Listen to a beam of light. Audio signals can be carried by radio waves or as electrical pulses in wires. Other forms of electromagnetic radiation, such as visible light, can also carry audio signals.

Dark-colored materials both absorb and emit energy more readily than light-colored materials. Using a card or strip made of temperature-sensitive liquid crystal material, you can monitor temperature ...

The distribution of the mass of an object determines the position of its center of gravity, its angular momentum, and your ability to balance it. Place a lump of clay about the size of your fist ...

You’ve probably seen an ice skater spinning on the tip of one skate suddenly start to spin dramatically faster. A diver or gymnast may also suddenly flip or twist much faster. This speeded-up rotation ...

With polarized light, you can make a stained glass window without glass. Using transparent tape and polarizing material, you can make and project beautifully colored patterns reminiscent of abstract ...

Make a simple mini-motor. A coil of wire becomes an electromagnet when current passes through it. The electromagnet interacts with a permanent magnet, causing the coil to spin. Voilà! You’ve created ...

The pneumatic tire and the chain drive, followed by the development of gears, revolutionized bicycling in the later 1800s. In the last fifteen years, there has been a revolution of sorts in the ...

The city of San Francisco designated ten Living Innovation Zones (LIZs) as a way to improve the Market Street thoroughfare. The Exploratorium was selected to develop the first LIZ. The City gave us ...

You probably already know how to play Tic-Tac-Toe. It's a really simple game, right? That's what most people think. But if you really wrap your brain around it, you'll discover that Tic-Tac-Toe isn't ...

One of the most exciting exercises I ever did as a kid was to make a scale model of the Solar System. Most of the pictures in my books made the distance between planets seem small and easy to travel.

Using the Pinhole Viewer. We found that the pinhole viewer works well outside on a sunny day. Look into the opening in the top of the box, squeeze the box so it fits tightly around your face, and use ...

Experiment with rocket designs and a PVC launcher to discover how high—and how far—you can make your rockets go. Note: The exact lengths of the PVC are not critical. Ask your hardware store to saw ...