The Exploratorium

Exploratorium

Our new nine-acre campus at Piers 15/17 is easily accessible to visitors from every part of the Bay Area and beyond. Share this exciting time with us at our upcoming events, including outdoor street parties, and pop-up exhibits in and around the Bay Area.

Pier 15
(Embarcadero @ Green Street)
San Francisco, Ca 94111
General Information: 415-528-4444

Purchase Tickets Online
Tuesday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Closed Mondays (except certain holidays)

The Exploratorium isn’t just a museum; it’s an ongoing exploration of science, art, and human perception—a vast collection of interactive exhibits, activities, programs, and events that feed your curiosity.  Check out a few of our collections and programs:

South Gallery
Tinkering – Think with your hands

Making things and developing ideas by hand helps us construct understanding. Slow down, settle in, and make something personally meaningful—from playful contraptions to surprising connections between mechanical systems and natural phenomena.

West Gallery
Human Phenomena – Experiment with thoughts, feelings, and social behavior

Humans think, feel, and interact, and these phenomena are all open to scientific investigation and creative exploration. Here, you and others are the exhibits—so play with social interactions, observe others, and contribute your reflections.

Central Gallery
Seeing and Listening – Experiment with light, vision, sound, and hearing

Our eyes and ears respond to light and sound waves, but these are just the first steps in perceiving the world. Playing with light and sound is the best way to learn how they work. Investigating real phenomena can also give you a deeper understanding of the scientific process.

East Gallery
Living Systems – Investigate the living world.

Sometimes life is hard to observe, because it’s too tiny or fast or is hidden underground or in the ocean. Discover what you’ve been missing: use scientific tools to investigate living things of different sizes, the ecosystems they inhabit, and the processes they share.

Bay Observatory
Landscape Observation – Explore the local environment

Natural and human forces interact to create the dynamic landscape surrounding us. Learn to uncover the stories embedded in a place by directly observing the geography, history, and ecology of the San Francisco Bay region.

Outdoor Gallery
Open your senses to this place by the Bay

Investigate forces shaping the City, Bay, and region. Watch shifting winds and tides, reveal hidden life, shake a bridge, observe human behavior, and find new ways to notice the places we inhabit.