Discover the interactive stations of experimenta. Here you can find all hands-on exhibits.
131 items
So many stars shine in our night sky. They are all unique and located at different distances from us. The distance is expressed as the time the light takes to travel - in light-years. Catch a star and find out more about it.
There is a huge difference in the brightness of a bright sunny day and a dark night. Our eye has to adapt to lighting conditions. Learn how it is able to adjust to such different lighting conditions in a dark room.
The smallest units of life are the cells. They contain an organism's genetic material, the DNA. It is assumed that all living things have a single common ancestor. Discover the things cells have in common and their differences.
Life is development and change. We grow and age. Some plants and animals undergo impressive changes in this process. Use the time-lapse footage and run the films forward and backward to take a closer look at this change.
Of the many chemical elements found on Earth only very few play an important role for us quantitatively. Find out which elements they are and how the various organic objects vary in this respect.
The vehicle has gone through a real crash test. The details of the crash are shown in a slow-motion film. Use the VR goggles to check whether it is possible today to simulate these real crash tests.
We very rapidly recognize materials by sound. We know what metal, wood or plastic sounds like. The challenge here is to listen even more closely and discover slight differences in the sounds of the materials. What do these objects really sound like?
Day and night, ebb tide and high tide: There are many temporal patterns in Nature which plants and animals also follow. The beating of the heart of animals and humans is another, internal impulse. Mix these rhythms of Nature to compose a piece of music.
Water naturally flows downward. It finds the path of least resistance and forms beads, thick streaks or large puddles on its way. Change the water's path to produce a piece of music.
Our brain is able to recognize faces easily. We don't know why that is. The brain at any rate does not pay much attention to details. That's why it is difficult to create a composite of a familiar face.
We are often confronted with many expectations and desires that we cannot fulfill. It is just as difficult in this game to put out all the forest fires. Who is able to get the best results through smart organization?
Our brain combines originally separate perceptions, feelings and ideas to form a whole. This is called "association". This is why certain concepts are permanently linked in our minds with individual images.
The machine presses down onto the sample material with ever greater force. Will it hold up under pressure? Will it bend? When and how does it break? Test the amount of pressure the different materials are able to withstand and how they break.
At experimenta the wind blows in a circle. It alternates in intensity between strong and a lull. Where does it blow the hardest? Use different test objects to experiment in the Air Space and measure the wind's speed.
People are pattern-seekers and have specialized in recognizing and interpreting patterns and structures rapidly. It is difficult for us to act consciously in a random way. Anything random is also difficult to understand. The computer makes the attempt at this station. Is it successful?
Nature is full of impressive shapes and patterns. It creates its own, very unique works of art. This in turn is an outstanding starting point from which to create your own Nature artwork.
Anyone wishing to do something special needs special skills. These stem in part from appearance, shape and structure. Form and function are thus closely related. Create new creatures with special talents.
If we look in the mirror we discover: we are symmetrical! The left and right halves of the body resemble each other externally and mirror each other. In Nature, there are different shapes of symmetry. Discover them here!
Ever since satellite images have been available, a popular sport has emerged worldwide: the search for letters or other curious objects in aerial photographs. It is not difficult because our brain likes looking for these kinds of patterns and structures.
Yummy or yucky? New life is growing on these organic products. Because bacteria and fungi also love bread, cheese, tomatoes or carrots. The organisms decompose the existing organic material and use it for their own growth.
White light is colorful. Yet something is missing in a colored light beam. In its light, some things remain invisible. This is because they do not receive light they can reflect. It is why three different worlds of color can exist in a single room.
It looks like the water is splashing randomly. It actually follows a controlled stimulus. It is just too fast for our eye to see. A camera, however, with the right frame rate reveals the artistic movement of the water.
A discerning eye is needed to discover minor differences between two images. It is no easy feat. The brain initially ignores details. Once a difference is detected, it is immediately perceived as obvious.
Water is the largest habitat on earth and is considered the source of all life. It is amazing what kind of creatures are to be found in water. Take the plunge and go on a fascinating journey through the microscopic world of water.
