Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Don't Miss
Award-Winning Exhibits
Is there a science to skateboarding? Do toilets really flush counterclockwise in Australia?
Find answers to questions you wished you'd learned in school firsthand, with over 600
participatory exhibits that have buttons to push, cranks to ratchet, and dials to adjust - and
you can peek at award-winning artists and scientists inventing their next extreme science
project at the in-house workshop.
Indoor Galleries
Indoor galleries focus on color, sound, light and motion, and educational photo-ops
abound. Exhibits are purpose-built to excite visitors with possibilities for new inventions,
scientific discovery and public service - a fitting tribute to founder Frank Oppenheimer,
an atom bomb physicist who was blackballed during the McCarthy era, then later reem-
erged as a San Francisco high-school teacher.
Outdoor Gallery
The Exploratorium has a 330,000-sq-ft solar- powered waterfront home on Pier 15, with
vast outdoor portions you can explore for free, 24 hours a day. Listen to the wind play eer-
ie compositions on the 27ft
Aeolian harp
, see the bay turn upside-down in the
Rickshaw
Obscura
, and don't miss sensational Over the Water art installations, such as Fujiko
Nakaya's mirage-like
Fog Bridge
.
Bay Observatory
With assistance from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the
Exploratorium's pier is wired with sensors delivering real-time data on weather, wind,
tides and the bay. See the data flow at your final stop: Bay Observatory Gallery, a glass-
enclosed lookout where sea meets land and sky.
415-528-4444
Pier 15
