Curiosity at Home
Ignite your curiosity at home with streaming live science shows, hands-on STEM activities, tutorials, interviews, and more. Please consider making a donation today to help us continue to provide free resources for families, educators, and the community. Any amount helps. Thank you!
Winter Wonder
Embrace the chilly season with seasonal STEM activities perfect for a day of indoor fun and learning. Cozy up and watch a Super Cold science show, make fake snow, search for winter birds, and more!
Pacific Northwest Winter Birds
Explore this 360-degree video to find and identify winter birds in the Pacific Northwest. Use this bird identification sheet to help with your observations.
Instant Ice
What kinds of shapes can you make as you rapidly turn water to ice?
Liquid Nitrogen
Air moves fast, liquids move slowly, and solids don’t move much at all. Is the same true for molecules?
Crystals
Crystals occur many places in nature, and now at your home! Grow your own crystals and observe their molecular structure.
Fake Snow
There’s no business like “snow” business! Make fake snow and learn more about sodium polyacrylate.
Super Cold
Experience the thrills, spills and chills of a liquid so cold it doesn’t exist naturally on Planet Earth!
Curiosity at Home Resources
Explore educational activities and resources by age and topic, meant to inspire and excite all people about science.
Early Childhood
Explore scientific topics with your little learner. Make artistic insects, take the bubble blower challenge, find patterns in nature, and more Learn more
Grades K-2
Find age appropriate, hands-on activities that help foster scientific discovery for kids in Grades K-2. Learn more
Grades 3-5
Have fun while learning! Try science experiments in each of the STEM subjects that are appropriate for kids in Grades 3-5. Learn more
Grades 6-8
Dig deeper into scientific topics through hands-on activities while having fun. Check out these experiments appropriate for kids in Grades 6-8. Learn more
Virtual Events Calendar
Discover virtual events and programs available for all ages. Ignite your curiosity at home! Learn more
Virtual Field Trips
Bring one of PacSci’s field trips to your students virtually! Participate in workshops and demonstrations featuring some of your favorite STEM activities. Learn more
Curiosity Crates
Hands-on STEM activities and resources shipped right to your home! Curiosity crates a perfect for young learners and come with all the tools for hours of fun and learning. Learn more
PacSci Streaming Videos
Curiosity never closes, which is why we’re bringing your favorite PacSci experiences to you. Watch new butterflies emerge, try your hand at an at-home Tinker Tank activity, or watch a Live Science Show.
Live Science Shows
See experiments, theatrics, and tricks in action during one of PacSci’s Live Science Shows. See shows on PacSci Now or live with a rotating selection at the science center. Each promises to inspire curiosity, enlighten, and entertain people of all ages.
PacSci Now: Experiences On-Demand
PacSci Now: Experiences on Demand brings you into daily life at PacSci with behind-the-scenes content. See the butterflies flutter, listen to interviews with staff, try STEM activities, meet STEM professionals, and learn about a wide variety of scientific topics. Get to know the fun and quirky side of PacSci, while learning about scientific topics.
Early Childhood Explorations
Check out these fun ways for preschool aged kids and families to investigate science. Inspire your early learner’s curiosity with hands-on activities, dynamic, touchable exhibits, opportunities to experiment, and of course learn.
Share Your Experiences
Share these Curiosity at Home activities with friends, family, and schoolmates. Then, try experiments together over virtual chats and share the things you’ve learned with the community. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, then share your experiences on social using #pacsci and #curiosityathome. We love seeing what you’ve done!
Additional Resources
Icons:
- Activity Download
- Video
- Video Activity
Talking To Kids About Race and Racism
Talking About Race
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Talking about race, although hard, is necessary. The National Museum of African American History and Culture provides tools and guidance to empower your journey and inspire conversation. Learn more
Town Hall on Racism
Sesame Street and CNN
CNN’s Van Jones and Erica Hill partner with “Sesame Street” for Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism, a town hall for kids and families. Watch the Town Hall
Diverse Children’s Books
Embrace Race
Get ideas for diverse children’s books from this important reading list for all children. Learn more
Kids’ Books to Celebrate Juneteenth
New York Public Library
Read these great books to introduce Juneteenth’s stories and traditions to the youngest readers. Learn more
Slavery and Freedom Exhibit and Tour
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Watch this exhibit tour with NMAAHC’s Founding Director Lonnie Bunch III through their Slavery and Freedom exhibition to celebrate Juneteenth, highlighting stories behind some of the exhibit’s most important artifacts. Watch the tour
#BlackLivesMatter: K-8 Distance Learning Activities for Justice for George Floyd
Colorful Pages
These learning activities aim to help you talk about Black Lives Matter and Justice for George Floyd as a family or classroom for students in Grades K-8. Learn more
Colorful Pages
This site, “aims to help educators, families, and librarians explore the use of multicultural literature/diverse books to cultivate cultural empowerment and crosscultural empathy in our students.” Learn more
Featured All Ages Activities
2019 Summer Science Club Workbook
Try some of the activities from our 2019 Summer Science Club. Each week science-related activities to spark kids’ curiosity. Download the 2019 Summer Science Club Workbook
Coloring Page: PacSci’s Arches
Be an artist and color in our Arches! Make sure to share your creations using #pacsci.
