• Visit
    • Calendar
    • After Dark Thursdays
    • Buy Tickets
    • Exhibits
    • Museum Galleries
    • Artworks on View
    • Hours
    • Getting Here
    • Visitor FAQ
    • Event Rentals
  • 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
      • Highlighted Artworks + Exhibits
      • Special Hours
      • Private Event Closures
    • Prices
    • Hours
    • Getting Here
    • Museum Map
    • Reduced Rates & Community Day
    • 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

      • Rentals FAQ
      • Event Planning Resources
      • Rental Request Form
      • Download Brochure (pdf)
    • 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
    • Fact Sheet
    • Awards
    • Our History
      • 50 Years 1969–2019

    • Senior Leadership
    • 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

    • FY20 Audit Report
    • 990 FY19 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
    • Fact Sheet
    • Photographs
    • Press Video
    • Press Kits
    • Press Visits
    • Exploratorium Logos
    • Recent Awards
    • Praise for the Exploratorium
    • Join Our Press List
  • Store

Masks are required for all visitors 2+. Vaccines 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
  • 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.

Iron Science Teacher
Iron Science Teacher

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

Getting Started with Science Journal
Getting Started with Science Journal

Turn your phone into a pocket science laboratory with tools to measure light, motion, sound, and more.

Peter Taylor's Tool Belt

by Steve Gennrich • January 7, 2017

Peter Taylor, Exploratorium Super-Technician, talks about his outdoor installation tools.

Messing With Your Mind
Messing With Your Mind

Can you trust your own memory? Find out with this activity.

The Dirt on Dirt
The Dirt on Dirt

Get down and dirty with the surprising science of soil.

Flying Tinsel: Teacher tips

Get some teaching tips and extension ideas for Flying Tinsel.

Geometry Playground

Geometry Playground will change the way you think about geometry. This exhibition engages your hands, brain, and body in playful investigations of this most visible branch of math.

Sunspots
Sunspots

Map sunspots and build an apparatus for safe sunspot viewing!

Earliest Memories
Earliest Memories

Enjoy the early memories of some of the visitors to this website.

Garden Variety
Garden Variety

Discover the uncommon stories behind the most common fruits and vegetables.

Curveballs
One of the niftiest tricks up the pitcher's sleeve is the ability to make a ball curve.
Seismic Science: Damage Control
Seismic Science: Damage Control

We can't predict when an earthquake will occur, but we can avoid some potential disasters.

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.

Crystal Creations
Crystal Creations

Grow spikes of crystals in the sun.

Aurora
Aurora

Darkening polar skies often bring beautiful light displays.

Viewing the Stereographs
Viewing the Stereographs

About Anaglyphs. How do I make 3-D glasses?

Bottle Blast-Off
Bottle Blast-Off

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

Exploring Hair
Exploring Hair

Scientific knowledge and a few chemical concoctions can get you through a Bad Hair Day.

Bottle Blast-Off
Bottle Blast-Off

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

Preserving our Wild Fish

Check out efforts to restore California’s native steelhead and salmon. 

Frog City USA
Frog City USA

Take a virtual journey to the frog capital of the world, Rayne, Louisiana.

Magic Wand: Exhibit Demo

Can you see pictures in the air?

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

Building the Exploratorium at Pier 15: Timelapse

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

An Artist Looks at Life on an Undersea Volcano
What's a painter doing on this scientific research ship?
Video: “Eclipse Chasers”
Video: “Eclipse Chasers”
Finding the Sweet Spot
Finding the Sweet Spot
Magnetic Fruit

Watch a magnet repel a grape and consider different types of magnetism.

Science of Baseball
Science of Baseball

What's the science behind a home run? Why do curveballs curve? Learn about the game from players from the S.F. Giants & Oakland A's.

Bastoncini da giardinaggio
Bastoncini da giardinaggio
Iron Science Teacher
Iron Science Teacher

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

An Artist Looks at Life on an Undersea Volcano
What's a painter doing on this scientific research ship?
 The Science of Cooking Meat
The Science of Cooking Meat

fat, proteins, collagen, and more

Bike Frame Materials
Bike Frame Materials

Explore the important engineering concepts of yield strength, ultimate strength, and elasticity as they relate to building a better bicycle.

Colored Shadows Demo

An additive mixture of light makes for some colorful fun.

Oil Spot Photometer

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

Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?
Evidence: How Do We Know What We Know?

For most of us, science arrives in our lives packaged neatly as fact. But how did it get that way?

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. . .

Mars Links
Mars Links

Find links relevant to Mars and space exploration.

Planetarium
Planetarium

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

Center of the Universe
Center of the Universe

Where is the Center of the Universe? Here, there, and everywhere.

Turning Light into Sound with Wayne Grim and the Kronos Quartet

by Liz Ball • July 13, 2017

Join the Kronos Quartet for a performance like no other.

The Higgs Boson Particle
The Higgs Boson Particle
Drives & Gears
Drives & Gears

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

Ponti di Carta di Giornale
Cheryl E. Leonard Performance

Discover music where you never expected to find it.

Cold Water Candy Test
Cold Water Candy Test

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

Ocean Acidification in a Cup: Going further

Can you reverse ocean acidification in a cup?

Playing Fantastic Four
Playing Fantastic Four

This card game is a little like a puzzle. You and your opponents all try to find solutions to the puzzle���and the one who finds the most solutions wins!

Past Eclipse Expeditions
Past Eclipse Expeditions
Live from the Galapagos: July 2nd, 2015

Explore a part of the Galapagos that Darwin never saw.

Fermentation and Food
Fermentation and Food

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

Long Now Rosetta Project
Discover how we shot 1,500 languages into space.
Bernie Lubell
Bernie Lubell

Meet a kinetic sculptor.

Mid-Air Maneuver
Mid-Air Maneuver

To understand how skaters turn in midair, try this little experiment.

It's Alive
It's Alive

Bring movie, TV, and cartoon images to life.

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

Zebrafish

A model for heart development

Piezoelectric Microphones
Piezoelectric Microphones

Pick one and guess the source

Paper Bridges
Paper Bridges

Build a bridge from a piece of paper and explore ways of making it stronger.

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
© 2022 Exploratorium | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Your California Privacy Rights |