Exploratorium in San Francisco

The Exploratorium is a highly interactive museum to explore science, technology, and arts. With more than 600 exhibits to tinker and play with this popular museum is a must in San Francisco to entertain the little and big kids in your life.

History

The Exploratorium originally opened in the Palace of Fine Arts in 1969 by Frank Oppenheimer, a physicist and educator who worked on the Manhattan Project. His goal was to encourage curiosity about the physical world and to make it as fun as possible. It eventually needed more space and moved to its current home on the Embarcadero in 2013.

Location

Today, the Exploratorium is located at San Francisco’s historic Pier 15. It’s conveniently located on the Embarcadero between Pier 39 and the Ferry Building. With gorgeous views of San Francisco’s waterfront, the Bay Bridge, and Cupid’s Arrow, this is a great place to walk around and grab lunch at the Ferry Building (check out my post here) before heading over to the Exploratorium.

The Exhibits

There are six main galleries and hundreds of exhibits on display. 

Human Phoenomena: Experiment with thoughts, feelings, and social behavior
Tinkering: Explore your creativity and our curious contraptions
Seeing and Reflections: Experiment with light, mirrors, and bubbles
Living Systems: Investigate the living world
Outdoor Exhibits: Explore winds, tides, and natural phenomena
Observing Landscapes: Uncover the history, geography, and ecology of the Bay Area

We were there for 3 hours and we still didn’t get to see everything. Not to mention, our kids (almost 4 and 7) didn’t want to leave when the museum was closing. You can bet they passed out as soon as we got into the car!

This is a great place not just kids, but for adults to have fun and be a kid again. I love places where kids can run around and touch everything to their hearts desire and not having to worry about anything. 

We usually like to grab lunch at the Ferry Building (read my post on Ferry Building’s Restaurants). 

The Exploratorium is also a perfect place when the weather isn’t great. There’s even a restaurant and cafe inside. 

Have you been to the Exploratorium? Leave me a comment to let me know what your favorite exhibit is. Until next time, mahalo for reading 🙂 

Hours

MUSEUM HOURS
Wednesday-Thursday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Thursday (Ages 18+): 6:00-10:00 p.m.
Friday: 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Sunday (Daytime Members/Donors Only): 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Sunday: Noon-5:00 p.m.
Monday: Closed except on select holidays
Tuesday: Closed except select days

DINING
Seaglass Restaurant
Seismic Joint Cafe

Prices

Adults (18-64): $29.95
Seniors, People with Disabilities, Teachers, Students, Youth (13-17): $24.95
Children (4-12): $19.95
Children (3 & under): FREE
California Public School Teachers: FREE

After Dark Thursday Night Tickets (18+): $19.95
Every Thursday 6:00-10:00 p.m. 18+ only

For more information click here