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Pulleys
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In this activity, learners build inexpensive pulley assemblies from pulley wheels used for sliding screen door replacement or from clothesline spreaders.
Cup Speaker
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Make your own speaker with a magnet, wire, and paper cup! If you have a radio with a headphone plug and an old pair of headphones, this is a great tinkering activity.
Gel Electrophoresis
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In this activity, learners simulate the process of DNA fingerprinting by using electricity to separate colored dyes.
Designer Ears: Make “better” ears!
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Find out what it would be like to have ears shaped differently from your own! Design and make different animal ears then try them out.
Glow Up
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In this activity, learners explore chemiluminescence and fluorescence. Learners examine 3 different solutions in regular light, in the dark with added bleach solution, and under a black light.
Evolution in Plane Sight
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In this activity, learners model directed evolution by making paper fly. Learners construct and fly paper airplanes.
Paper Bridges
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In this activity, learners build bridges using paper and explore how much weight each bridge design can support.
Straws and Pins
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In this activity, learners build bridges and cantilevers in a series of "building out" challenges with straws and pins.
Motor Effect
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See what force a magnet has on a wire that has current running through it: will it push it, pull it, or will nothing happen? This is the foundation of a simple electric motor.
Macro-Microarray
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In this activity, learners explore the "nuts and bolts" of gene chips.
Clay Beams and Columns
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In this activity, learners make or use pre-made clay beams to scale and proportion. Specifically, they discover that when you scale up proportionally (i.e.
Coffee-Can Cuíca
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Make a cuíca (“kwee-ka”), a traditional Brazilian musical instrument that originated in Africa. Played primarily in Brazil, now you can play it at home, too, with this Exploratorium produced activity.
Garden Poles
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In this activity, learners build large-scale structures and cantilevers in a series of "building out" challenges with garden poles and tape.
Cylinders and Scale
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In this activity, learners investigate the relative growth of lengths, areas, and volumes as cylinders are scaled up.
Vocal Visualizer
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With a bit of PVC, a laser, a can/cup, and a small mirror, you can make a device that visualizes you voice or any sound transmitted into the cup/can.
A Simple Escapement Mechanism
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In this activity, learners build a simple mechanism that regulates the "escape" of energy released by a falling weight by portioning it into discrete amounts.
Indicating Electrolysis
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Electrolysis is the breakdown of water into hydrogen and oxygen. This Exploratorium activity allows learners to visualize the process with an acid-based indicator.
Paper Airplanes
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In this activity, learners explore the properties of paper by constructing and modifying paper airplanes.
Simple Pop-Up Mechanisms
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In this activity, learners construct three quick and simple mechanisms to start building a pop-up book. Learners fold, cut, and glue paper to make a bird beak, parallelogram, and V-fold.
Paper Tape Motion Timer
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In this activity, learners build a recording timer made from simple materials (e.g., small dc motor, sharpie pen, craft sticks, adding machine paper tape, etc.).