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

There's always something interesting happening here—check out our ongoing events.

Past Programs

Explorables: Clothespin Automata
Explorables: Glow

Saturday, December 21, 2019 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Play around with LEDs and make your own glowing toys with these two activities. 

Explorables: Clothespin Automata
Explorables: Glow

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

Play around with LEDs and make your own glowing toys with these two activities. 

Explorables: Clothespin Automata
Explorables: Glow

Saturday, October 19, 2019 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Play around with LEDs and make your own glowing toys with these two activities. 

Explorables: Self, Made

Saturday, August 17, 2019 • 1:00–4:00 p.m.

Join us for two fun activities that offer unique challenges: Reach Your Goals and Coverse Using Few Words.

Explorables: Self, Made

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

Join us for two fun activities that offer unique challenges: Reach Your Goals and Coverse Using Few Words.

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.

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