Masks are required for all visitors 2+. Vaccines recommended. Plan your visit
$15 General
$10 Members; Free for Lab Members
$10 Add-On Ticket for the Tactile Dome Available for Purchase Onsite
Adults Only (18+)
Note: Some programs have limited seating and will be made available to visitors on a first-come, first-served basis.
Take a look at revolutionary visual storytelling from the ’60s and ’70s in the Cinema Arts program Seasons of Unrest: Activist Filmmaking in the Vietnam Era. Or learn the novel and nefarious uses of phosphorus at Everything Matters. Also, enjoy our pitch-black Tactile Dome and explore hundreds of exhibits and an array of demonstrations.
7:30 p.m.
Kanbar Forum
The cyclical nature of the world we inhabit is ever visible. With a historic election just around the corner, in this screening we take a look at the revolutionary storytelling of activist filmmaking from the past and its relevance today. Drawn from a range of film collections throughout the United States, and featuring several works recently preserved through the support of the National Film Preservation Foundation, this program looks at the roots of unrest. While each film is a glimpse into the time and place it was made, the urgency that drove these filmmakers to create each work remains.
Moving between moments of historically remarkable upheaval into the anxieties that pervade a tight-knit Appalachian community, the voices in these films—made predominantly in the late 1960s through early 1970s—are as relevant today as ever.
Videotape Study #3 (Nam June Paik and Jud Yalkut, 1967–1969, 4 min.)
Celebrated media artist Nam June Paik and under-celebrated filmmaker Jud Yalkut directly manipulate and intervene with news footage of then-President Lyndon B. Johnson and then–New York City Mayor John Lindsay to create a work of subtle protest. Preserved by Anthology Film Archives.
Urban Crisis and the New Militants: Law and Order vs. Dissent (The Film Group, 1968, 11 min.)
One of a seven part series of short films that aimed to raise questions about social justice issues in Chicago, Law and Order vs. Dissent intercuts documentation of police responses to demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic Convention with a press conference from then–Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and a police spokesperson who are defending the police actions. The film was made by The Film Group, which previously made only commercials and industrial films, but upon witnessing the social unrest at the Convention were driven to make this effective and thoughtful film series. Preserved by Chicago Film Archives.
Whitesburg Epic (Appalachian Film Workshop, 1971, 8 min.)
Through man-on-the-street style reporting, this work investigates the ways the issues of the day affect a rural community. Intermixed with residents’ comments on the Vietnam War, Kent State, unemployment, and the nature of small town living are beautiful glimpses into Whitesburg’s inhabitants, paired with music from the community. Appalshop is a media producer that is an integral part of the community it documents. This film was made by the people of the community, resulting in a deep, personal, and moving portrait of Whitesburg that maintains a universal quality. Preserved by Appalshop.
8:00 p.m.
Phyllis C. Wattis Webcast Studio
Come be in your elements with Exploratorium host and scientific raconteur Ron Hipschman. Follow tales of intrigue and invention, join in dynamic demonstrations, and uncover fascinating connections between individual elements and our collective human experience.
Learn more about the series, Everything Matters: Tales from the Periodic Table.
Learn the novel and nefarious uses of phosphorus, one of the essential elements required for life, and find out how meteorite bombardments plunged necessary phosphorus compounds to Earth over 3.5 billion years ago—compounds that were recently observed around Comet 67P /Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Phosphorus
Phosphorus was first beheld in 1669 by Hennig Brand, a German alchemist in search of gold. Through a laborious secret process, Brand isolated the white, waxy solid from urine, naming it “cold fire” for its captivating glow. Spontaneously flammable in air, white phosphorus was later used to make matches; the toxic element gave match workers a disfiguring disease known as “phossy jaw” before being replaced with safer red phosphorus after 1906. White phosphorus is still used to make incendiary weapons.
Arriving on primordial Earth via meteorite, phosphorus may have ignited chemical precursors to life. Its compounds govern energy transfer between cells, regulate genes, form cell walls, and comprise the bulk of bones and teeth. Phosphorus minerals are mined for fertilizers, absorbed by plants, and cycled to and from oceans. Once novel, phosphorus is now seen as essential.
6:15–10:00 p.m.
Bernard and Barbro Osher West Gallery
Take an excursion through total darkness in our Tactile Dome. Crawl, slide, and bump your way through the pitch-dark Dome using your sense of touch as your only guide through its chambers and mazes.
Please Note: Due to the nature of this experience, certain restrictions apply. Guests who are afraid of the dark; claustrophobic; have back, neck, or knee injuries; or are in their third trimester of pregnancy should not participate. Guests wearing casts are prohibited. Also, please wear comfortable clothes.
Learn more about the Tactile Dome.
6:00–9:45 unless noted
Various locations throughout the museum
Drawing Board
Ticketing at 6:00 p.m., first come, first served
Bernard and Barbro Osher West Gallery
Draw hypnotically flowing patterns with a swinging table, and watch friction cause the patterns to slowly shrink along a spiral path. Pick up a ticket to reserve your spot in line for this popular activity.
Speaker Dissection
Bechtel Central Gallery
Tune in to surrounding sounds by experimenting with strings and vibrations, and use electromagnets to build a basic speaker. Learn how to listen with your bones, and explore the workings of the inner ear.
Cow Eye or Flower Dissection (alternating)
East Gallery
Do cows see color? How does a lens work? Examine the intricate structure of a cow eye to learn about similar structures in our own eyes, as well as some key differences.
Stigma, stamen, pistil, anther, style: Uncover the beautiful architecture of flower anatomy, and gather some surprising strategies that plants use to reproduce.
Magic Demonstration
Bernard and Barbro Osher West Gallery
Everything is not as it seems—at first. Pick a card, any card, and watch the Explainers reveal some surprising aspects of human perception.
Pier 15
(Embarcadero at Green Street)
San Francisco, CA 94111
415.528.4444
The Exploratorium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our tax ID #: 94-1696494© 2022 Exploratorium | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Your California Privacy Rights |