Innovation Gallery

Become a Silicon Valley-style innovator. Use the inventions that made the area world-famous to design your own rollercoaster, build a microchip, and get a futuristic self-portrait with a 3-D laser scanner.

Robot Tech

We create robots to handle many jobs that are impossible, too repetitive, or too dangerous for people to do. Someday robots may mine helium 3 on the Moon or operate a space station. Robots that weld, cut, handle and assemble are increasingly common in Silicon Valley and around the world. The robots in these exhibits show what they can do and, importantly, what they cannot do. More Info...

Virtual Design

Sophisticated hardware and software help us model virtual, 3-D objects and real-time phenomena. We can now create and manipulate virtual objects and realms as if they were real, and test them under different conditions by mimicking the laws of physics and forces of nature.

Try firsthand some of the systems now available to design different products, from bicycles to roller coasters. Use technology to create compelling realistic models of objects that, until now, existed only in the imagination. More Info...

Cleanroom

Historically, Silicon Valley has played a major role in developing more and more powerful microprocessors. Compare the cleanliness of a typical bedroom to that of a chip fabrication environment, or "cleanroom," often called the most artificial environment on the planet.

The exhibit "Chips at Home" emphasizes the pervasiveness of the tiny microchip in virtually every part of our daily lives, from automobiles to appliances. Regular guided programs in the Cleanroom take you through the microchip manufacturing process, while the video in "Workers in the Room" presents the real people who work in these environments. More Info...

Silicon Workshop

Engineers combine creativity and logic on microchips.
Whether it's in a car, cell phone, video game, or thermostat, every microchip has a unique design based on its function. Even a simple task, such as turning on the furnace when the house gets cold, requires complex wiring on the chip. Powerful design software helps engineers innovate new ways to fit more and more tasks on each microchip. See how many features you can combine as you design chips to control toys in the Silicon Workshop.
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