Death is part of life. Yet sometimes it is difficult to determine when life is over. Plants, for example, are amazingly capable of regeneration. Follow the banana on its journey through life and cast a vote when you think it's dead.
Waves form, spread, superimpose or are reflected when they encounter obstacles. Many factors influence these wave images. Simply beautiful. Experiment with the wave images and observe them in slow motion.
Water forms drops. This is because the smallest elements of water attract each other. If the drop becomes too large, gravity prevails. The drop falls. And the impact is hard. What happens then is shown in detail in the slow-motion film.
Every food chain has a beginning. It is plants or microorganisms that produce organic biomass. Yet what is the next link in the chain? Who is at risk of being eaten and by whom? And what dependencies develop in the ecosystems?
Harder materials scratch softer materials. This is actually something we experience every day. It is, however, also the basis of the Mohs Hardness Scale still in use today. Test how the materials can be scored and scratched.
Who is able to guide the metal loop along the track without touching it? You will get a penalty point every time you make contact. Luckily, there are stops along the way - for all those who know which materials do not conduct electricity.
Which materials conduct heat well? They rapidly absorb the heat of your hands - and release it just as fast again when you raise your hands. To leave lasting impressions, look for poor conductors of heat.
We can find the answer in the mixed nuts or granola: large pieces usually rise to the top. But it isn't really that simple, and many different factors play a role. Try it yourself and shake the different containers.
When a hammer is used to strike something, its energy has to go somewhere. Either the hammer deforms the material it strikes - or it recoils. Study the hammer's return force on the different materials more carefully.
Stone Age, Iron Age, Bronze Age: materials have informed the course of human history. Are we living in the Plastic Age today? Nowadays at least there is a huge number of many different materials. Discover them and sort them.
Normally, the eye constantly controls the movement of our hands. But what happens when our eyes can no longer do their job? This is where the sensory cells in the fingers have to take over more tasks to solve the puzzle.
The beat of the music is already hidden in our body in our heart beat and breathing. Recognizing pitch is similar to recognizing patterns and must be learned. This station tests both.
We make countless decisions every day. We carefully consider some and for others rely on our "gut feelings". Specific reasons and values are usually behind our decisions.
Some people may feel constrained by definite rules. Others may feel they provide a safe framework for action. You will succeed at this station if you are able to focus on a single task over a longer period of time and complete it without error.
How is our brain able to locate a certain, earlier experience again almost instantaneously? An important factor is the sense of order in our mind. We automatically and consciously form categories and file new experiences accordingly.
The outcome is a figure consisting of several parts. Yet two people are involved in the completion of this task. Clear communication is needed to succeed. It sounds simple, but is harder than it seems.
Countless microorganisms populate our Earth. Many of them still have yet to be studied. To learn more about them, they are cultured in small dishes and made visible. Discover several of the microorganisms we encounter every day.
Our senses are designed to notice movement and changes in the world around us. At this station, you need to decide whether the changes you see are usual or unnatural.
Persuading someone to do something is not the same as convincing someone of something. But how do we best go about it? Good arguments are important, but are often not enough. The art of persuasion is tested in different situations.
Surprise, fear or joy: by tensing and relaxing our face muscles we constantly express a wide range of feelings. We are able to consciously control our facial expressions. How expressive is your face?
One thing is very important to be able to react to other people in an appropriate way: empathy. Our brain creates a virtual mirror of the individual. This lets us act compassionately and proactively.
We can admire the outstanding body control of many athletes. Our ability to control our bodies is partly influenced by our genes. Yet there are things we can also learn and practice. This station demonstrates how flexible we are.
Cycling demands very complex performance from our body. We have to watch our balance and may need to make fast corrections. The balance bike tests our sense of balance and how we control our body.
Good fine motor skills require perfect hand-eye coordination, a feeling for fine movement and sufficient muscle tension in the hand and fingers. These abilities are tested as the crane travels.
We live in an increasingly technological world and use countless technical devices every day. Those interested in technology usually also know a lot. This station tests our basic practical and technical understanding.
We run into pie, curve or bar charts every day at school, in science and the media. They illustrate complex subjects. Check which statements correctly report the facts in the diagrams.