Games Activities
Be curious and get your game on all year long in playful games activities.
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.
Handwashing Challenge
How does handwashing prevent the spreading of viruses? Watch this video to find out.
Hand Hygiene Science
Try your hand at this germ-busting hygiene activity.
Home Mini Golf
Make a mini-golf course using everyday household items.
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.
Make a Lava Lamp
Learn about fluid dynamics by making a lava lamp.
Make a Spirograph
Create mathematical art with a homemade Spirograph.
Making Oobleck
Discover with the PacSci team! Become a material scientist and make Oobleck and investigate its weird properties.
Make You Own Kazoo
Hum your favorite tune and amplify it with your own kazoo!
Naked Mole Rat Observations
Observe and scan sample our Naked Mole Rat colony, then record your findings in the Naked Mole Rats Observation activity.
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.
PacSci Now: Interview with the Laser Dome Team
Watch this behind-the-scenes look at PacSci’s Laser Dome, learn about its history and how the lasers work.
PacSci Now: Laser Dome Performance 360
Watch this special 360° video of a laser performance by our Laser Dome artist, MoTown.
PacSci Now: Making Slime
Yucky, gooey slime! Make slime using everyday materials with the PacSci team.
PacSci in Planet Minecraft
PacSci has joined fellow Crafters on Minecraft! Download a map of PacSci and explore.
Pin Plinker
Build and play your own thumb piano to learn about pitch and the history of this percussive instrument in Pin Plinker.
Ready, Set, Don’t Run!
Find ways to get to the finish line and get ready for a race, but not any race!
Rock Candy
Become a crystallographer by making sugar rock crystals and seeing how they form.
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.
Coloring Pages
We love seeing your work! Make sure to share your creations using #pacsci.
PacSci’s Arches
Download the sheet (all ages)
Bee
Beetle
Download the sheet (for our littlest learners)
Butterfly and Habitat
Download the sheet (all ages)
Dinosaur Fossils
Download the sheet (all ages)
Pollinators
Download the sheet (all ages)
Poppies and Their Pollinator Friends
Watch and follow along (Grades 3 and up)
Download the sheet (all ages)
Download the sheet (all ages)
Tardigrade
Download the sheet (all ages)
Documentaries
We’re happy to bring you some of our educational documentaries available on streaming services at a no- or low-cost. Watch some of the old favorites as well as new adventures.
America’s Musical Journey
Available on: YouTube (free) as well as Apple TV and GoUSA TV via Roku
Go on a cross-country journey celebrating the unique diversity of America’s musical heritage.
Coral Reef Adventure
Available on: Amazon Prime
Explore the world’s most beautiful and endangered coral reefs across the South Pacific. Follow filmmakers on an expedition documenting coral reefs, their ecosystems, and the importance of the creatures that live there.
Decoding the Weather Machine
Available on: PBS, NOVA Season 45 Episode 7 (free)
Recently, earth has been experiencing extreme weather events, and many scientists agree: something’s up with the weather. Climate change is causing weather to be hotter and more erratic. Cut through the confusion around climate change in this documentary.
Dinosaurs Alive!
Available on: Giant Screen Films | PacSci Movie Nights
A global adventure of science and discovery featuring the earliest dinosaurs of the Triassic Period to the monsters of the Cretaceous. Journey with some of the world’s preeminent paleontologists as they uncover evidence that the descendants of dinosaurs still walk (or fly) among us.
Dolphins
Available on: Amazon Prime
Wondering how dolphins communicate? Watch this Academy Award nominated documentary to get a playful, up-close look at the dolphins of Alaska, Patagonia and the Bahamas. Discover new perspectives on their remarkable intelligence.
Download the Educator’s Guide
View additional educational resources
Dream Big: Engineering Our World
Available on: Vimeo on Demand
Transform how you think about engineering in this documentary narrated by Jeff Bridges. See the inspiring stories of innovations big and small and the engineers behind them while thinking about ways to create a more sustainable future for us all.
Download the Educator’s Guide
View additional educational resources
Hubble
Available on: Amazon Prime
Journey through distant galaxies, and go with astronauts as they attempt the most important task in NASA’s history. This film, narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, gives an inspiring look into the Hubble Space Telescope’s legacy.
Humpback Whales
Available on: Vimeo on Demand
This extraordinary journey, narrated by Ewan McGregor, takes you into the mysterious world of one of nature’s most awe-inspiring marine mammals. Get an up-close look at how humpback whales communicate, sing, feed, play and take care of their young.
