San Francisco, California | Strange Science
In 1906, a massive earthquake hit San Francisco, and the “ham and egg” fires – named such because they were started by a family cooking breakfast with an earthquake damaged chimney – that followed nearly destroyed the city, burning most of the financial district, downtown, civic center, and SOMA areas to the ground.
Over the course of the next 6 years San Francisco rose from the ashes, building new land out of the rubble – now known as the Marina or Cow Hollow – and were ready to face the world victorious in 1915. On February 20, hosted on grounds created from earthquake rubble, the Panama Pacific Expedition opened to celebrate not only the rise of the city but the completion of the Panama Canal.
Today, where ladies performed synchronized swimming, nestled next to the last remaining building of expedition, the magnificent Neo-Roman Palace of Fine Arts, the Exploratorium allows its visitors to explore the physical sciences.
The Exploratorium, a hands-on science museum geared towards children, is home to hundreds of exhibits that help in the understanding of electricity, centrifugal motion, sound waves, optical illusion and superstitions among other things. There are a few “hidden” exhibits at the Exploratorium that are easy to miss, but very worth seeking out.
First among them is the Sound Column, easy to pass by as it is what looks like a maintenance door in one of the massive Neo-Roman columns that make up the remains of the Palace of Fine Arts. In fact, the column is hollow and contains a fantastic demonstration of how sound waves work. By hitting a xylophone in the column with a large mallet the different notes travel at different wavelengths illustrated on the wall. By just moving ones head up and down one can make the notes seem to go silent, at the smallest section of the wavelength, or resonate loudly as they do at the peak of the wavelength. If the door is locked, ask at the front desk and someone will let you in.
Another hidden delight is the Tactile Dome – not recommended for the claustrophobic or germophobic – is an experience in total darkness that challenges visitors to heighten their sense of touch to navigate through the winding paths on their hands and knees. The tactile dome must be reserved ahead of time, and is a three dollar additional cost to the museum.
On any given day the Exploratorium is overrun by kids on field trips or birthday parties. It can be hard to fully enjoy the exhibits while kids frantically careen from exhibit to exhibit, but once a month on the first Thursday the museum is open late for Exploratorium After Dark. The lights are turned down low, special exhibits, such as as chain saw ice sculpting or Dr Mega Volt, are brought in, and drinks are served. In this setting, the Exploratorium becomes a fantastic play land for adults, who still have enough wonder in them to delight in the wonderful exhibits of the Exploratorium.
