Exploratorium

Why go

Exploratorium is defined by interactive exhibits that respond to touch, light, and movement. Another layer comes from the long Pier 15 building and outdoor installations over the water. Plan Exploratorium by remembering to reserve several hours and choose a few galleries rather than rushing everything. After Exploratorium, choose the Ferry Building or Embarcadero; this keeps Exploratorium geographically coherent and avoids forcing Exploratorium into an unrelated crossing.

What to look for

• Look closely at interactive exhibits that respond to touch, light, and movement.
• Notice the long Pier 15 building and outdoor installations over the water.

The full story

The Exploratorium was founded by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer and opened in 1969 at the Palace of Fine Arts, its home until January 2, 2013. On April 17, 2013, the Exploratorium reopened at Piers 15 and 17 on San Francisco's Embarcadero. The historic interior and exterior of Pier 15 was renovated extensively prior to the move, and is divided into several galleries mainly separated by content, including the physics of seeing and listening , Human Behavior, Living Systems, Tinkering (including electricity and magnetism), the Outdoor Gallery, and the Bay Observatory Gallery, which focuses on local environment, weather, and landscape. The Exploratorium offers visitors a variety of ways—including exhibits, webcasts, websites and events—to explore and understand the world around them. In 2011, the Exploratorium received the National Science Board 2011 Public Service Science Award for its contributions to public understanding of science and engineering. Oppenheimer also began lending a hand with science projects of local high school students, eventually becoming the sole science teacher at the high school in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The field trips and experiments he did with his high school students would become a blueprint for the hands-on methods of teaching and learning he would later bring to the Exploratorium.

Useful to know

• For Exploratorium, reserve several hours and choose a few galleries rather than rushing everything.
• Pair Exploratorium with the Ferry Building or Embarcadero when the route and opening conditions align.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.