Masks and vaccinations are recommended. Plan your visit
Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6, Mezzanine
Uncover the history, geography, and ecology of the Bay Area.
Braided Stream
This artwork features air bubbling up through a fine powder constrained between two glass plates tilted at a 45 degree angle. The tilting creates a continually changing landscape evocative of aerial photographs of river drainage networks on Earth and on Mars.
Circling Wave Umbrella
Fluttering waves whirl around the edge, creating patterns of evenly spaced ripples.
Drip Chamber
Liquid glycerin drips down, creating unique shapes and shadow patterns.
Where: This exhibit is not currently on view.
Icy Bodies
Like comets, these chunks of dry ice slowly disintegrate as they move, leaving a visible trail of condensed water vapor.
Illuminated Fog
Swirling, drifting, billowing movements of air reveal themselves in the fog.
Liquid Litmus
See the chemical reactions taking place in an electrolytic cell, as electricity flowing through a tank of salt water and pH-indicating dye creates zones of acidic (yellow) and basic (blue) solutions.
Oscylinderscope
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).
Rift Zone
Rift Zone uses air bubbling up through fine sand to suggest a small-scale geothermal landscape. By turning a knob, viewers can change the pressure of the air rising up through the sand and alter the shapes and patterns of the landscape.
Seismograph
This seismograph is an earthquake detector that records the up-and-down motion of the ground—whether made by tectonic activity or by you.
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