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Shrinking Polymers
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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.
Stack 'Em Up
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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.
pH Scale
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In this online interactive simulation, learners will test the pH of liquids like coffee, spit, and soap to determine whether each is acidic, basic, or neutral.
Trophy Triathlon
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In this activity, learners are challenged to design and construct a trophy for prize-winning sports equipment.
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.
How Many Pennies?
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In this activity (pages 13-14), learners investigate the properties of smart materials, which are materials that respond to things that happen around them.
Solar Energy
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In this activity (page 11 of PDF), learners compare the air pressure within a dark and a light bottle both heated by the sun, and discover that solar energy can be collected and stored in many ways
You're Grounded
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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.
Size and Scale: Probing and Predicting
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In this quick activity about predicting (located on page 2 of the PDF under Where's Nano?
Wind Tunnel
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Scientists use enormous wind tunnels to test the design of planes, helicopters, even the Space Shuttle.
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.
Origami Flying Disk
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In this three-part activity, learners use paper to explore Bernoulli's Principle — fast-moving air has lower pressure than non-moving air.
Stretch the Chain and See the Light
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In this activity, learners use their strength to light a light bulb. A chain made from paper clips is placed in series with a battery and flashlight bulb.
Mystery Sand
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In this activity, learners play with surprising sand that doesn’t get wet! Learners explore how water behaves differently when it comes in contact with "magic sand" and regular sand.
Invisible Sunblock
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This is a hands-on activity exploring how nanoscale particles are used in mineral sunblocks to increase their transparency.
Give and Take
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In this activity, learners explore liquid crystals, light and temperature. Using a postcard made of temperature-sensitive liquid crystal material, learners monitor temperature changes.
Echo Base Bobsleds
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The goal of this activity is to build a miniature bobsled that is either the fastest or the slowest. Learners use recycled materials to design, build, and test their bobsled on a bobsled track.
Submarine: Lift Bag Lander
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In this activity (on page 4), learners create a submarine using a plastic sandwich bag. This is a fun way to learn about buoyancy and how captured gas can cause objects to float.
Magic Sand: Nanosurfaces
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This is an activity/demo in which learners are exposed to the difference bewteen hydrophobic surfaces (water repelling) and hydrophilic surfaces (water loving).
Carbon Configurations
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In this activity, learners use geometry to predict the shape of carbon. Learners twist and attach chenille stem pieces that represent bonds between different carbon atoms.