Good problem-solving is a key skill. What do we do when we don't exactly know what we should do? It all starts with being able to understand the problem correctly. At this station, a path must be found for a marble.
There are days on which everything seems to go wrong. Learning to deal with frustration is thus an important task. There are different strategies for dealing with frustration. How would you react to the different situations in this frustration test?
We have a kind of mental dictionary in our minds. To find terms instantly when needed, our vocabulary is structured systematically. Who is able to find more correct words faster?
How can we secure the power supply? In this game, we have to keep an eye on demand, costs and the environment. Proactive planning and a fast reaction to unexpected incidents can help.
Staying alert when performing a monotonous task is difficult. Yet we find it difficult to concentrate in a boring and less challenging environment and become sleepy. In this game, however, you have to pay attention!
Every light bulb produces a different quality of light. It is not easy to grasp the differences. Concepts like color spectrum, light temperature or illuminance can help in this case. Find out more about the lights around you.
Light passes from the air into the glass and returns to the air. It changes its direction every time it crosses these boundaries. Every color does it a bit differently. It's the reason why the colors suddenly appear next to each other and create a rainbow.
As foolish townspeople built a town hall without windows, they wanted to carry light inside in buckets. They couldn't do it. But you can carry the green, glowing buckets and, as you do, you can measure the exhibition's brightness.
Light produces drawings on this special wall. The wall gives off the absorbed light with a slight delay as a green glow. The phenomenon is called phosphorescence and is what produces these fascinating works of light art.
You glow! That's because you are warm. All warm objects give off heat. But this is light our eyes cannot see. A thermal imaging camera, however, sees the long-wave infrared light where you are radiating heat.
Light propagates linearly. Using mirrors, we can change the path of light and send a beam around a corner. If the mirror surfaces point in different directions, the beams can be seen throughout the room.
We know what water is. But not all liquids are like water. This is demonstrated by these balls. They are filled with different viscous fluids. This has consequences for the movement of the balls. Discover how viscous fluids roll.
We perceive our environment with the help of our sensory organs. At the same time, the brain links the sensory stimuli with past experiences. We don't all perceive the same thing even when the sensory stimulus seems to be the same for everyone.
Movie scenes can change considerably with a new voice. The voice significantly influences the figure's emotional impact. Provide a new voiceover in a dialect for a selection of popular film scenes at this station.
A variety of dialects influences how we speak. They are usually much older than High German. Many regions in past times had a typical dialect. Travel through the German dialects using the map.
Language is full of images and sayings. At the same time, what is said is also accompanied by many gestures. Still, it is often difficult to translate them into another language. This is demonstrated in the Memory game of sayings and gestures.
Our brain perceives words as a whole, like a picture. This complex process speeds up reading enormously and makes it insensitive to minor disruptions. This is clearly demonstrated at this station.
The eyes allow us to look deep inside another person. They reveal so much about our feelings, expectations, and thoughts in our facial expressions. Numerous pairs of eyes here can become part of a comic strip using the pen.
The shortest musical clip is enough to create moods in a movie. Sound effects and music speak directly to the emotions. This station tests the impact of different scenes with difference pieces of music.
Shape, material, color, font: packaging today is often a meticulously developed work of art. Packaging sends numerous direct signals of which we are often virtually unaware. Investigate how this works at this station.
Hand-eye coordination is what allows us to make finely coordinated movements. This process is interrupted at this station. The person drawing has to follow the instructions of their partner.
To save time, we often want to be able to do several things at the same time. But are we really able to multitask? Errors can frequently occur when we need to concentrate. Try it yourself on this city rally.
We greet another person with a gesture. How we do it is important for any further communication. In a greeting, we provide a framework for a conversation and express our appreciation of the other person.
We all have them: reflexes. They are intended to protect our bodies if at all possible at all times and everywhere. For this to work, reflexes need to be extremely fast. This pushing machine tests how good your reflexes are.
Conditioning is the interaction of two different stimuli which are associated together by means of training. We adapt after a relatively short period of time - and automatically close our eyes in response to the gong.
Our body is constantly producing a wide range of sounds. Many of them are awkward. Yet we have very little control over them. At this station, the body's sounds become a piece of music.
