Curiosity at Home: 3-5 Activities

PacSci Now: Spectroscopy

Watch PacSci Now: Spectroscopy to learn about how gas interacts with light AND how lightsabers work.

Crater Creators

Learn about the impact asteroids and meteorites have on our moon and other planetary bodies in Crater Creators.

Extraterrestrial Adventure

If you met an extraterrestrial, what do you think it would it look like? Create a new life form in Extraterrestrial Adventure.

Going Through a Phase

Create a model of the phases of the Moon, Earth, and Sun in Going Through a Phase.

Make a Sundial

Make a Sundial to tell the time using only some simple items and a sunny day!

PacSci Now: Strange Planets

Did you know Saturn has a strange hexagon around its North Pole? Watch and learn more about spinning storms in PacSci Now: Strange Planets.

Shadow Tracking

How did people keep track of time before electricity? Learn how to track shadows to see how the sun changes positions throughout the day in Shadow Tracking.

Space Odyssey: Color My World, Marshmallow Constellations, Moving Target

Download the English version

Virtual Planetarium Shows

Blast-off to the outer reaches of the universe, discover constellations, or explore the planets in our own solar system. View the video playlist

Astronomical Navigation

Build a special tool used by sailors long ago, then use it to learn about navigation and the night sky in Astronomical Navigation.

Marshmallow Constellations

Learn about some constellations and make 3D models of your favorites in Marshmallow Constellations.

Milky Way Haze

Wonder why the Milky Way resembles a hazy, cloud-like strip in the sky? Find out in Milky Way Haze.

Sizing Up the Stars

Stars come in many colors, temperatures, and sizes. Make your own models of stars in Sizing Up the Stars.

Star Finder

Make a rotating star locator to find the constellations visible in the night sky throughout the year in Star Finder.

Virtual Planetarium Shows

Blast-off to the outer reaches of the universe, discover constellations, or explore the planets in our own solar system. View the video playlist

Adaptation Artistry

Use your imagination to design a habitat on Earth 100+ years from now in Adaptation Artistry.

Animal Tracks

What can animal tracks tell us? Play the Animal Tracks matching game to identify footprints, then make your own tracks.

Bird Beak Buffet

Find out why birds have such different beaks and how this adaptation helps them survive in Bird Beak Buffet.

Habitat Match

Explore different animal adaptations that may help them overcome challenges living in their environments in Habitat Match.

Jump for Joy

Which animals can jump farther than humans? Find out the answer by comparing your jump distance with animals’ in Jump for Joy.

Live Science Show: Masters of Mimicry

How do animals hide in plain sight? Explore adaptations and evolution through storytelling and interactive experiments in Masters of Mimicry.

Live Science Show: Snake Tales

Meet one of PacSci’s corn snakes and go on a poetic journey in our Live Science Show, Snake Tales.

Naked Mole Rats Observation

Observe and scan sample our Naked Mole Rat colony, then record your findings in the Naked Mole Rats Observation activity.

PacSci Now: Fossil Clues

Watch Fossil Clues and examine fossils and skulls to uncover mysteries about dinosaurs.

PacSci Now: Wild About Whales

Watch Wild About Whales and learn about one of everyone’s favorite marine mammals.

Whale Feeding

Did you know that whales feed in two different ways? Learn more in the Whale Feeding activity.

Bee Hotel

Learn how to build a Bee Hotel to provide nesting habitat to solitary bees.

Butterflies Emerging

Have you ever see the moment that butterflies emerge from a chrysalis? Watch this insider’s glimpse.

Butterfly Puddle Station

Create a healthy habitat for butterflies and observe who visits your Butterfly Puddle Station.

Insect Exploration

Go on an Insect Exploration and learn which insects pollinate which plants!

Make Your Own Insect Lifecycle

Ever wonder what an insect’s life is like, especially the butterflies in our Tropical Butterfly House? Learn about insect lifecycles and make your own.

PacSci Now: Meet a Tarantula

Meet Senora, an Arizona Blonde Tarantula in this PacSci Now video! Learn about how arachnids see, move, feel around, and more.

