Oceans & Water

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

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

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

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: Gallery 5: Outdoor Exhibits

Fluvial Storm

Swirling water sculpts elaborate patterns of underwater dunes.

Where: This exhibit is not currently on view.

Glass Settling Plate

Almost any hard object submerged in San Francisco Bay—from pier pilings to the sides of sailboats—quickly becomes a habitat for an ever-changing community of living things. Here you can use a joystick-driven microscope to take a tour of the wonderland of living creatures that have settled on a glass plate that has spent some time submerged in the Bay.

Where: This exhibit is not currently on view.