Exploratorium, San Francisco

Science center with tons of brilliant hands-on activities for adults and kids alike. I’m a 35 year old who went by myself and I had a blast. Compared to other science centers, it was odd to have the entire museum in basically one enormous open space. Most modern science centers have modern, world-class buildings that add to the intrigue, but this one did not, since it’s in what appears to be an old waterfront warehouse. It has a fantastic location, though. Ticket cost was $40 for one adult.

Fun even without kids, lots of tactile exhibits which are interactive and quite engaging. I figured I would be in here perhaps an hour or two, but I was here about 4+ hours playing with everything as it was so much fun trying everything out. At first I thought it was pretty pricey, but there is so much to do, I can understand the price.

As a physicist who is very into teaching and using demonstrations to illustrate how the Universe works, there is no other museum I have been to that captures the fun of physics better than the Exploratorium. The building is jam packed with hundreds of mini exhibits that you only need to spend a minute at but that will show you a concept in a real and tactile way. The exhibits span physics, perception, biology, and human culture and are interesting and engaging for audiences of all ages. There are just as many parents playing with things as there are kids! If your kid came back from a field trip saying they had a good time here, then you should definitely go back and finish going through the museum with them

Each exhibit really sparks the interests of different people, some do some do not. Some of the exhibit is missing some parts that may have been stolen. I think staff should check them every 30 minutes to reset and or sanitize since most require physical interaction. There's a paid parking across the street (around $26) but the museum is accessible by street car.

This place is so big! There is no natural flow, so some people in my party felt overwhelmed, but I appreciated the ability to wander in any direction. There were a lot of younger children around the museum, but it felt better suited for elementary ages and up. The adults had a blast, too! We spent over 3 hours exploring and still did not see everything. We left for lunch, although there is a cafe on site. There are plenty of water bottle refill stations, and I wish I had brought my water bottle with me. We had a lot of fun playing and exploring, but would have loved more information/signs to help us dig deeper into some of the topics. There were some “explainers” available to answer questions, but most of our time was unguided and independent. The location was amazing and it was nice to see the bay from the windows.