PacSci Now: The Last Butterfly

Watch The Last Butterfly, a behind-the-scenes look at how PacSci gets, hatches, and cares for the butterflies in our Tropical Butterfly House, as well as what’s happened during our temporary closure.

PacSci Now: Washington’s Native Bumblebees

Discover Washington’s Native Bumblebees! Learn about how scientists catch and study bees, sonication, and how you can help bumblebees.

Spider Silk Hunt

All spiders produce silk, but they do it for very different reasons. Go looking for spider webs in Spider Silk Hunt.

Test Your Spider Knowledge

Spiders are often seen as scary and are misunderstood. How well do you know spiders? Try the Test Your Spider Knowledge activity.

What’s That Buzz

Play a sorting game to learn which buzzing insect is which in What’s That Buzz?

Tinker Tank at Home: Cookie Making

Make chocolate chip cookies and the science behind each ingredient and step.

Tinker Tank at Home: Food Science

Experiment with yeast and other ingredients at home to learn more about food.

Blind Spot and Hole in the Hand

Can you trust everything your eyes see? Experience the sensory process of your eyes sending your brain information in Blind Spot and Hole in the Hand activities.

Color My World

Make a light box to view different objects in different colors in Color My World.

Create an Afterimage

Our eyes work together with our brains to create a conscious image of the world around us. Experience a type of illusion in Create an Afterimage.

DNA Extraction

Use common kitchen items to extract DNA from fruits and veggies.

Don’t Bug Me

Step into an epidemiologists’ shoes and prevent the spread of the flu in Don’t Bug Me!

Hand Hygiene Science

Try your hand at this germ-busting hygiene activity.

Handwashing Challenge

How does handwashing prevent the spreading of viruses? Watch this video to find out.

Illusion of Forced Perspective

Experiment in the Illusion of Forced Perspective activity and make a small object look bigger than you are in a photograph.

Live Science Show: Illusions

Watch the Illusions Live Science Show and learn how the brain and eyes work together to create optical illusions.

Make a Model Lung

Make a model lung to learn about how the diaphragm works with lungs to allow us to breath.

Make Your Own Thermometer

Learn about temperature and make your own thermometer.

More Than Meets the Eye

Look at these optical illusions and discover the role your brain plays in interpreting sensory input.

Osmosis Eggs, Reaction Time, After Image, Bendable Bones, Tricky Temperature, More Than Meets the Eye

Download the English activity version

PacSci Now: Human Brains

See and learn from a real human brain in this video activity.

PacSci Now: The Respiratory System

Wondering how lungs work? Watch this demonstration with PacSci’s educators.

Reaction Time

Learn about reflexes and measure your reaction time.

Trick Your Taste Buds, Make a Model Lunch, How Tall Are You, Really

Download the English activity version
Download the Spanish activity version

Trick Your Taste Buds

Trick your taste buds and see how these two senses are linked in the brain.

Blowing in the Wind

Not all flowers are pollinated by insects or other animal pollinators. Learn which flowers rely on pollen Blowing in the Wind!

Flower Dissection

Take a closer look at flowers and identify their different parts in Flower Dissection.

Growing Together

Build a fantastic flower, then predict what animal would be its perfect pollinator in Growing Together.

Paint Me Pollinated

How does pollination work? Use colorful chalk or paint to mimic pollen as it’s carried from plant to plant in Paint Me Pollinated.

Pollen For Breakfast

Use a fruity cereal to create a model of ancient soils and learn how pollen can tell the story of long ago climates in Pollen For Breakfast.

Beat the Heat

Design and test insulators in Beat the Heat and figure out a way to keep a vaccine cool.

Bubble Blast

Is it possible to make bubbles better? Become a chemical engineer in Bubble Blast to learn about bubbles’ chemical properties and design your own bubble.

Cryptic Chromatography

Try this Cryptic Chromatography activity and learn about forensic science and the chemistry behind colors.

