Global Collaborations
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Arts at the Exploratorium
    • Contact Us
  • Join + Support
    • Donate Today!
    • Membership
    • Join Our Donor Community
    • Engage Your Business
    • Attend a Fundraiser
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Thank You to Our Supporters
    • Donor & Corporate Member FAQ
    • Host Your Event
    • Volunteer
  • Store
  • Visit
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Calendar
      • Today
      • This Week
      • Online
      • After Dark Thursday Nights
      • Arts
      • Conferences
      • Cinema Arts
      • Free + Community Events
      • Fundraising Events
      • Kids + Families
      • Members
      • Special Hours
      • Private Event Closures
    • Prices
    • Hours
    • Getting Here
    • Museum Map
    • Free Admission and Reduced Admission
    • Accessibility
    • Tips for Visiting with Kids
    • How to Exploratorium
    • Exhibits
    • Tactile Dome
    • Artworks on View
    • Cinema Arts
    • Kanbar Forum
    • Black Box
    • Museum Galleries
      • Bernard and Barbro Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomena
        • Tactile Dome
          • 1971 Press Release
        • Black Box
        • Curator Statement
      • Gallery 2: Tinkering
        • Curator Statement
      • Bechtel Gallery 3: Seeing & Reflections
        • Curator Statement
      • Gordon and Betty Moore Gallery 4: Living Systems
        • Curator Statement
      • Gallery 5: Outdoor Exhibits
        • Curator Statement
      • Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6: Observing Landscapes
        • Wired Pier Environmental Field Station
        • Curator Statement
    • Restaurant & Café
    • School Field Trips
      • Getting Here
        • Bus Routes for Field Trips and Other Groups
      • Admission and Tickets
      • Planning Guide
      • Reservations
        • Field Trip Request Form
      • Resources
    • Event Rentals
      • Full Facility & Gallery Bundles
      • Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery & Terrace
      • Moore East Gallery
      • Bechtel Central Gallery & Outdoor Gallery
      • Osher West Gallery
      • Kanbar Forum

      • Weddings
      • Proms and School Events
      • Daytime Meetings, Events, & Filmings
      • Happy Hour on the Water

