The palace swans. Click for a larger view.     In 1965, University of Colorado physics professor Frank Oppenheimer was in Europe where he visited science museums such as the one in South Kensington, London, and the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The following year he was invited to a conference in Burlington, Vermont, on the role of museums in education. It was then that an idea of his began really to crystallize. He was convinced that there was an increasing need to develop public understanding of science and technology, and that a museum could be a place where people come to learn and to participate and to explore natural phenomena—in short, an Exploratorium. He made several trips to San Francisco to discuss the possibility of establishing such a museum here, and his proposals were met with enthusiastic interest. Therefore, in July of 1968, he and his family came here to live, and later that year, at a luncheon at the Palace (where the ever-generous Walter Johnson announced that he would donate $250,000 for a theatre), plans really began to take shape.   The lagoon at sunrise. Click for larger view.       The Park and Recreation Commission formally approved the plan to house a museum in the Palace in August of 1969, and with a grant of $50,000 from the San Francisco Foundation, the Exploratorium was under way. Dr. Oppenheimer established his office in a trailer in one corner of the great exhibition hall, and the first exhibits—the Montgomery Glider, the Stanford Linear Accelerator, and the Lockheed Box (now called “Touch the Spring”)—were set up. In September of 1969, with no fanfare and little publicity, the Exploratorium opened its doors. The first visitors discovered the museum largely by accident. But in November, the museum displayed the Cybernetic Serendipity exhibit from England, and word of the Exploratorium's existence began to spread. The Palace was built with great optimism, and the Exploratorium was also conceived with a sense of optimism. It is grounded on the conviction that an understanding of nature, accompanied by respect for both the arts and the sciences, will eventually help us solve the problems that now seem so intense and menacing. The Exploratorium’s Statement of Broad Purpose sums up the philosophy behind the museum: The Exploratorium was conceived to communicate a conviction that nature and people can be both understandable and full of newly discovered magic.   Exploratorium light scuplture. Click for larger view.       Starting with a few temporary exhibits, the museum grew rapidly. In 1980, cramped for space by its collection of exhibits, the museum built a mezzanine within the exhibition hall, adding another 15,000 square feet of exhibit space. By 1983, the Exploratorium had more than 500 exhibits on light and color, sound and music, patterns of motion, language, and other natural phenomena. In February of 1985, Dr. Oppenheimer died. The Exploratorium, having gained an international reputation for excellence and creativity under his guidance, became his lasting monument, and continued to thrive. By 1991, the staff had grown to almost 200; the exhibit collection to more than 650. Under the direction of French scientist and educator Dr. Goéry Delacôte, the museum entered a new phase of development intended to carry it into the 21st Century. From 1991 until 2005, Dr. Delacôte worked toward extending the reach of the museum—expanding teacher professional-development and outreach programs, creating an expanded Web presence, and supporting the formation of museum partnerships in the U.S. and abroad. He also oversaw a renewed effort to redevelop major exhibition areas, and guided the activity of the museum into new areas of interest, including the important domains of research in life sciences and cognition. As part of creating a “networked” Exploratorium, Dr. Delacôte focused not only on bringing the Exploratorium to the world, but also on bringing the world to the Exploratorium. In 2006, Dr. Dennis M. Bartels was named Executive Director of the Exploratorium. A nationally known science education and policy expert, Dr. Bartels holds a Ph.D. in Education Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and past Director of the Exploratorium’s own Center for Teaching and Learning, Dr. Bartels was chosen by the museum’s Board of Directors based on his background in science education and policy, management, and administration, as well as his vision for the Exploratorium’s future.       © 1998, The Exploratorium