Download the Educator Guide
View additional educational videos
National Parks Adventure
Available on: Vimeo on Demand
Looking for an adventure? Robert Redford takes us on an ultimate off-trail journey into the nation’s untamed wilderness in places like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and many more. Soar over red rock canyons, hurtle up craggy mountain peaks, and venture into other-worldly realms.
Download the Educator’s Guide
View additional educational resources
St. Helens: Out of the Ash
Available on: PBS Documentaries (free)
On May 18, 1980 Mt. St. Helens erupted and captured the attention of the world. Watch the story of the cataclysmic events of that day, and the miraculous resiliency of Nature as life returns out of the ash.
The Last Reef
Available on: Giant Screen Films | PacSci Movie Nights
Exotic coral reefs, vibrant sea walls in the sub-arctic pulsating with anemones and crustaceans: these biodiversity hot spots are as vital to our lives as the rainforests. Groundbreaking macro cinematography explores these cities beneath the sea.
The Living Sea
Available on: Amazon Prime
This mesmerizing Academy Award-nominated film brings together the sounds of Sting and the voice of Meryl Streep with the wonders of the ocean. Celebrate the beauty and diversity of the ocean and explore our relationship with this complex and fragile environment.
Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs
Available on: Giant Screen Films | PacSci Movie Nights
Follow researchers and explorers as they piece together the archaeological and genetic clues of Egyptian mummies. This film tells the story of one of the greatest finds in modern history: the late 19th century discovery of a cache of forty mummies, including twelve Kings of Egypt, among them the legendary Ramsese the Great.
Mysteries of China
Available on: Giant Screen Films | PacSci Movie Nights
Through the lens of one of the great archaeological events of the modern age – the discovery of the Terracotta Warriors and the First Emperor’s Tomb – Mysteries of China reveals the underlying story of how this world superpower came to be.
Van Gogh: Brush with Genius
Available on: Amazon Prime
Retrace Van Gogh’s artistic journey from the time of his first canvases at age 27 to his death 9 years later—a period during which he painted more than 900 paintings. See his art take on new life in this experiential film.
Wild Ocean
Available on: Giant Screen Films | PacSci Movie Nights
Explore the interplay between man and our endangered ecosystem. This film highlights on of nature’s greatest migration spectacles, plunging viewers into an underwater feeding frenzy where whales, sharks, dolphins, seals, gannets and billions of fish collide with the most voracious sea predator, mankind.
Waking the T.Rex
Available on: Giant Screen Films | PacSci Movie Nights
This film traces the life of one of the most fearsome predators of the Cretaceous. Join scientists as they decipher fossile clues to piece otgether the lifelong struggles, from nest to death, of the famous Tyrannosaurus rex: SUE.
Wonders of the Arctic
Available on: Giant Screen Films | PacSci Movie Nights
This film centers on our ongoing mission to explore and come to terms with the Arctic. Underlying all these tales is the crucial role that ice plays in the northern environment and the changes that are quickly overtaking the people and animals who have adapted to a land of ice and snow.
Tinker Tank at Home
Design, build, test and repeat! Continue experimenting and innovating with Tinker Tank at Home. Check out these instructional videos of do-it-yourself activities. Build a milk carton boat, create a carbon-dioxide rich atmosphere, make squishy circuits, and more.
Virtual Planetarium Show
Blast-off to the outer reaches of the universe, or explore the planets in our own solar system. Discuss current astronomy news and learn about recent discoveries. Each show is live and presenters can modify the program based on interest.
Get Curiosity at Home Email Updates
Sign up for the Family and Camps e-Newsletter to get weekly Curiosity at Home updates during our temporary closure.
Upcoming Virtual Events
Additional Resources
- Amazing Educational Resources activity list
- Blippi Explores the Pacific Science Center (English / Spanish)
- Exploratorium Activities
- FUTURE U by Boeing and Discovery Education
- Home School Parents of Seattle Resources
- National Air and Space Museum Multimedia Gallery
- PBS Crafts and Experiments
- Scholastic Learn at Home
- Science! KIDS by PBS
- Scientific American Bring Science Home
- SMART Learning Suite Online
- Smithsonian Distance Learning Resources
Commitment to Anti-Racism
Pacific Science Center stands with those who are courageously fighting against hate, racism, and injustice. We recognize that not being racist is not sufficient. We must be actively anti-racist, and we commit to doing so. We prioritize inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in everything we do. Curiosity and critical thinking are essential to the dialogue and changes that need to happen. Learn more
Supporters
Generous support for Curiosity at Home is provided by
Airline Partner
Curiosity Never Closes: Support PacSci
While we are closed to the public, we are still serving the community. We depend on support from you.
Pacific Science Center provides Curiosity At Home for educational and informational purposes only. All activities should be done in an appropriate environment with adult supervision while following the safety guidelines associated with all materials used. In no event will Pacific Science Center be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the information contained on the Pacific Science Center or Curiosity At Home website.