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Artworks on View
Art is everywhere at the Exploratorium. Here are some of the artworks currently on display—and where to find them.
Oculus Table
Rebecca Cummins, Woody Sullivan, 2013
Oculus Table introduces a contemporary twist on a common ancient Greek sundial, the scaphe (σκάφη or "bowl"). With sunlight streaming through the oculus—the hole in the ceiling of the Fisher Bay Observatory—the movable table can be visually aligned with landmarks on the skyline (Coit Tower, Transamerica Pyramid, etc.) to discover the Sun's position in the sky and the current time and date.
Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6: Observing Landscapes
Oscylinderscope
Norman Tuck, 1998
A piece consisting of a cylinder and guitar strings, that when plucked, demonstrate how strings behave when they vibrate to produce sound. Both the tension and the length of a string effect the frequency of vibration (pitch of the sound). Shorter or tighter strings vibrate faster to make higher tones and vice a versa, while the horizontal distance between the peaks and valleys of each wave reflects the loudness of the sound.
Where: Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomenon
Probably Chelsea
Heather Dewey-Hagborg: AIR, Chelsea E. Manning, 2017
Twenty different sculptural portraits, all based on the same person's DNA information.
Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems
Recollections
Ed Tannenbaum, 1981
This work addresses the poetics of motion, time and color. Participants are able to explore animated effects such as how sequences of images create movement. By displaying sequences simultaneously, movement forms are created. The history of the movement is expressed through multiple rainbow-colored images that evoke memories of legendary photographer Harold Edgerton's work.
Where: Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomenon
Rolling Through the Bay
Scott Weaver, 2003
Artist Scott Weaver has spent over 40 years painstakingly constructing this replica of the city of San Francisco out of toothpicks. Ping-pong balls added here or there wind their way through the model, visiting various famous sites along the way.
Where: Gallery 2: Tinkering
Saltscapes
Cris Benton, 2013
The South San Francisco Bay salt evaporation ponds take on a variety of colors due to halophilic organisms that adapt to various salinities. Photographer Cris Benton captures this vibrant landscape in a series of aerial photos taken from homemade kite-cameras flown over the ponds.
Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems
Shadow Box
Carl Bucher, 1973
A bright flash of light illuminates a phosphorescent wall—imprinting temporary shadows that capture a moment in time.
Where: Crossroads: Getting Started
Sky Theater
Terence McArdle, 2013
Sky Theater is a rear-projected enclosure designed to reveal and celebrate unseen patterns of the daytime sky.
Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6: Observing Landscapes
Spectral Meadow
Pete Stephens, 2013
Watch the patterns change as the Earth turns and the Sun moves across the sky.
Where: Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomenon
Sun Painting
Robert Larue (Bob) Miller, 1971
Created by artist Bob Miller, this classic Exploratorium exhibit is a “live” painting that uses light from the Sun as its palette.
Where: Bechtel Gallery 3: Seeing & Listening
Sun Swarm
Chris Bell, 2013
An elevated topography of silvered squares inserted between the water and the sky, Sun Swarm is an architectural intervention that collects and disperses bits of sunlight across the deck of Pier 17.
Where: Gallery 5: Outdoor Exhibits
Time Shift
Ken Murphy, 2013
A visual work that allows viewers to browse and select from an archive of time-lapse sequences that reveal human and natural processes at work in the local landscape.
Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6: Observing Landscapes
Tornado
Ned Kahn, 1986
Fans simulate the swirling airflow in a thunderstorm and fog machines make the pattern visible, creating a miniature tornado that you can disturb with the wave of a hand.
Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems
Vortex
Douglas Hollis, 1979
A twist of a knob sets water jets in motion, causing water in this giant cylindrical tank to spin. Soon, a tiny vortex appears at the surface, gradually swelling in size as it snakes downward.
Where: Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6, Mezzanine
Within 15 Minutes
Alma Haser, 2017
Alma Haser photographed sets of identical twins and made them into identical jigsaw puzzles. She then swapped every other piece of their puzzles, completely mixing them half and half. Not always knowing where their eyes mouth, and lips would end up, the result is a pair of eerie, unrecognizable portraits.
Where: Gallery 4: Living Systems
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