      • Rentals FAQ
      • Event Planning Resources
      • Rental Request Form
      • Download Brochure (pdf)
    • Groups / Tour Operators
      • Group Visit Request Form
    • Exploratorium Store
    • Contact Us
  • Education
    • Black Teachers and Students Matter
    • Professional Development Programs
      • Free Educator Workshops
      • Professional Learning Partnerships
      • Teacher Institute
        • About the Teacher Institute
        • Summer Institute for Teachers
        • Teacher Induction Program
        • Leadership Program
        • Teacher Institute Research
        • CA NGSS STEM Conferences
          • NGSS STEM Conference 2020
        • Science Snacks
          • Browse by Subject
          • Special Collections
          • Science Snacks A-Z
          • NGSS Planning Tools
          • Frequently Asked Questions
        • Digital Teaching Boxes
        • Meet the Teacher Institute Staff
        • Resources for Supporting Science Teachers
      • Institute for Inquiry
        • What Is Inquiry?
        • Watch and Do Science
        • Inquiry-based Science and English Language Development
          • Educators Guide
            • Conceptual Overview
              • Science Talk
              • Science Writing
            • Classroom Video Gallery
              • Magnet Investigation
              • Snail Investigation
            • Teacher Professional Development
            • Project Studies
            • Acknowledgments
          • Conference: Exploring Science and English Language Development
            • Interviews with Participants
            • Plenary Sessions
            • Synthesis, Documentation, and Resources
        • Workshops
          • Participant Portal
          • Fundamentals of Inquiry
            • Summary Schedule
          • BaySci Science Champions Academy
          • Facilitators Guides
          • Commissioned Workshops
        • Resource Library
        • Meet the IFI Staff
      • Resources for California Educators
      • K-12 Science Leader Network
      • Resources for Supporting Science Teachers
      • Field Trip Explainer Program
      • Cambio
    • Tools for Teaching and Learning
      • Learning Toolbox
      • Science Snacks
      • Digital Teaching Boxes
      • Science Activities
      • Tinkering Projects
      • Recursos gratuitos para aprender ciencias
      • Videos
      • Exhibits
      • Publications
      • Apps
      • Educator Newsletter
      • Exploratorium Websites
    • Educator Newsletter
    • Advancing Ideas about Learning
      • Visitor Research and Evaluation
        • What we do
        • Reports & Publications
        • Projects
        • Who we are
      • Center for Informal Learning in Schools
    • Community Programs
      • High School Explainer Program
      • Xtech
      • Community Educational Engagement
      • California Tinkering Afterschool Network
        • About
        • Partners
        • Resources
        • News & Updates
        • Further Reading
  • Explore
    • Browse by Subject
      • Arts
      • Astronomy & Space Sciences
        • Planetary Science
        • Space Exploration
      • Biology
        • Anatomy & Physiology
        • Ecology
        • Evolution
        • Genetics
        • Molecular & Cellular Biology
        • Neuroscience
      • Chemistry
        • Combining Matter
        • Food & Cooking
        • Materials & Matter
        • States of Matter
      • Data
        • Data Collection & Analysis
        • Modeling & Simulations
        • Visualization
      • Earth Science
        • Atmosphere
        • Geology
        • Oceans & Water
      • Engineering & Technology
        • Design & Tinkering
        • Real-World Problems & Solutions
      • Environmental Science
        • Global Systems & Cycles
        • Human Impacts
      • History
      • Mathematics
      • Nature of Science
        • Measurement
        • Science as a Process
        • Size & Scale
        • Time
      • Perception
        • Light, Color & Seeing
        • Listening & Hearing
        • Optical Illusions
        • Scent, Smell & Taste
        • Tactile & Touch
      • Physics
        • Electricity & Magnetism
        • Energy
        • Heat & Temperature
        • Light
        • Mechanics
        • Quantum
        • Sound
        • Waves
      • Social Science
        • Culture
        • Language
        • Psychology
        • Sociology
    • Browse by Content Type
      • Activities
      • Blogs
        • Spectrum
          • Arts
          • Behind the Scenes
          • News
          • Education
          • Community & Collaborations
          • Science
        • Eclipse
        • Studio for Public Spaces
        • Tangents
        • Resonance See & Hear Blog
        • Fabricated Realities
        • Tinkering Studio: Sketchpad
        • Exploratorium on Tumblr
      • Exhibits
      • Video
      • Websites
      • Apps
        • Total Solar Eclipse
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Land Acknowledgment
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Impact Report
    • Awards
    • Our History
      • 50 Years 1969–2019

    • Leadership Cabinet
    • Board of Trustees
    • Board of Trustees Alumni
    • Staff Scientists
    • Staff Artists

    • Arts at the Exploratorium
      • Artworks on View
      • Artist-in-Residence Program
      • Cinema Arts
        • History and Collection
        • Cinema Artists-in-Residence
        • Resources and Collaborating Organizations
        • Kanbar Forum
      • Center for Art & Inquiry
        • Begin Here
          • Lessons
            • Bob Miller/Light Walk
            • Ruth Asawa/Milk Carton Sculpture
          • Workshops
      • Resonance
        • About the Series
        • See & Hear
        • Past Seasons
      • Over the Water
      • Black Box
      • Upcoming Events
      • Temporary Exhibitions
      • Arts Program Staff
    • Teacher Institute
    • Institute for Inquiry
    • Explainer Programs
    • Studio for Public Spaces
    • Exhibit Making
    • Partnerships
      • Building Global Connections
        • Global Collaborations
          • Projects
          • Approach
          • People
          • Impact
      • Partnering with Science Agencies
        • NASA
        • NOAA
      • Partnering with Educational Institutions
      • Osher Fellows

    • Job Opportunities
    • Become a Volunteer

    • Contact Info
    • Newsletter
    • Educator Newsletter
    • Blogs
    • Follow & Share
    • Press Office

    • FY21 Audit Report
    • 990 FY20 Tax Return
    • Use Policy
      • Privacy Policy
      • Intellectual Property Policy
  • Join + Support
    • Donate Today!
    • Membership
      • Membership FAQ
      • Member Benefits
      • After Dark Membership
      • Member Events
      • May Is for Members
    • Join Our Donor Community
    • Engage Your Business
      • Corporate Membership
      • Luminary Partnerships
    • Attend a Fundraiser
      • Wonder Funday
      • Science of Cocktails
      • Party at the Piers
        • Event Leadership and Host Committee
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Thank You to Our Supporters
    • Donor & Corporate Member FAQ
    • Volunteer
      • How to Apply
      • Application for Internships
      • Our Contract
      • Application for Individuals
  • Press Office
    • Press Releases
    • News Coverage
    • Events Calendar
    • Photographs
    • Press Video
    • Press Kits
    • Press Visits
    • Exploratorium Logos
    • Recent Awards
    • Praise for the Exploratorium
    • Join Our Press List
  • Store

