This review and critique of the experimental searches for pentaquarks follows the lectures given at the Zakopane summer school in May 2004. This is a rapidly changing field, and the viewpoint of the present article is according to the state of the results known at the time the lectures were given. A brief review of the theoretical motivation for the recent experimental results is also presented.

PACS numbers: 12.40.Yx, 13.60.Rj, 13.75.Jz, 14.20.Jn