exploratorium

Exhibits

SUBJECTS

Earth Science

Aeolian Landscape
Aeolian Landscape

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
Avalanche
Avalanche

Does the sand all pile up in the same way?

Where:   Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6, Mezzanine
Bay Sediment Cores
Bay Sediment Cores

Sediment cores offer clues to the many histories of the Bay.

Where:   Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6: Observing Landscapes
Bay Windows
Bay Windows

Five clear, rotating disks provide beautiful windows onto the motion of sediments in the Bay. Spin them to compare the behavior of gravel, sand, and fine silt—how the currents carry them and how they settle out of the swirling waters.

Where:   Koret Foundation Bay Walk
Black Sand
Black Sand

At this simple but ever-popular exhibit, black sand from nearby beaches make spiky patterns that reveal the invisible magnetic field between the poles of two giant magnets.

Where:   Ray and Dagmar Dolby Atrium
Braided Stream
Braided Stream

Air—not water—erupts through fine powder to sculpt these roiling streams.

Where:   Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6, Mezzanine
Cloud Rings
Cloud Rings

Launch a ring of fog.

Where:   Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomenon
Color of Water
Color of Water

Water reflects the blue of the sky, but if you look down into it, its color is based mostly on the green of marine algae—phytoplankton—and the brown of suspended silt. This array of color chips lets viewers determine what’s influencing the color of water today.

Where:   Gallery 5: Outdoor Exhibits
Confused Sea
Confused Sea

Air blowing over the surface of water inside a large Plexiglas hemisphere mimics the action of the wind over the ocean by generating waves. The waves slowly change and build until the entire volume of water is circulating as one wave. Viewers can adjust the speed of the air blower and influence the building of the waves.

Where:   Gallery 4: Living Systems
Disappearing Rings
Disappearing Rings

Lower these rings into the Bay and see just how far you can see into the water. One of the San Francisco Bay’s defining features, sediment flows from the delta change with the seasons. This exhibit is based on a scientific observational instrument called a “secchi disk,” which scientists use to determine water clarity.

Where:   This exhibit is not currently on view.

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