Give Heart Cells a Beat: How It Works

At the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco, one of the most popular exhibits is “Give Heart Cells a Beat,” which opens a rare window into the microscopic world of the beating human heart. It’s made possible through the museum’s long-running scientific collaboration with Gladstone Institutes. As visitors approach the exhibit, a projected video displays beating heart cells, as many as 200,000, on an oversized monitor. Visitors hold onto handlebar sensors in front of the screen and feel their pulse through their hands. Then, within seconds, they watch as the heart cells on the screen begin beating in sync with their own heart. Learn how modern stem cell technology makes this possible.