Spiders perceive every vibration that spreads through the ground, leaves or the spider's web. They have special sensory organs. How well are our fingers able to perceive slight vibrations?
A number of animals use a special type of seeing for orientation and capturing their prey: echolocation. Even some blind people can also actually obtain an impression of their surroundings by clicking. At this station, the sound waves are generated by clapping.
Our sense of hearing is astonishingly powerful. We are able to tell certain sounds apart from a cacophony of other sounds. This selective hearing is an active filtering process that takes place in the brain and is the subject of this station.
When we hear someone's voice, we rapidly compose a picture of that person. We are often quite good at it. This is demonstrated at this station at which voice samples are to be assigned to possible speakers.
We see a large colorful image. If we use a color filter to mask out part of the information, we see previously hidden details. Our brain filters the information delivered by sensory organs in a similar way.
Languages are constantly evolving. New words suddenly begin to be sued, others are forgotten. Discover and propose new and old words at this station.
Emojis have spread around the world since the end of the 1990's. A type of Internet unicode commission defines the standard images. How easy this new language of images is to understand can be tested at this station.
Our body is constantly in motion. Our body and our brain perform extraordinarily remarkably every day. At this station, our movements paint digital works of art.
At this station, we look at the movement of our feet. We are given a direction or know what we want to do. Our brain now has to plan the movement instantly and initiate its execution
When we fly a glider, we find ourselves in an unfamiliar situation. This is because our feet are no longer on the ground and the body's perception is impaired. Yet those who dare here can fly through many fascinating worlds.
We learn very early in life where the outer limits of our body are. These limits are not static, but are influenced by what we see. We let ourselves be "deceived". Experience it at this station.
When we perform countless movements every day virtually automatically, there is something behind it: a long learning phase. Many everyday sequences of motion consist of many small steps - as this station convincingly demonstrates.
We don't always react at the same speed. A number of factors influence our reaction time. These include external influences such as loud music. You can test your reaction time at this station.
We don't have an organ that we can use to perceive the duration of time directly. The perception of time is a complex process. How well we are able to guess short periods of time is the topic of this station.
Many connected internal clocks organize numerous processes in our body. Daylight helps synchronize bodily processes with the environment. This is the basis of our body's daily rhythm.
Camera traps provide surprising glimpses of animal behavior that would otherwise be unobserved. They thus play an important role in the observation of nature. At this station, your job is to install camera traps in a fictitious world.
At this station, electronic amplification makes soft sounds audible, the frequency range of hearing is shifted and you can experiment with structure-borne sound.
Which way do we look first? Many factors influence the movements of the eye. Eyetracking has become a very important area of research in recent years. Examples at this station demonstrate how it works.
Using our hands, we perceive the very different information about the world around us, such as an object's size, weight, shape, solidness, surface and temperature. This station has several tests of our sense of touch.
Satellite observations have considerably changed how we see our earth over the past decades. The wide range of information these satellites provide today is shown at the station using the example of the Heilbronn region.
The microscopic world spans many orders of magnitude. A specific size gives objects their special characteristics. This walk through the microscopic world provides fascinating insight.
A drawing is very different from a photograph. Only the essential is depicted or important information added. This is readily apparent in this depiction of yourself.
At this station simple geometric objects and our bodies are depicted using only five dots. The challenge is to move the dots until they agree with corresponding position of the body.
The interior of the Earth is inaccessible to us humans. Discover how we can nevertheless learn something about the inside of the Earth, listen to the sounds of the Earth and develop your own thoughts about what is going on deep inside our Earth.
Maps are not true representations of our environment. The mission balloonist will only be found by the person who cleverly combines different maps.
Whether winds or seas: major currents influence the weather and climate on earth. In the rotating pools, currents and eddies can be observed from outside or from the perspective of the rotating camera.
An experiment rarely succeeds the first time. Several attempts are generally needed. It is something we are more than familiar with in our daily lives, for example when we train sequences of motion. How many attempts does this task take?
Many aviation pioneers studied flight qualities of their aircraft using paper models. After a careful test, the planes can also take off at this station.
