exploratorium

Explorables: Handmade Science

Check upcoming programs for dates and times.
Exploratorium, Pier 15

Use everyday materials to create models and other tools for exploring the world around us. Run by a dedicated team of volunteers, these drop-in workshops mix classic activities with open-ended investigations, encouraging participants to follow their hunches to aha! moments of scientific insight.

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Upcoming Programs

Past Programs

Explorables: Clothespin Automata
Explorables: Self, Made

Saturday, June 15, 2019 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Join us for two fun activities that offer unique challenges: Bean Bag Toss Challenge and Coverse Using Few Words.

Explorables: Clothespin Automata
Explorables: Electricity

Saturday, April 20, 2019 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Play with circuits and magnets to build an electronic sculpture and electric motor.
 

Explorables: Clothespin Automata
Explorables: Play

Saturday, March 16, 2019 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Join us for three classic Explorables activities exploring sound and motion: Glove-A-Phone, Climbing Bear, and Spinning Disks.

Explorables: Clothespin Automata
Explorables: Flash Pickling

Saturday, February 16, 2019 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Turn vegetables into a delicious pickled snack. Flash pickling is a simple technique that lets you perform the pickling process in under a minute.

Explorables: Clothespin Automata
Explorables: Clothespin Automata

Saturday, November 17, 2018 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Use clothesline pins, foam, and moving parts to investigate and build different types of whimsical contraptions.

Explorables: Clothespin Automata

Saturday, November 10, 2018 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Use clothesline pins, foam, and moving parts to investigate and build different types of whimsical contraptions.

Explorables: Automata Workshop

Saturday, October 20, 2018 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Use cams, cranks, and moving parts to investigate and build different types of contraptions made with everyday materials such as cardboard and paper.

Explorables: Hovercrafts and Feeling Pressured

Saturday, July 28, 2018 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Try two air-focused activities inspired by the Inflatable exhibition.

Explorables: Motion

Friday, July 27, 2018 • 4:00–7:00 p.m.

Wind tables and tubes are a playful and inventive way to explore the effect of moving air on objects. Construct lightweight flyers from everyday materials, and then adjust them to change the way they float or fly.

Explorables: Hovercrafts and Feeling Pressured

Saturday, July 21, 2018 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Try two air-focused activities inspired by the Inflatable exhibition.

Explorables: Hovercrafts and Feeling Pressured

Saturday, July 14, 2018 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Try two air-focused activities inspired by the Inflatable exhibition.

Explorables: Inflatable Origami

Saturday, June 30, 2018 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Come and explore how simple folds can transform paper into many different objects.

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