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Black Box

A place for presenting artwork that inspires and astounds in mysterious and wondrous ways, the Black Box is a darkened 800-square-foot space that provides an ideal environment for media art installations. A commonly used metaphor in science and engineering, a black box describes something that has observable inputs and outputs and unseen inner workings. Something goes in and something comes out, but the process by which transformation occurs is “black” or unknown to the observer. At the Exploratorium, the black box concept has been combined with our Center for Art & Inquiry’s focus on art as a way of knowing through exploration, inquiry, and discovery.

Drawing on the Exploratorium’s unique province as a hybrid museum presenting and developing artworks at the juncture of art, science, and technology, the Black Box features dynamic, innovative multimedia exhibitions to prompt curiosity and transformation.

There's always something interesting happening here—check out our upcoming events calendar.

Past Installations


Aerial shot of the Los Angeles Basin.
Double Horizon
By Lia Halloran

Friday, May 13–Sunday, August 7, 2022

Double Horizon, an immersive three-screen video installation, envelopes the viewer in artist Lia Halloran’s portrait of Los Angeles. Scored with an original musical composition by Allyson Newman, the installation explores and transforms the constructed and natural landscapes of the Los Angeles Basin.

Peacemaker
Peacemaker

Hold hands with friends or strangers to create human circuits between lights. This interactive installation invites you to physically and energetically connect with others to create something special.

Where:   This exhibit is not currently on view.

A holographic ball of light appears, unexpectedly exploding and dissolving as you walk into it. 
Aperture Lucida

Thursday, July 1, 2021–Sunday, October 10, 2021

Experience the delight of illusion in this new work by artist and inventor Tristan Duke. Upon first encounter, Aperture Lucida presents as a blank, monolithic cube centered in a large white space. As you approach, a holographic ball of light appears, unexpectedly exploding and dissolving as you walk into it. 

Kaleidoscope

Friday, December 6, 2019– Monday January 20, 2020
Preview on Thursday, December 5, 2019 • 7:00–10:00 p.m. (Ages 18+)

Experience a landscape of astonishing visual effects. Constructed as an 8-foot-square light box, artist Karina Smigla-Bobinski’s Kaleidoscope invites you to push and press on its surface to reveal an infinite pattern of vibrant colors. Each touch generates hyperdynamic images that visualize motion energy.

In Silhouette

Friday, March 1–Sunday, April 28, 2019

In Silhouette invites you to experience remarkably complex and inventive works of shadow play. Upon entering the darkened Black Box, you encounter what appear to be mundane blank surfaces. However, hidden within each piece are unforeseen images that are revealed only under a flashlight’s beam.

Infinity Room

Thursday, June 14–Sunday, July 15, 2018

Step into an otherworldly portal and envelop yourself in distorted light and perpetually morphing visuals. Watch the walls melt away as the barrier between the material and virtual realms blur into infinity.

Gibson + Recoder: Powers of Resolution

Friday, November 11–Sunday, December 18, 2016 • See below for viewing hours

Lightplay—a series of artists engagements focused on light interventions—begins with Gibson + Recoder: Powers of Resolution, which celebrates the elusive and delicate beauty revealed through immersive experiences with light.

Visible Spectres by Kerry Laitala

Thursday, October 1–Sunday, November 1, 2015
Wednesdays–Sundays, 1:00–5:00 p.m.
Thursdays, 6:00–10:00 p.m. (18+)

Science, history, and art converge in this whimsical tribute to San Francisco’s 1915 World’s Fair, which is celebrating its centennial this year. Lost landscapes from the Fair (including the Exploratorium’s former home, the Palace of Fine Arts) become the backdrop for spectral encounters. Are the spirits of fairgoers getting restless?

Cognitive Technologies

2015

This collaboration between the Cognitive Technology Group, an incubator for brain technology and research, and m0xy, an East Oakland–based industrial arts incubator, Cognitive Technologies combines neuroscience, art, and design so visitors can interact with various tools used by neuroscientists to see and understand how the brain works.

01/31/2015 to 03/01/2015

Strata #4
Strata #4

Quayola, 2014

Documenting the improbable collisions 
between classical figuration and contemporary abstraction, Strata #4 aims to create a harmonious dialogue between worlds that
 may appear very distant from one another, but in fact have much in common.

11/14/2014 to 01/05/2015

Comfort Zone

Ben Levy

Benjamin Levy began working on Comfort Zone as an Exploratorium artist-in-residence in 2011. An immersive, participatory installation exploring choreography, group dynamics, collaboration, and social boundaries, this project presents compelling conceptual and practical challenges.

10/22/2013 to 01/31/2014

Invisible by Night

Lynette Wallworth

Lynette Wallworth’s Invisible by Night will inaugurate the West Gallery’s Black Box media space at the museum's new home at Pier 15. This quietly interactive video installation responds to the visitor's touch and projects a life-sized woman whose eternal pacing can be interrupted by the viewer.

04/16/2013 to 09/29/2013

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