Design, Build, Test

Making Music Exhibit: Two youth are exploring math and music

Making Music

Music means many things to many people, but at its core, all music is built on the same scientific and mathematic principles. In our latest exhibition, nurture your inner musician as you discover the math of music and the science of sound. The exhibition features a variety of instruments and other music-making tools that will help visitors uncover the science behind musical melodies, harmonies, beats, and more.

A pair of hands are about to launch a paper airplane

Fold & Fly

Explore the dynamics of flight by designing, building, and testing your own paper airplanes. Use one of our easy-to-follow “flight plans” or experiment with your own custom airplane designs, then test your aircraft using our mechanical launchers.

A child builds with blocks.

Build a Better World

What does an ideal community look like to you? How do people get to work, or enjoy their days off? Contribute your ideas to a growing city using LEGO® bricks. Whether you construct a park, a school, a tower, or a vehicle, with your imagination we will Build a Better World—Together.

Optical Illusion challenge

Optical Illusions

Design, build, and test your own optical illusion while learning about the human eye as part of our newest Ingenuity challenge. Observe and compare how optical illusions work as you create fun and unique designs.

Sunstones at The Lawrence

Marble Machines

Use ramps, lifts, tubes, and jumps to design, build, and test your own creative marble machine. Get your marble from Point A to Point B, all while following some surprising paths in between.

A child creating a Stop-Motion Story

Stop-Motion Stories

See your own stories and ideas come to life using stop-motion. Stop-motion is an animation technique that has been used by filmmakers for over 100 years to create movement, using still objects and even drawings. Now’s your chance to get creative with our new stop-motion stations.

A child building with KEVA planks

Keva

Any visitor of any age can be an architect, a builder, an engineer, or a designer with KEVA planks. See how high, how intricate, and how stable you can make your structure as you work with form and balance.

A child and an adult participating in the Ingenuity Challenges exhibit

Ingenuity Challenges

Flex Your Design Muscles. It’s fun to use your ingenuity to solve problems and meet challenges! By approaching things in creative ways, and by applying your own talents and skills, you can discover solutions that are uniquely you.

A child creating her own invention at the Make Station exhibit

Make Station

Creativity combined with engineering helps us prepare for the future by developing inventions that enable us to both survive and thrive in environments like space, the deep ocean, and our ever-changing Earth.

A child catches a scarf flying in the air.

Fly High

Engineers use their knowledge of air to do things like land safely with a parachute, fly planes, stabilize helicopters, and much more. Can you do the same with our wind tubes and hover table?

Two happy young people experimenting at the Wind Works station

Wind Works

Engineers, especially those in the Bay Area, are working toward sustainable energy solutions by using the power of the wind to generate electricity. The need for wind power is continually growing.

Two children exploring a science exhibit

Rocket Launch

Launching a rocket into space is a difficult task because of various factors. The efficiency, reliability, and safety of a rocket all depend on the quality of engineering design.

A youth experiments with the eartquake-safe structure.

Shake & Rattle

Design, build, and test your own earthquake-safe structures. Explore how buildings behave when the earth starts to shake, and how engineers use science to build safer homes & offices.

Two children at the Design Quest exhibit

Design Quest

Design Quest inspires kids to come up with their own ideas, build prototypes, and test their designs to see if they can rise to the challenge. Check out what you can do in Design Quest today.