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Happy Birthday, Exploratorium!
August 10, 2019 • 6:00–10:00 p.m.
Free entry with RSVP for Daytime and After Dark members. Dinner pre-orders are now closed, but we're still taking RSVPs!
Calling all our Daytime and After Dark members—you're invited to our 50th birthday bash! The Exploratorium turns 50 this year, and we’re inviting members to celebrate a half-century of joyful exploration with us. Join us for an epic all-ages birthday revel with science demos, face-painting, live animal encounters, giveaways, and more. Indulge in complimentary cake, beer, and nonalcoholic drinks while supplies last. RSVP required.
Not a member? Join to attend.
Program Highlights
Birthday Cake
7:30 p.m.
Gallery 4
Gather in Gallery 4 to sing “Happy Birthday” to the Exploratorium, and celebrate 50 amazing years of exploring science, art, and human experience. Birthday cake will be dished up to all party guests (first come, first served) while supplies last.
Live Animal Encounters
6:00–9:00 p.m.
Osher Gallery 1
Meet creatures of all shapes and sizes (including a sloth!) with Bonnie Cromwell and the Classroom Safari team.
Toy Demo
6:45 p.m.
Bechtel Gallery 3, Wattis Webcast Studio
Join Dr. Ray Hall, Instagram’s famous “PhysicsFun” and Professor of Physics at Fresno State University, and learn about the phenomena behind some of his favorite toys! Get your own rattleback toy to play along.
Magic Show
8:30 p.m.
Bechtel Gallery 3, Wattis Webcast
Robert Strong has been voted San Francisco's “Best Magician” three times. He has performed in over 40 countries, in all 50 states, on every major TV network, and twice at the White House. See him perform live!
Ball-Pit Photo Booth
Gallery 2
Take a dive into a ball-pit photo booth, and get photos taken from above! It’s a moment you can put on the fridge, too—each group will get two photostrips to take home.
Free Tattoos
Be one of the first 300 guests to arrive and get a free retro-rainbow Exploratorium temporary tattoo.
Free Tactile Dome
6:00–10:00 p.m.
Osher Gallery 1
Journey through total darkness in this twisting, turning, tactile sculpture. Admission to the Tactile Dome is first come, first served.
Store Discount and Yo-Yo Demos
For tonight, members get 15% off all Exploratorium Stores purchases! Shop with your discount and see Ernest Kahn—two-time Philippine National Yo-Yo Champion—demonstrate his winning yo-yo skills.
Prepaid Dinner Pickup
6:00–8:30 p.m.
Seaglass Restaurant
Pick up your preordered dinner in Seaglass Restaurant (available at your selected time), and travel back to the year the Exploratorium was born with our deliciously retro 1969 Time Traveler's Menu. Purchase your dinner tickets when you RSVP.
In-Kind Sponsor