Filtration Station

Design a Filtration Station and explore different materials and methods for cleaning water.

Ice Cream in a Bag

Try out a little chemistry in the kitchen by creating Ice Cream in a Bag that turns liquids into solids in a tasty experiment.

Instant Ice

What kinds of shapes can you make as you rapidly turn water to ice in Instant Ice.

Material World

Try your hand at materials science engineering by creating then testing the properties of a new mystery substance in Material World.

Natural Tie Dye

Discover the chemistry behind colorful clothing using produce from home in Natural Tie Dye.

Osmosis Eggs

Watch eggs grow and shrink in this eggstraordinary eggsperiment, Osmosis Eggs!

PacSci Now: Chemical Reactions

How do you know a chemical reaction is taking place? Watch these chemistry experiments and learn about the four indicators of reactions!

PacSci Now: Liquid Nitrogen Experiment

Air moves fast, liquids move slowly, and solids don’t move much at all. Is the same true for molecules? Watch this video to see how liquid nitrogen (LN2) moves.

Phase Change Sandwich

Water can exist as a gas, liquid or solid. Observe all 3 phases of water in this Phase Change Sandwich.

Polished Pennies

Create chemical reactions while polishing pennies in this activity.

Purple Produce pH Indicator

Use red cabbage to make a Purple Produce pH Indicator solution that can tell if a liquid is an acid or a base.

Shoofly Pie

Learn about chemical reactions between common ingredients while baking a Shoofly Pie.

Tinker Tank at Home: Elephant Toothpaste

Watch this video to learn how to make Elephant Toothpaste at home and see a chemical reaction unfold before your eyes.

Tinker Tank at Home: Food Science

Watch this video, then experiment with yeast and other ingredients at home to learn more about food science.

Ball Bounce

Do all balls bounce in the same way? Discover materials and structures’ different characteristics in Ball Bounce.

Bioplastic

Design for a sustainable future and make your own Bioplastic with natural materials.

Making Oobleck

Discover with the PacSci team! Become a material scientist and make Oobleck and investigate its weird properties.

PacSci Now: Making Slime

Yucky, gooey slime! Make slime using everyday materials with the PacSci team.

Tinker Tank at Home: Electric Circuits

Watch Electric Circuits and use the scientific method to learn about electricity, circuits, and conduction with objects you can find at home.

Tinker Tank at Home: Make Mini Lightsabers

Watch and make a mini lightsaber with Tinker Tank at Home.

Beat the Heat

Be a materials engineer and design and test an insulators in Beat the Heat.

Design a Solution

Use your engineering skills to design new inventions that can solve problems, using natural and renewable resources in Design a Solution.

Filtration Station

Design a Filtration Station and explore different materials and methods for cleaning water.

PacSci Now: Pedal Power

Learn how to design an engineering solution to convert physical to electrical in Pedal Power.

Stop Edits

Create a movie with fantastical illusions using special effects in Stop Edits.

Tinker Tank at Home: Build a 3D Hologram Projector

Build 3D hologram projector using a smart phone with Tinker Tank at Home.

Tinker Tank at Home: Make Mini Lightsabers

Watch and make a mini lightsaber with Tinker Tank at Home.

Cardboard City

Design and build a Cardboard City that reflect the services, layouts, features, and styles of the residents that will live there.

Keep Things Cool

Test out different materials to find out which trap heat and which Keep Things Cool.

Machine Building Station, Straw Towers, Oobleck

Download the English activity version
Download the Spanish activity version

PacSci Now: Build an Arch

Use your civil engineering skills to Build an Arch without glue or nails.

Spaghetti Towers

Explore shape and structure in Spaghetti Towers while designing, building, and redesigning the tallest tower possible.

Crash Test

Build and test a model vehicle for safety in this mini Crash Test activity.

Rubber Band Racers, Homemade Balloon Rockets

Download the English activity version

Take Flight

Can a paper plane fly with hoops for wings? Find out in Take Flight.

Tinker Tank at Home: Build a Milk Carton Boat

Make milk carton boats and challenge friends and family to a Milk Carton Derby!

