Join MOHAI as we tinker, experiment, and create our way through history.
Learn about stories of innovations throughout our local history, build skills for innovation, and let your imagination soar with activities for the young and young at heart.
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.
Activities change regularly!
Idea Lab: Music and Dance
Learn how collaborations between Cornish College of the Arts students and faculty across artistic disciplines led to exciting innovations in music and dance. Then, build a work of art that moves.
Idea Lab: Storytelling
Explore the literary history of the Puget Sound region and take a closer look at two different innovations in reading technology. Then, learn how to make three types of books from a single sheet of paper.
Idea Lab: City Planning
Explore historic plans for Seattle’s future and ask questions about the design of cities, neighborhoods, and homes. Download a neighborhood bingo to explore the impacts of urban planning in your community.
Idea Lab: Computers
Explore some of the early history and basic foundations of computer programming. Learn about early computers and the fundamentals of coding, then practice your coding skills with a simple game.
Idea Lab: Photography
Explore how innovations in photographic technology have changed the way we see and document the world around us. Then, learn how to build a portable camera obscura that captures light.
Idea Lab: Boats
Explore the important elements of boat design, learn about the science behind how boats float, and then complete a buoyancy challenge at home.