Masks and vaccinations are recommended. Plan your visit  

Visitor FAQ Buy Tickets Donate Today
Exploratorium
Exploratorium
  • Visit
    • Calendar
    • After Dark Thursdays
    • Buy Tickets
    • Exhibits
    • Museum Galleries
    • Artworks on View
    • Hours
    • Getting Here
    • Visitor FAQ
    • Event Rentals
    • Field Trips
  • Education
    • Professional Development Programs
    • Free Educator Workshops
    • Tools for Teaching and Learning
    • Learning About Learning
    • Community Programs
    • Educator Newsletter
  • Explore
    • Browse by Subject
    • Activities
    • Video
    • Exhibits
    • Apps
    • Blogs
    • Websites
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Partnerships
    • Global Collaborations
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Arts at the Exploratorium
    • Contact Us
  • Join + Support
    • Donate Today!
    • Membership
    • Join Our Donor Community
    • Engage Your Business
    • Attend a Fundraiser
    • Explore Our Reach
    • Thank You to Our Supporters
    • Donor & Corporate Member FAQ
    • Host Your Event
    • Volunteer
  • Store
  • 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.

Modulated LED: Introduction

Turn sound into light and back again.

Soap Film on a Can: What's going on

Make a "water sandwich" and see how it interacts with light.

Science of Gardening: Control
Science of Gardening: Control

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

Welcome to the Third Dimension
Welcome to the Third Dimension

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

Sunspots
Sunspots

Map sunspots and build an apparatus for safe sunspot viewing!

Balancing Ball 2018

In Balancing Ball, high pressure keeps a beach ball aloft.

Young in Mind
Young in Mind

Learn how some vibrant seniors exercise their minds, and find out what you can do to help your own memory.

Unwinding DNA: Life at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Unwinding DNA: Life at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

The untold stories behind scientific discovery.

Colleen: Performance

Experience the delicately crafted, otherworldly pop songs of French musician Colleen.

Making a Sun Clock
Making a Sun Clock

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

Naked Eggs
Naked Eggs

Use your naked egg to experiment with osmosis, the movement of water across a membrane.

Salt Volcano
Salt Volcano

Make your own miniature "Lava Lite."

Oil Spot Photometer

Measure the brightness of the sun using cooking oil and a white card.

The Nose Knows
The Nose Knows (pdf)

Discover the difference between taste and smell.

McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station

"Mac Town," the first stop for many scientists in Antarctica, is the same as any town–only different.

Sound Automata (pdf)

Explore the surrounding sounds that everyday objects make. Build a noise contraption from these objects, then add a PicoCricket to automate your contraption. Finally, add a light sensor and program your sound automata to "play" when triggered by light.

The Amazing Water Trick
The Amazing Water Trick

Do hot water and cold water mix?

Creating the Campus
Creating the Campus

Explore an interactive map.

Seasons and Alignments
Seasons and Alignments

Does the sun rise in the east? Not exactly.

Smell the Maillard Reaction
Smell the Maillard Reaction

Amino acids and corn syrup combine to create new aromas.

Dime Tic-Tac-Toe
Dime Tic-Tac-Toe

This new version of an old game will bend your brain.

Building A Virtual Skull
Building A Virtual Skull

Explore the process of reconstructing a skull as a 3-D model.

Knuckleballs
Knuckleballs
Cloud Chamber

See evidence of invisible cosmic rays with Cloud Chamber.

Total Solar Eclipse: Live From Turkey
Total Solar Eclipse: Live From Turkey

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

Fermentation and Food
Fermentation and Food

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

Robo-Car Derby
Robo-Car Derby

Demonstrations of electric Robo-Cars made by 22 Science Summer students.

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. . .

Crusty Science: Bread
Crusty Science: Bread

Join us as we crunch our way through everything from our San Francisco sourdough to Injera and Pugliese.