In theory, some things may seem quite simple, like this balance puzzle. The practical implementation, however, requires patience and a careful approach. Occasional failure is not excluded.
Many different track elements can be put together to build new ball tracks. Whether the effects all work as anticipated is then seen in the test. Does the ball roll to the end or does it get stuck?
Computers are able to learn. This is reflected in the buzzword "artificial intelligence". This computer system has learned more than 100,000 images. Does it recognize freehand sketches faster than a human?
This experimental model of a kangaroo makes it clear: the setting of various parameters makes it possible for it to make different types of leaps. Several options are now available to implement apparently optimum leaps.
Joy, anger, revulsion, fear, sadness or surprise: how well are computers able to understand feelings? Slight facial movements can be coded by computers and allocated to different emotions.
With the help of the laws of nature we can calculate processes in advance. To what extent they accurate is revealed by comparing them to the real world. It can help in this process to change the laws of nature consciously.
We make countless personal decisions every day. However, when observing a very large number of people, we discover surprising patterns and regularities. Societal trends and developments like these can be experienced at this station.
The goalie here follows a rule. To discover it, you need to observe what he does carefully. Individual rules can be excluded by specific shots at goal. What rule applied for your shot?
When a piece of bread falls off a plate, it generally lands with the buttered side down. This statement must first be tested by repeated experiments. Additional experiments are then needed to find out why things are the way they are.
Plants and organisms usually do not follow a "construction plan". Shapes and patterns are the result of gradual growth. And yet there are surprising correlations to mathematics as this station shows.
Our world is not flat. Yet in photographs, the information we need about the depth of a space is missing. The computer creates a 3D image of a person from several pictures and adds it to virtual visual worlds.
Weather magnifiers trigger a variety effects over the changing sand landscape. The computer adjusts the projection with the help of a camera. We thus see a combination of reality and computer rendering.
Based on a few basic assumptions, computers today attempt to predict the movement of a large group of people. This can be simulated in the example of changes in an experimenta exhibition
Infectious diseases spread in a different way today than they used to. This is because we behave differently in our daily lives and are much more mobile. Simulations help track the rapid spread of germs more accurately.
This game was developed by mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970. During the course of the game, a wide variety of sophisticated structures emerge from the original patterns.
In several months of calculating time, scientists have generated a computer universe in a simulation project. Comparisons to actual observations reveal how well we understand the origin of the universe today.
We see more than what we focus on in any given moment. This is because we also perceive our surroundings with the edges of the retina. Peripheral vision is an important protective mechanism and is tested at this station.
Perception is a complex process. Many factors can influence our perception, e.g. our attention. This station demonstrates the hidden factors that influence our powers of perception.
Although there are only three magnets in the middle. the pendulum's trajectory can no longer be predicted. Chaos rules. Computer simulations can help study the path and detect patterns in chaos.
Water is liquid and cannot be grasped. Ice is solid and can be shaped. Use this transition point from solid to liquid and create an ice landscape. Melt the ice with your hands or with the help of the warm stream of air.
We don't just hear with our ears. We also perceive sound as a feeling of butterflies in our stomach. Or the body translates vibrations into a sound senation. You can test what you feel at this station
Structures and patterns are not simply present in Nature, but develop over time. This station shows examples of three fascinating pattern makers: how ice crystals grow, how warm air flows and how a liquid has a branch structure.
In kaleidoscopes, colored glass stones are usually inserted in front of small mirrors. At this station you can look at yourself inside a kaleidoscope.
It often takes several attempts to reach a desired goal. How high and how far the different balls bounce depends on several factors. Test which settings you need to make to bounce the balls and hit the target. What influence do the different surfaces have?
You can the various settings of the animated sculpture's digital design: What should the legs look like? And in what rhythm should the legs move? Then test whether your animated sculpture can walk steadily.
Theo Jansen's "Strandbeests" are animated sculptures and the result of years of tests and trials. Driven by wind and pressurized air, they move along beaches. Use the air jet and get your animated sculpture to walk.
There are many different components in the car. With the help of a tablet, you can virtually look inside the car and explore some of the components. Can you find all the parts you are looking for?
