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Science activity to make Earth's atmosphere to scale

A Little Atmosphere

Use a little bit of math to make a bonus accessory for your globe of the earth—an atmosphere, to scale.

Science activity to investigate the color of water

A Splash of Color

What color is water? Look through a clear tube to find out.

Afterimage

After looking at something bright, such as a lamp or a camera flash, you may continue to see an image of that object when you look away. This lingering visual impression is called an afterimage.

Science activity demonstrating diffusion in cells

Agar Cell Diffusion

Use cubes of agar to model how diffusion occurs in cells. By observing cubes of different sizes, you can discover why larger cells might need extra help to transport materials.

Science activity that demonstrates the chemistry of batteries

Aluminum-Air Battery

Use aluminum foil, salt water, and activated charcoal to construct a simple battery strong enough to power a small motor or light.

Science activity to construct a cube that can be perceived in two ways

Ambiguous Cube

“Ambiguous” objects provide visual input that your brain can interpret in more than one way. With this Snack, you can make an ambiguous three-dimensional cube from drinking straws.

Science activity in which short pieces of chenille stem look random until viewed in the proper perspective

Ames Chair

Short pieces of chenille stem inside a box look like a random jumble, but when viewed in the proper perspective, and without normal depth perception, they look like a chair!

Anti-Gravity Mirror

A reflection of your right side can appear to be your left side. Try this activity and you'll appear to perform many gravity-defying stunts.

Science activity that explores how waves travel and interact

Anti-Sound Spring

In this simple exploration, a coiled phone cord slows the motion of a wave so you can see how a single pulse travels and what happens when two traveling wave pulses meet in the middle.

Science activity that demonstrates the angle of repose

Avalanche

What starts out as a cascade of well-mixed granular materials sorts itself into alternating layers of salt and sand.

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The Exploratorium, established in 1969, is an internationally renowned museum of art, science, and human perception located in San Francisco, California. Its hundreds of hands-on exhibits are designed to promote science discovery.

The Exploratorium Teacher Institute has supported middle and high school math and science teachers to incorporate hands-on, inquiry-rich experiences into their classrooms since 1984.

Cook up over 100 hands-on science exhibits from everyday materials!
Buy the Exploratorium Science Snackbook.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribution: Exploratorium Teacher Institute