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In this activity, learners conduct an experiment to help Pharaoh design a better insulated tomb.

In this activity, learners thread gumdrops together to make a model of a polymer.

Coins are everyday objects which tell a lot about the people who use them.

A design challenge that takes paper airplanes into an entirely different direction: a magnus glider uses cups and and rubber bands to create a glider that uses the same forces that a curveball (from b

This is a great activity for investigating the basics of lift and drag as they pertain to flight. Learners will discover how to avoid "taking a nosedive" by building their own paper airplane.

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.

Learners follow the template to build and fly a paper helicopter.

Learn how to make and fly a paper helicopter! This simple activity includes a template (for the copter "blades") and instructions for folding, flying, and testing designs.

Learners see convection currents in action in this highly visual demonstration. Sealed bags of colored hot or cold water are immersed in tanks of water.

In this quick activity (located on page 2 of the PDF under GPS: Balloon Fiesta Activity), learners will see the effects of convection and understand what makes hot air balloons rise.

Learners act as engineers and design mini submarines that move in the water like real submarines.

In this activity, learners will use static elecricity to bend a stream of water without touching it. Learners will explore physics and cause and effect through this activity.

In this activity, learners discover that some plastics will shrink when you get them hot. Learners bake polystyrene in a regular oven and discover what happens.

In this simple and fun activity, learners build a tower of cups to explore distribution of weight. Learners make predictions about their towers and test their designs.

In this engineering activity, learners test the stability of towers they build out of cups, discovering that structures with more mass in the base are more stable.

In this three-part activity, learners use paper to explore Bernoulli's Principle — fast-moving air has lower pressure than non-moving air.

Learners test two jars containing hot water, one covered with plastic and one open, for changes in temperature.

In this engineering activity, challenge learners to build a tower out of 10 sheets of newspaper and 3 feet of masking tape, which can hold a golf ball balancing at the top.

In this activity, learners explore density and buoyancy as they design and construct rafts.

In this activity, learners engineer a paper helicopter that spins to the ground when dropped.