Learn with us online while the Exploratorium is temporarily closed. You can help us reopen—donate today.

What is a Science Snack?

Science Snacks are hands-on, teacher-tested activities that bring explorations of natural phenomena into the classroom and home. Each activity uses inexpensive, easily-available materials, offers detailed instructions and images, provides a clear explanation of what's going on, and is adaptable to a wide range of curricula, content areas, grade levels, and settings.

And don't miss our Special Collections.

Above: Condiment Diver Science Snack

Science Snacks by Subject

Search for Snacks based on subject or content area.

Family-Friendly Snacks

Easy Snacks to do with things you have at home.

Science Snacks with Videos

Feast your eyes on tasty video demonstrations of these Snacks.

Bocadillos científicos

Los Bocadillos son experimentos científicos interactivos en español que utilizan materiales comunes.

Try these Science Snacks

Outdoor Shadows

Trace your shadow, then make it change.

Science activity that demonstrates perception of camouflage and movement

Disappearing Act

If you want to stay hidden, you'd better stay still.

Science activity that demonstrates an ambiguous figure optical illusion

Far-Out Corners

Your experience of the world influences what you see.

Science activity to make an instrument that creates the sound of rain falling

Make Your Own Rainstick

Listen to the sound of rain falling—anytime, anywhere.

Science activity that produces musical sounds only you can hear

Secret Bells

Create a sound system for music only you can hear.

Science activity to explore a developing plant embryo

See Inside a Seed

Examine the baby plants inside the seeds we eat.

Falling Feather

Prove to yourself that Galileo was right.

Science activity that demonstrates effect of temperature on density

Cool Hot Rod

Objects change size when heated or cooled.

See Inside a Seed

Examine the baby plants inside the seeds we eat.

Science activity that uses a pendulum and a marker to create beautiful designs

Drawing Board

A pendulum moving in two directions creates beautiful designs.

Science activity that demonstrates Bernoulli’s principle by blowing between two empty cans

Uncanny Motion

Blowing between cans makes them roll in mind-blowing ways.

Science activity that explores the carbon cycle

Follow the Carbon

Model the carbon cycle and its principal reservoirs and flow rates using rice.

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