Wind Powered Cars

Design a vehicle that is powered by the wind, test your invention, and redesign it to make it even better in Wind Powered Cars.

Earth Day Scavenger Hunt

Explore the environment, flora, and fauna around your home and go on an Earth Day Scavenger Hunt.

Ecosystem Surveys

Be a scientist and observe a nearby ecosystem like a park or backyard and record your observations in Ecosystem Surveys.

Grow Your Own Pollinator Garden

Pollinators have a very important job in sustaining ecosystems: they fertilize plants as they travel ensuring that we and other animals and food and flowers. Support pollinators and Grow Your Own Pollinator Garden.

Hungry, Hungry Ocean

Take a dive into the ocean’s food web in Hungry, Hungry Ocean to create and connect marine organisms.

Imaginary Ecosystem

Create an Imaginary Ecosystem for animals that includes living and non-living factors.

Observations in Sound

Get a deeper understanding of the world around you by making a sound map in Observations in Sound.

Observing Our Oceans

Investigate the impact of ice melting due to climate change and how that affects sea levels in Observing Our Oceans.

Oil Spill Clean Up

Become an environmental engineer research, design, and test ways to clean up polluted bodies of water in Oil Spill Clean Up.

Pattern Hunt

Patterns can be found everywhere! Go on a nature Pattern Hunt and look for similarities and differences.

Tinker Tank at Home: Ocean Acidification

Discover how the ocean atmosphere interacts with carbon dioxide gas and how it diffuses into water in Ocean Acidification.

Watershed Exploration

Create a watershed model and explore how water interacts with the land in Watershed Exploration.

Beach Erosion

How do beaches change over time? Make a model of a beach and see what effect waves have in Beach Erosion.

Capture the Quake

Make a seismograph in Capture the Quake to measure your own home-made earthquakes.

Graham Cracker Plate Tectonics

Create plate boundaries in Graham Cracker Plate Tectonics and watch what happens to the Earth’s crust the plates move.

Grow Your Own Crystals

Crystals occur many places in nature, and now at your home! Grown Your Own Crystals and observe their molecular structure.

PacSci Now: Plate Tectonics and Earthquakes

Watch PacSci Now: Plate Tectonics and Earthquakes and Learn about plate tectonics and how these masses of rock cause earthquakes.

PacSci Now: Rocks and Minerals

Watch Rocks and Minerals and discover what rocks can tell us about the past as well as the history of Earth.

PacSci Now: We All Live Downstream

Watch and experience We All Live Downstream, then see how water gets from mountains to streams.

Rock and Roll: Rock Candy, Magic Shell Volcanos, Candy Caves

Download the English activity version
Download the Spanish version

Rock and Roll: Pumice of Paris, Crack This Case, Crystal Garden, Rock Crayons, Rock Vocabulary, Soap Crayons

Download the English activity version

Rock Candy

Become a crystallographer by making sugar rock crystals and seeing how they form.

Rock Cycle

Make models of three different rock types in Rock Cycle to learn about how each is formed.

Astronomical Navigation

Build a special tool used by sailors long ago, then use it to learn about navigation and the night sky in Astronomical Navigation.

DIY Weather Vane

Make your very own DIY Weather Vane using some common materials and track the wind in your neighborhood!

Fog in a Jar

Discover the science behind weather and create fog inside of a jar.

Make a Sundial

Make a Sundial to tell the time using only some simple items and a sunny day!

Pollen For Breakfast

Use a fruity cereal to create a model of ancient soils and learn how pollen can tell the story of long ago climates in Pollen For Breakfast.

Tinker Tank at Home: Make a Rain Cloud

Watch this Tinker Tank at Home video to make a rain cloud using shaving cream, food coloring, and water.

Tinker Tank at Home: Make Fake Snow

Watch this video, make fake snow while learning more about sodium polyacrylate.

Thunderstorm in a Tub

Demonstrate the beginning stages of a thunderstorm by observing the mixing of warm and cool temperatures in Thunderstorm in a Tub.

