Exploratorium : The Museum of Science,
Art and Human Perception
San Francisco's Exploratorium is an exciting, hands-on museum dedicated to science, art and human perception. Founded in 1969 by noted physicist and educator Dr. Frank Oppenheimer, the Exploratorium is designed to spark curiosity, regardless of age or familiarity with science.
The interactive museum is home to 700 hands-on exhibits such as Seeing, which explores how we interpret our world through our eyes, brain and own subjectivity. Here guests can take part in activities such as the Eyetracker, which follows guests' eye motion and shows how we focus, and the Fovea Remover, which shows how a brief flash of light can temporarily eliminate the ability to see details. At Traits of Life, visitors can take part in a DNA extraction demo, while the Listen and Mind exhibits explore how science and art affect our inner lives.
The Exploratorium is also home to the famous Tactile Dome, an interactive excursion through total darkness during which visitors can use their sense of touch as their only guide. Visitors proceed through a succession of shapes, temperatures and textures, which require the full range of the touch sense to make it through.
The Exploratorium offers private rentals for up to 2,500 people in such spaces as its 125-seat McBean Theater and its Mezzanine Level, which is home to 150 hands-on exhibits. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission is $9 for children ages 4-12, $11 for youths ages 13-17 and $14 for adults. General admission plus admission to the Tactile Dome is $17 per person. Only visitors ages 7 and older are allowed to visit the Tactile Dome. Admission for children under 4 is free. For more information: 415-563-7337
