Put Me In The Zoo: The Exploratorium in San Francisco Review
Date of visit: April 9, 2016
Does this zoo satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants?
The Exploratorium is a science museum in San Francisco. Frank Oppenheimer, the brother of Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the nuclear bomb, founded it in the late 1960s. It is a playground of interactive experiments and displays where kids of all ages can learn about all kinds of scientific topics in physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, etc. It is famous for its innovative exhibits. This museum is like EPCOT center with hands-on exhibits instead of rides. There are optical illusions to play with, robots to build, nuclear particles to observe, and a killer view of San Francisco Bay.
It is not a zoo by conventional definition, but it has enough unique live animal exhibits that a zoo designer or enthusiast might be interested in it.
There are no giraffes or elephants. The nearest giraffes are at the San Francisco Zoo. The nearest elephants are at the Oakland Zoo (where there are also giraffes). I think the largest animals that I saw at the Exploratorium were mice, sea anemones, and sea stars.
Does this [not really] zoo have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado?
Not really, unless you are a science geek and animals commonly used in scientific research excite you.
Does this zoo have any exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado?
The Exploratorium has a mini-zoo display of organisms used as model systems in scientific research. There is a little habitat for lab mice, an aquarium of zebrafish, a Drosophila fruit fly exhibit, a pot full of Aradopsis plants, and a brew of yeast that you can smell (too small to see with naked eye). This is a good introduction to the animals, plants, and microorganisms that are used to explore how basic biology works in genetics, physiology, cellular structure, etc.
There is a large terrarium that houses plants, fungi, animals, etc. that live in a decomposing log. They have their own little ecosystem brewing in there that you can see first hand.
There is a plankton display where you can experiment with how planktonic organisms react to different wavelengths of light.
There is a mosquito terrarium where you can experiment with whether mosquitoes preferentially seek out human scents or randomly scatter around the terrarium (there is a barrier so they can only smell you, not snack on you). You can also look for larval mosquitoes in the water.
There is a display on artificial selection that features many different forms of goldfish and the ancestral carp species that they were created from.
There is a cross section of a rotting log where you can different types of bacteria and fungi breaking down the wood.
There is a dermestid beetle exhibit showing the progression of decay of dead rats over several days.
Does this zoo have any exhibits that should be bulldozed?
From 1969 to the 2010s the Exploratorium was at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. In 2013 it reopened in a larger facility at Pier 15 on the San Francisco water front.
Does this zoo have any elements that make it particularly family friendly?
The Exploratorium would probably appeal to all ages, but seems geared especially at elementary and middle school aged kids. It is adult friendly too. It is not really geared for under-5 year olds as there is a lot of reading involved at most of the 600+ exhibits and displays. I saw many families there with young kids though experiencing the museum as a family. I was there with three forty-somethings, an 11 year old, and a 9 year old. We all had a good time.
Does this zoo have any interesting plans for the future?
The Exploratorium is adding new exhibits and displays all the time. They have a huge workshop where they design new exhibits that the public can watch them work in.
Would a zoo aficionado like this zoo enough to go out of his or her way to visit it?
Anybody interested in science and technology would probably love this place. It is one of the originators of the modern science museum and is still a world-class innovator at it. The life science exhibits with animals might offer some interesting ideas for zoos with their innovative mosquito and decaying log exhibits, among others.
If you want to see unusual animal species though, the California Academy of Sciences would probably be your first destination in San Francisco rather than the Exploratorium.
Date of visit: April 9, 2016
Does this zoo satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants?
The Exploratorium is a science museum in San Francisco. Frank Oppenheimer, the brother of Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the nuclear bomb, founded it in the late 1960s. It is a playground of interactive experiments and displays where kids of all ages can learn about all kinds of scientific topics in physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, etc. It is famous for its innovative exhibits. This museum is like EPCOT center with hands-on exhibits instead of rides. There are optical illusions to play with, robots to build, nuclear particles to observe, and a killer view of San Francisco Bay.
It is not a zoo by conventional definition, but it has enough unique live animal exhibits that a zoo designer or enthusiast might be interested in it.
There are no giraffes or elephants. The nearest giraffes are at the San Francisco Zoo. The nearest elephants are at the Oakland Zoo (where there are also giraffes). I think the largest animals that I saw at the Exploratorium were mice, sea anemones, and sea stars.
Does this [not really] zoo have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado?
Not really, unless you are a science geek and animals commonly used in scientific research excite you.
Does this zoo have any exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado?
The Exploratorium has a mini-zoo display of organisms used as model systems in scientific research. There is a little habitat for lab mice, an aquarium of zebrafish, a Drosophila fruit fly exhibit, a pot full of Aradopsis plants, and a brew of yeast that you can smell (too small to see with naked eye). This is a good introduction to the animals, plants, and microorganisms that are used to explore how basic biology works in genetics, physiology, cellular structure, etc.
There is a large terrarium that houses plants, fungi, animals, etc. that live in a decomposing log. They have their own little ecosystem brewing in there that you can see first hand.
There is a plankton display where you can experiment with how planktonic organisms react to different wavelengths of light.
There is a mosquito terrarium where you can experiment with whether mosquitoes preferentially seek out human scents or randomly scatter around the terrarium (there is a barrier so they can only smell you, not snack on you). You can also look for larval mosquitoes in the water.
There is a display on artificial selection that features many different forms of goldfish and the ancestral carp species that they were created from.
There is a cross section of a rotting log where you can different types of bacteria and fungi breaking down the wood.
There is a dermestid beetle exhibit showing the progression of decay of dead rats over several days.
Does this zoo have any exhibits that should be bulldozed?
From 1969 to the 2010s the Exploratorium was at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. In 2013 it reopened in a larger facility at Pier 15 on the San Francisco water front.
Does this zoo have any elements that make it particularly family friendly?
The Exploratorium would probably appeal to all ages, but seems geared especially at elementary and middle school aged kids. It is adult friendly too. It is not really geared for under-5 year olds as there is a lot of reading involved at most of the 600+ exhibits and displays. I saw many families there with young kids though experiencing the museum as a family. I was there with three forty-somethings, an 11 year old, and a 9 year old. We all had a good time.
Does this zoo have any interesting plans for the future?
The Exploratorium is adding new exhibits and displays all the time. They have a huge workshop where they design new exhibits that the public can watch them work in.
Would a zoo aficionado like this zoo enough to go out of his or her way to visit it?
Anybody interested in science and technology would probably love this place. It is one of the originators of the modern science museum and is still a world-class innovator at it. The life science exhibits with animals might offer some interesting ideas for zoos with their innovative mosquito and decaying log exhibits, among others.
If you want to see unusual animal species though, the California Academy of Sciences would probably be your first destination in San Francisco rather than the Exploratorium.
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