The Exploratorium: A carnival for curious kids
As the name suggests, the Exploratorium is a place where kids can explore and learn. Since opening in 1969 it’s been a “must” field trip for Bay Area schoolchildren, but far from being boring, this science museum puts the fun in learning—not just for kids, but the adults who bring them.
This museum has emphasized hands-on, interactive learning from the start, long before it was a trend. Almost all of the 400 stations require that you DO things—not just push buttons, but crank cranks, pull pulleys, spin wheels and toss balls. At each station there’s a sign: “Try This” explains what to do and “What’s Going On” provides the reason why something happened as a result. If you’re confused, you can talk to an “Explainer,” one of the high school science whiz kids in orange vests who roam the floor.
Human perception is the focus—how and why you see, hear, smell, feel and experience the world around us the way you do. It’s a real-world approach to teaching science. For example, when you swing a tiny magnet on a string so that it attaches to a 400-pound metal pendulum at one station, you notice that the tiny magnet moves the pendulum when you pull the string. Resonance is the name of the scientific principle and you’re suddenly interested in how it works. Arousing curiosity, as much as imparting knowledge, is the museum’s trademark.
Some stations are more popular than others, although there’s seldom a wait. The Distorted Room, Shadow Box and chick embryos are always a hit. And Exploratorium staff regularly conduct cow’s eye dissections, light-and-magic demonstrations, and the chance for kids to paint a painting with a pendulum (which they get to take home).
With 2,000 visitors on a typical day—about half are kids—kid energy echoes through the cavernous building, especially on rainy days when parents know this is a better indoor activity option than the mall. If you don’t have kids, take a grandchild, niece or nephew, because seeing the joy of discovery on kids’ faces at the “Wow” moment when they “get” it is half the fun. The other half lies in discovering scientific principles that YOU never understood.
Originally an exhibition hall built in 1915 for a world’s fair, the Exploratorium is the main draw on the grounds of the Palace of Fine Arts. There’s also a café inside, where you can get a healthy lunch; the Tactile Dome ($20 extra), where you feel, bump, slide and crawl though a maze in total darkness; and the free-standing Roman columns and lagoon that also comprise the “Palace.” A walk on the path around it, while your kids chase ducks on the lawns that surround the lagoon, caps a perfect family outing. (It’s even more perfect on the first Wednesday of each month—the monthly free day.)
- by Bob Cooper, San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro
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Bob CooperBob Cooper is a full-time freelance writer (www.bob-cooper.com) who writes about travel, outdoor sports and health. He is a monthly contributor to Runner's World and has written recent articles for other national magazines such as Continental, Ladies' Home Journal and Inc.
