exploratorium

Arts

Enjoy the Exploratorium’s arts programs, which, like our scientific programs, offer a way to understand our world.

Nov
21
Pegusus
Curious Contraptions

Thursday, November 21, 2019–Sunday, January 26, 2020

Explore fantastical, often amusing mechanical sculptures known as automata. These small, handmade flying, sailing, and cycling machines bring whimsical dramas to life through low-tech mechanisms, inviting you to investigate how they work.

Nov
21
After Dark: Nonsense Machines

Thursday, November 21, 2019 • 6:00–10:00 p.m.

Leave your common sense at the door and indulge in a night of nonsense in celebration of the opening of Curious Contraptions—including two performances by Maywa Denki,  foremost purveyors of nonsense machines.

 

Dec
5
Buckyball art installation
Glow: Festival of Lights

Thursday, December 5, 2019–Sunday, January 26, 2020

Celebrate the holidays and excite your atoms at Glow, our annual festival of ebullient lights and subtle glows celebrating the close of the year. Bask in the mesmerizing gleams of special installations and kinetic sculptures, take a shine to illuminating exhibits, and show your sparkle with scintillating activities.

 

Dec
6
Kaleidoscope

Friday, December 6, 2019– Monday January 20, 2020
Preview on Thursday, December 5, 2019 • 6:00–10:00 p.m. (Ages 18+)

Experience a landscape of astonishing visual effects. Constructed as an 8-foot-square light table, artist Karina Smigla-Bobinski’s Kaleidoscope invites you to manipulate layers of inks comprised entirely of the primary colors. Each touch of the surface generates hyperdynamic images that visualize motion energy.