Idea Lab

Join MOHAI as we tinker, experiment, and create our way through history. Explore in the Idea Lab in the Bezos Center for Innovation or at home using the templates and videos. Activities change regularly!

Explore examples of innovations throughout history, build skills for innovation, and let your imagination soar with activities for the young and young at heart that rotate bi-monthly. At the museum, sit down at the Idea Lab any time for a self-guided, hands-on activity inspired by MOHAI exhibits and programs. Explore the same ideas at home with videos and downloadable instructions for a craft or experiment designed by MOHAI Educators.

CURRENTLY AT THE IDEA LAB

Seattle is a city of water – it’s all around us! Learn about boats through Seattle history and about the relationship between a watercraft’s purpose, its shape, and ability to stay afloat. Explore buoyancy further with a design challenge to do at home!

At the Idea Lab

At the Museum

The Port of Seattle is always busy with cargo ships coming in and out from all over the world. Can you create a well-balanced load?

Online

What makes boats float? Learn about some of the important elements of boat design, then complete a buoyancy challenge at home.

At Home

How much weight can a boat made of aluminum foil hold? Depends on how you build it!

Download Activity

Past At-Home Activities On-site Idea Lab activities rotate regularly, but you can still enjoy the videos and at-home activities from prior months!

Music Rock out with MOHAI! Learn about the history and science behind the electric guitar, then explore the relationship between vibration and sound with a simple but musical cardboard box guitar you can build at home.

Download Activity

Guitar crafted with household supplies

Clocks Explore the simple machines that make mechanical clocks tick! Take a peek into the past with one of our outdoor artifacts, the Carroll’s clock, on display on the MOHAI Boeing Centennial Terrace. Then, learn how to use everyday materials and the physics of pendulums to make works of art at home!

Download Activity

da Vinci Bridge Explore the many bridges of Seattle and the basic elements of bridge design. Then, learn about a unique bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci that can be built and deconstructed rapidly, and how build your own version at home! Pair the activities with a visit to Da Vinci – Inventions, currently on view at MOHAI.

Download Activity

George Tsutakawa Explore the art and process of renowned painter and sculptor George Tsutakawa. Watch a quick introduction to the fountains of George Tsutakawa, then explore how water falls over and through different shapes.