It's Electric

Spark your curiosity

It’s Electric brings the science and history of electricity to life through an introduction to the types and uses of electricity.

Visit interactive stations to 

  • Become a human battery 
  • Operate a telegraph using Morse code 
  • Handle a plasma tube 
  • Discover if you are attracted to magnets   
  • And more 

Illuminate your mind further as you learn about the backgrounds of electricity innovators who have impacted our daily lives.  

Tesla Coil 

The star of It’s Electric. Whether you’ve never seen a Tesla coil in action or if you’ve seen it several times, you can’t miss this spectacle. Watch as this complex mechanism transmits electricity wirelessly, through the air, creating a breathtaking burst of electric current.  

Check with staff the day of your visit for show times. 

It's Electric highlights often-marginalized innovators and inventors who have advanced technologies. These innovations range from everyday objects like the pen and aerospace-engineering-inspired toys like the Super Soaker to historic innovations like the Mark 1 computer.   

A black and white photo of a hispanic man with a mustache wearing a suit, sweater, and tie. He is standing in front of a wall of gears and mechanics.
Guillermo González Camarena

Inventor of the Color-Wheel Color TV

A black and white photo of an elderly white woman in a high ranking miltary uniform and hat. She is wearing glasses and has her arms closed. The American flag is hanging behind her.
Grace Hopper

Inventor of One of the First Computers, Harvard Mark I

A black and white photo of a middle aged white woman. She is smiling, wearing glasses, and has a shawl around her shoulders. The image is cropped to just her portrait and the edge of the image fades to a circular grey gradient
Janese Swanson

Inventor of Toys and Games for Girls

An old black and white photo of a black man with glasses and a mustache. He is wearing a jacket and suit.
Lewis Latimer

Inventor of the Carbon Filament Light Bulb

A black and white photo of a middle aged white woman looking to the left of the image while facing forward. She is wearing a white lab coat and is seated.
Maria Telkes

Inventor of Home Heating System Powered by Solar Energy

A black and white photo of a black woman. She is looking kindly at the viewer, has short cropped hair, round earrings and a multi strand necklace.
Marie Van Brittan Brown

Inventor of Home Video Security

Group of people touching a cage surrounding a tesla coil at the Fleet Science Center
Adult man and young boy look up at a moving electric exhibit with a large hexagon mural in the background at the Fleet Science Center
Two young strawberry blonde girls look up at an electricity display on a wall at the Fleet Science Center
Young blonde boy experimenting with an old fashioned electrical device surrounded by wood and glass at the Fleet Science Center

This exhibition is generously funded by The Kiwanis Club of San Diego and the San Diego Kiwanis Club Foundation.

Esta exposición incluye descripciones en español.
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