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Exploratorium Science Snacks
By Exploratorium (San Francisco science museum). Visit Exploratorium Science Snacks
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A free library of hands-on science activities from San Francisco's Exploratorium museum. Each Snack is a small version of a museum exhibit built from cheap, everyday materials, with a materials list, build steps, what to do and an explanation of the science. Kids make things like a rainstick, a pencil record player or colored shadows. Activities are searchable by subject, science standard and grade band, and many are in Spanish.
Our take: A strong free pick for families and teachers who want real hands-on science; kids who need a game-like app will want something else.
Checked in a browser
A browser check on 2026-10-25: what loads, the ads and trackers we saw, and what a child meets first. Not a hands-on test.
| Child safety: 4 out of 5 | No ads were shown and there is no chat; links out to the museum store, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. |
|---|---|
| Data: 1 out of 5 | 7 known ad networks (including The Trade Desk, Xandr, Rubicon, PubMatic) and the Tapad ID service loaded before consent, along with the Facebook pixel, StackAdapt, Sojern and Spotify ad tags; 42 cookies were set. No ad was shown, so this looks like tracking for the museum's own advertising. |
| Ease: 4 out of 5 | Large photos with short titles ('Outdoor Shadows: Trace your shadow') make activities easy to pick; a cookie bar sits at the bottom. |
| Cost honesty: 4 out of 5 | The activities are free; a store link and sign-up appear, with no pay prompts aimed at kids. |
What we found
- Contacted 29 third-party sites, 7 of them known ad networks, plus tapad.com.
- 42 cookies set before any choice, from 11 third-party domains.
- No visible ads; the ad traffic appears to be tracking for the museum's own advertising.
- A TrustArc cookie notice ('Manage Choices / Agree & Proceed') was left unanswered.
From the test: Excellent free hands-on science activities, but the page fires many ad-tracking tags, including a data-broker ID service, before consent.
| Ages it suits | about 8-18 (written for grades 6-12, also used with younger kids) |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | The use policy sets no age; content is free for noncommercial, educational use with credit. The privacy policy says the museum does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free (Oct 2026); materials cost a few dollars per activity. |
| Works on | Web |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI. |
What's good
- Free, no sign-in
- Cheap household materials
- Clear science explanations
- Spanish collection
Watch for
- Some builds need adult help or tools
- Written for teachers, so text is dense for young kids
- Site uses retargeting cookies unless you opt out
- Some older Snacks call for hard-to-find items like film cans
Data and privacy
No account is needed to read Snacks. The privacy policy says the site uses Google Analytics and optional advertising cookies for retargeting ads about the museum on other sites, which visitors can switch off. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
The maker's own claims only: activities are described as teacher-tested; no independent study was found.
In the Big Index
- On the list Top 50 free learning sites for kids (2026)
- On the list 20 best sites for STEM projects at home
- On the list 20 best DIY and maker sites for kids
- Tinkering Studio
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Where these facts come from
- https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks
- https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/about
- https://www.exploratorium.edu/about/use-policy
- https://www.exploratorium.edu/about/privacy-policy
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.