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1 00:00:01,500 --> 00:00:07,580 This incredible partnership with the Exploratorium is going to really make 2 00:00:07,580 --> 00:00:10,820 this the interactive space that we know it can be. 3 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,380 The planning department was really proud to partner 4 00:00:14,380 --> 00:00:17,960 with the public library and the Exploratorium to bring this exhibit to the Civic Center. 5 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,860 We've been doing this work in the Civic Center in a number of different forms in the last several years. 6 00:00:23,100 --> 00:00:26,140 We hope this project will really bring people to the area, 7 00:00:26,140 --> 00:00:30,320 bring a variety of people to the area, rekindle their interest in the Civic Center, 8 00:00:30,340 --> 00:00:33,380 and be a lesson for how we can redesign the space for the future. 9 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:35,940 We're very excited about the installation. 10 00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:40,160 We've been working with the Civic Center Commons and the Exploratorium for nearly a year 11 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:48,220 and we think that it's going to have a major impact on how people first encounter the main library 12 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,560 and we expect that with an engaging installation 13 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,680 like the Exploratorium Middle Ground here on Larkin, 14 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,640 before people come into the library, they're going to experience 15 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:04,610 this really positive place, where people can come together and talk about how we 16 00:01:04,610 --> 00:01:10,020 socialize and how we meet new people and learn from people. 17 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:12,600 You're standing in front of Pay it Forward Cafe. 18 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:14,940 It's zero waste coffee 19 00:01:14,940 --> 00:01:16,780 and it's about building compassion. 20 00:01:16,780 --> 00:01:18,020 So you buy one, gift one. 21 00:01:18,420 --> 00:01:20,600 The interesting thing about this partnership, 22 00:01:20,700 --> 00:01:25,220 is that like any installation in public space, it has to be ready for it. 23 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:31,040 You have to have a suite of partners all of which can contribute in their way to a greater whole. 24 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,280 We partnered with the San Francisco Public Library, 25 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:40,080 and we partnered with the Civic Center Commons initiative intended to improve the Civic Center 26 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:45,320 and we partnered with Urban Alchemy, they do wondrous things in public spaces. 27 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:48,820 They govern with a soft hand, they help people. 28 00:01:48,820 --> 00:01:52,480 They make everybody feel safe and included and so combining 29 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,660 the kinds of exhibits that we develop which are informal, fun and engaging 30 00:01:56,660 --> 00:01:59,440 with the kind of wisdom and insight that they bring. 31 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:01,560 We couldn't have done any of this without those partners, 32 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,900 and over the course of the next year, I think we're all looking to learn a lot from this experiment 33 00:02:05,900 --> 00:02:08,780 not only from the evaluation of the exhibition 34 00:02:08,780 --> 00:02:11,340 and talking to people about social sciences, 35 00:02:11,340 --> 00:02:14,720 but also about how to improve public spaces.

Middle Ground

Middle Ground: Reconsidering Ourselves and Others

Published:   August 30, 2019
Total Running Time:   00:02:20

From August 2019 through June 2020, the Exploratorium invites you to pull up a chair and dive into Middle Ground, an exploration into human social interactions in the middle of San Francisco’s vibrant Civic Center. Middle Ground is an exciting new outdoor exhibition on the Larkin Street steps of the San Francisco Main Library. This free, yearlong offsite exhibition includes over a dozen interactive experiences to get you thinking about how you think—and how we interact with others as we go about our daily lives. 

Middle Ground is made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation (award #1713638). 
 

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  • Middle Ground Website

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  • Social Science
    • Psychology
    • Sociology

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Total Running Time:   00:03:20
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Published:   September 24, 2019
Total Running Time:   00:02:15
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