Exploratorium, San Francisco – Virtual Tour

The Exploratorium is a museum of science, technology, and arts in San Francisco. The museum is noted the participatory nature of its exhibits and informal learning focus.

The Exploratorium was founded by physicist Frank Oppenheimer and opened in 1969 at the Palace of Fine Arts. In 2013, the Exploratorium moved to Piers 15 and 17 on San Francisco’s Embarcadero.

The museums’ galleries include:

Light and Sound
Human Behavior
Living Systems
Tinkering with electricity and magnetism
Outdoor Gallery
Bay Observatory Gallery

About 600 participatory exhibits are available at any given time. The exhibit-building workshop space is open to view.

The museum has inspired an international network of participatory museums working to engage the public with general science education.

Highlights of the Exploratorium, San Francisco

Human Behavior Gallery – investigate memory, emotion, and judgment; and experiment with how people cooperate, compete, and share.
Tinkering Gallery – engage in hands-on workshops, exploring DIY aesthetic, Animation Stations, and much more.
Artworks – include the Tinkerer’s Clock and Rolling Through The Bay.
Seeing and Listening Gallery – investigate physics and the perception of light, color, and sound.
Living Systems Gallery – explore life sciences exhibits.
Bay Observatory Gallery – investigate the real-time movement of clouds and tides, the changing waterfront, the flow of ships, and the interpretation of oceanographic data.
Outdoor Gallery – focuses on direct interaction with the Bay environment.