Tornado in a Bottle

Observe the patterns and factors that influence a tornado by making your own tornado model with Tornado in a Bottle.

What Season Is It?

How do flowers know when to bloom and birds know when to migrate? Learn how to observe the timing of natural phenomena in What Season Is It?

Wildfire Watch

Practice being a meteorologist in Wildfire Watch by taking weather measurements, then predicting the fire danger in your area.

From a Circle to a Square to a…

Test your skills by making shapes from a circle of 12 dots in this activity

Mathfinder: Cylindrical Volume, Center of Attention

Download the English activity version

Mathfinder: Pentominoes, Game of Nim, Palindromes

Download the English activity version
Download the Spanish activity version

Personal Measuring Systems

Measure things at home based on your own measuring unit in this activity

Live Science Show: Amazing Air

Watch Amazing Air and experiment with the hidden power of high and low air pressure.

Live Science Show: Physics of Bubbles

Find out how bubbles work in Physics of Bubbles Live Science Show. See them float, fly, and burst into flames!

Pressure Inside

Wonder what makes popcorn pop? Get a taste of edible physics while learning about states of matter in Pressure Inside.

Under Pressure

Learn about the effects of air and air pressure in the activity Under Pressure.

Boat Afloat

Explore buoyancy and gravity by designing a boat in Boat Afloat using the engineering processes of design, test, and redesign.

Sink or Float

Play Sink or Float to find out how objects with different masses and volumes react in water.

Tinker Tank at Home: Buoyancy and Gravity

Water and oil may not mix, but they sure do create one fun science experiment! Watch this video to discover which materials are more buoyant and dense.

Use the Force

Invisible forces are at work on Earth and in space that move and shape our world. Learn about these forces and see if you can move an object without a physical push in Use the Force.

Live Science Show: Super Cold

Experience the thrills, spills and chills of a liquid so cold it doesn’t exist naturally on Planet Earth! Watch one of everyone’s favorite Live Science Shows, Super Cold.

PacSci Now: Liquid Nitrogen Experiment

Air moves fast, liquids move slowly, and solids don’t move much at all. Is the same true for molecules? Watch this video to see how liquid nitrogen (LN2) moves.

Make a Lava Lamp

Learn about fluid dynamics by making a lava lamp.

Aiming and Catching Sound Waves

Use two cardboard tubes to aim sound waves at a wall and bounce them back into your ears. Try the Aiming and Catching Sound Waves activity.

Amp It Up

Discover what kinds of common objects can amplify sound by carrying vibrations further with Amp It Up.

Bouncing Sound Waves

Sound travels in waves that can bounce, or reflect off of some surfaces. In Bouncing Sound Waves, investigate ways to aim and catch bouncing sound waves.

Dancing Salt

Can you make salt dance using only a homemade drum? Find out in Dancing Salt.

Live Science Show: Monster Sound

Watch and investigate mad melodies, loud lyrics, roaring riffs and the science behind them in the Monster Sound Live Science Show.

Make Your Own Kazoo

Hum your favorite tune and amplify it with your own kazoo!

PacSci Now: Good Vibrations

Watch Good Vibrations and discover how vibrations create and transfer energy – and sound – into your ears.

Pin Plinker

Build and play your own thumb piano to learn about pitch and the history of this percussive instrument in Pin Plinker.

POW!: Pitch Paradox, Light Though Water

Download the English activity version

POW!: Lever Lift, Light Relays, Aiming and Catching Sound Waves

Download the English activity version
Download the Spanish activity version

Rubber Band Box Guitar

Experiment with making a Rubber Band Box Guitar to learn about the ways string instruments make sound.

Singing Glasses

Feel the vibrations of sound waves as you make music with Singing Glasses.

Spoon Gong

Experiment with pitch and vibration in Spoon Gong by making a musical gong out of a kitchen spoon.

Tinker Tank at Home: Make Music with Wine Glasses

Watch Make Music with Wine Glasses, and make your own sounds while learning about the physics of sound and the scientific method.