Ancient Observatories Teacher's Guide
Ancient Observatories Teacher's Guide
Not Fade Away
Not Fade Away

One man's journey into blindness

Curveballs
One of the niftiest tricks up the pitcher's sleeve is the ability to make a ball curve.
Light Wind

Use wind to power a motor and light an LED.

Antarctic Exploration
Antarctic Exploration

The lure of Terra Australis Incognita begins with the Ancient Greeks and ends with modern cruise ships.

Cylinders and Scale
Cylinders and Scale

What happens to a cylinder when you scale it up?

Altamont Wind Farms

Learn how wind energy is generated and stored at Altamont Pass.

How Old Is It?
How Old Is It?

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

Live Cinema | Brent Green and Sam Green

Enjoy the immediacy and immersive storytelling of this cinematic collaboration.

The Sun-Eating Dragon: Eclipse Stories, Myths, and Legends
The Sun-Eating Dragon: Eclipse Stories, Myths, and Legends
Institute for Inquiry: Examining the Art of Science Education
Institute for Inquiry: Examining the Art of Science Education

Professional development resources for teacher educators.

Paul Doherty at Disagreeing About Color

Can you believe your eyes?

Light and Landscape: The Science and Art of Perception
Light and Landscape: The Science and Art of Perception

Explore the mysterious interactions between light and geography through the eyes and works of artists Charles Ross and James Turrell.

Arctic Birds
Arctic Birds

Summertime in the Arctic is for the birds

Blood
Blood

Learn about the body's vital defense force.

Eyeing the Storm: Science and Art of Visualization
Eyeing the Storm: Science and Art of Visualization

From May 20 to June 5 1997, we presented a webcast series exploring the art and science of severe storm visualization.

Meat is Muscle
Meat is Muscle

What's the difference between white meat and dark meat? Which animals have which and why?

Make Your Own Petroglyph
Make Your Own Petroglyph

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

Pringles Pinhole
Pringles Pinhole

Recycle a potato chip can into a simple camera.

Any Little Patch of Dirt
Any Little Patch of Dirt

A trash-filled median blossoms into a community oasis.

Soap Film Painting

Learn how to make beautiful "paintings" with soap and water.

Why Save Seeds?
Why Save Seeds?

Find out why biodiversity benefits plants and people alike.

New Musical Instruments
New Musical Instruments

See astounding musical instruments made by Bart Hopkin

Bird in a Cage: Materials and assembly

Do the Bird in a Cage experiment with some basic materials.

Soap Film Interference Model: Introduction

Build a scale model of waves of red and blue light.

Seismic Slinky
Seismic Slinky

What goes on under the ground during an earthquake? Use a Slinky to model the various seismic waves that make the earth tremble.

A Record of the Moment
Groove with the history and technology of vinyl records.
Total Solar Eclipse Zambia 2001
Total Solar Eclipse Zambia 2001
Sport! Science Q&A
Sport! Science Q&A

Find the answers to common Sport! Science questions.

Any Little Patch of Dirt
Any Little Patch of Dirt

A trash-filled median blossoms into a community oasis.

Visit a Lollipop Factory
Visit a Lollipop Factory

Visit Kendon Candies, a lollipop factory in San Jose, California

Pages

  • « first
  • ‹ previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • …
  • next ›
  • last »

Explore

  • Browse by Subject
    • Arts
    • Astronomy & Space Sciences
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Data
    • Earth Science
    • Engineering & Technology
    • Environmental Science
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nature of Science
    • Perception
    • Physics
    • Social Science
  • Browse by Content Type
    • Activities
    • Blogs
    • Exhibits
    • Video
    • Websites
    • Apps
      • Total Solar Eclipse
Exploratorium
Visit
Join
Give

Pier 15
(Embarcadero at Green Street)
San Francisco, CA 94111
415.528.4444

Contact Us

  • Plan Your Visit
  • Calendar
  • Buy Tickets
  • Getting Here
  • Store
  • Event Rentals
  • About Us
  • Become a Member
  • Donate
  • Jobs
  • Volunteer
  • Press Office
  • Land Acknowledgment

Get at-home activities and learning tools delivered straight to your inbox

The Exploratorium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our tax ID #: 94-1696494
© 2023 Exploratorium | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Your California Privacy Rights |