Artworks on View

Art is everywhere at the Exploratorium. Here are some of the artworks currently on display—and where to find them.

Aeolian Harp

Douglas Hollis, 1976

An eerie orchestral chord floats on the breeze; it’s the shimmering sound of a 27-foot tall harp being strummed by the wind.

Where: Gallery 5: Outdoor Exhibits

Aeolian Landscape

Ned Kahn, 1988

Aeolian Landscape presents a swirling storm of sand inside a large chamber covered by a plexiglass top. A knob on the top of the exhibit rotates a sturdy fan set in the base of the chamber.

Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6, Mezzanine

Visitors interact with the Anti-Gravity Mirror exhibit.

Here’s an exhibit where watching is at least half the fun. You can create any number of gravity-defying illusions that will amaze you and your friends: Levitate, fly, swim though the air, grow limbs (and dissolve them), crawl straight up the wall like a lizard—the sky’s the limit.

Where: Bechtel Gallery 3: Seeing & Listening

Archimedes

Douglas Hollis, 2017

Parabolic dishes collect and focus sound waves and reflect them to participants seated within them.

Where: Plaza

As One

Amery Kessler, 2015

As One invites two participants to partner, and take turns in the roles of leader or follower as they mirror one another’s movements.

Where: Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomenon

Aurora

Robert Larue (Bob) Miller, 1977

A reflector stretches light from colored tiles into long bright ribbons.

Where: Bechtel Gallery 3: Seeing & Listening

Bay Lexicon

Jane Wolff, 2013

Bay Lexicon is a visual dictionary made up of illustrated flash cards, exploring the landscape visible from the Bay Observatory’s windows as well as places and phenomena along the shoreline between Fort Point and Hunters Point.

Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6: Observing Landscapes

Big Wood: 300 Years of Photosynthesis

Michael Brown, Evan Shively, 2013

Developed by artist Michael Brown in collaboration with reclaimed wood specialist Evan Shively, a several-hundred-year-old Douglas fir was split down the center to reveal its rings, immersing visitors in a fascinating study of dendrochronology.

Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems

Buckyball

Leo Villareal, 2016

Comprised of 4,500 LED nodes arranged along a series of pentagons and hexagons, Leo Villareal's Buckyball is animated by custom software programmed by the artist to display over 16 million distinct colors.

Where: Plaza

Sand vibrates on a metal surface in the Chlani Singing exhibit.

Chladni Singing

Meara O'Reilly, 2013

Sand scattered on a large metal square vibrates and jumps in response to the sound of your voice. When you hit just the right note(s), the sand spontaneously migrates into elegant geometrical patterns.

Where: Bechtel Gallery 3: Seeing & Listening