Easy-to-create, approachable science exhibits that can be made with everyday materials.
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In October of 2021, an idea was born that would forever change the landscape of informal science. Exhiblets! For years, nameless scrappy, quirky, exhiblet-esque contraptions have been hanging around in dusty workshops and hitching rides to schools in old vans and buses. Thanks to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) a multi-year collaboration between the Exploratorium and the Global Alliance of Community Science Workshops has cemented a place for exhiblets in any community science space.
Six Design Principles of Exhiblets:
➔ An exhiblet is surprising. It explores a scientific phenomenon, inspiring delight and further learning even after multiple uses.
➔ An exhiblet is approachable. It requires no special knowledge and is accessible for individuals of different ages (and groups, when possible).
➔ An exhiblet is interactive. It involves physical manipulation and experimentation that reward both short and long engagements.
➔ An exhiblet is reproducible. It can be assembled easily from low-cost materials that are inexpensive and widely available.
➔ An exhiblet is honest. It doesn’t hide what it’s made of. It shows off its guts.
➔ An exhiblet is fixable. It can be easily maintained and easily repaired, preferably by the person who broke it.
BERNOULLI'S HAIRDRYER
Essential Parts:
hairdryer, balloon
Sensation:
A hovering sphere, seemingly trapped in a tube of air
DRILL GENERATOR
Essential Parts:
cordless drill (without battery, hobby motor
Sensation:
a spin transferred from one place to another through a wire
LARIAT MIXER
Essential Parts:
mixer, chain, cylinder
Sensation:
a wave in a chain seemingly slowed down or held in place
FARADAY'S TRASH CAN
Essential Parts:
wire mesh, transistor radio
Sensation:
music plays only when hand is placed into the space enclosed by the mesh
RAINBOW TV
Essential Parts:
CRT Color TV, VCR or DVD that makes "blueness", magnet
Sensation:
see rainbow-colored field lines from a magnet
DAN'S PHONES
Essential Parts:
Two handsets from old-style rotary telephones, battery
Sensation:
talk to a friend through a wire with only a microphone, battery, and speaker
STEPPER SPEAKER
Essential Parts:
stepper motor, speaker
Sensation:
how fast you twist the knob directly affects the pitch of the sound you hear
TOOTHBRUSH LED
Essential Parts:
toothbrush charger, LED, magnet wire
Sensation:
generate light in a closed loop of wire that has no batteries
FOG RING FRISBEE
Essential Parts:
ultrasonic mister (found in humidifiers), drain pan, wheelbarrow tire, frisbee
Sensation:
tap the top to create fog rings
POWER SUPPLY PLASMA
Essential Parts:
laptop power supply, aluminum foil, mechanical pencil graphite
Sensation:
create a bright spark that cuts through aluminum
OSCILLOSCOPE TV
Essential Parts:
CRT TV, toy keyboard
Sensation:
see the wave that corresponds to the sound you hear
ZAPPER
Essential Parts:
synchronous motor
Sensation:
kinetic energy from rotating the knob turns into an electric tingle
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