Have you ever seen lightning dance to music? At the Rochester Museum and Science Center’s (RMSC) Electricity Theater, it really happens. Bright sparks leap from two giant Tesla coils, crackling and zinging with every beat. Lights flash, thunder booms, and it feels like electricity itself is putting on a show just for you.
But where do those amazing lightning-like sparks come from? They started as an idea in the mind of a brilliant inventor named Nikola Tesla. Long before Tesla’s name was on cars, it belonged to him. Born in 1856, Tesla loved imagining new ways to use electricity. He helped create the system that brings power to our homes and invented motors that run things like fans and mixers. One of his most exciting inventions was the Tesla coil, a special machine that can send sparks shooting into the air like tiny lightning bolts. Today, you can see his invention in action at the RMSC, where two giant Tesla coils light up the room with their electrifying show.
Tesla was so bright that when he saw a picture of Niagara Falls at just nine years old, he began thinking of ways to use its power to generate electricity. Tesla was able to put his plans into action when, in 1893, he was given the opportunity to work on the first hydroelectric power plant right there at Niagara Falls. Even now, if you visit the falls, you can still find a statue of Nikola Tesla, in honor of all his hard work.
Tesla coils are a bit like lightning machines. They take electricity—like what powers your house—and push more force behind it. A lot more force!. When the electricity has more force, it can jump through the air in bright, glowing sparks that look like tiny lightning bolts. This is exactly what you can expect to see from RMSC’s two six-foot-tall Tesla coils at its Electricity Theater.
These machines are capable of generating electric arcs or lightning bolts! This man-made lightning is beautiful to see, but it can also be beautiful to hear. During a thunderstorm, as lightning moves through the air, the air molecules all around it get very hot. As the air molecules heat up, they expand and bump into the ones next to them, creating a vibration in the air, or a sound wave. These sound waves are what we hear as thunder.
In Electricity Theater, this same idea is used to make music. By changing how many times per second the lightning strikes, the frequency of the sound waves changes. This allows the thunder to be “tuned,” so the Tesla coils can actually play songs. In fact, they are programmed to perform more than 400 different songs!
The lightning in the Electricity Theater does not strike randomly. Powerful computers control exactly when each burst of electricity is released. By carefully timing these electrical pulses, the Tesla coils act like giant musical speakers. Different patterns of electrical sparks create different notes and rhythms, allowing the coils to perform songs that visitors can recognize.
On the stage of the Electricity Theater, between the two tesla coils, stands a big metal cage. This is called a Faraday cage. The Faraday cage blocks electrical fields from penetrating it. The Faraday cage at RMSC is connected to the ground with a wire that allows it to safely move electrical charge away from whatever is inside (but even if it wasn’t grounded it would be safe to use). The metal on the outside of the cage acts like a shield, forcing electricity to travel around the outside surface instead of passing through. This means that the inside of the Faraday cage is safe to stand in!
Volunteers are able to stand inside the cage and see the lightning striking inches away. They can even put a hand on the screen right where the lightning is striking the other side and be completely safe.
Did you know that one of the safest places to be during a thunderstorm is inside a car? If lightning strikes a car, the electricity usually travels around the metal outside and then safely into the ground instead of going inside. This is the same idea that helps protect volunteers standing inside the Faraday cage during the show.
All of this makes the Electricity Theater more than just an exciting performance. It is a chance to see science come to life. From glowing sparks and booming thunder to music made from lightning, the Tesla coils help visitors understand electricity in a fun and unforgettable way.
The next time you visit the RMSC, you might just see lightning dance.
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2026 issue of (585) Kids.
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