San Francisco Exploratorium

Upon visiting the Exploratorium in San Francisco this past Sunday, I was pleased to find that, as a college student, the exhibits were just as—if not more—interesting than they had been in sixth grade when I had last visited. As a hands-on science museum, the Exploratorium attracted people of all ages, from toddlers to the elderly. With regard to the broad targeted audience, the Exploratorium succeeded in capturing the interest and attention of all.

From the perspective of a college student, I saw that many of the exhibits were relevant to the psychology class I took last quarter: Introduction to Cognition and the Brain. There was an exhibit that used a Skin Conductance Response (SCR) test. I had learned that SCR is used to measure the level of emotional arousal and excitement of a person, but I had never seen it, let alone used it. I was fascinated to watch the graph fluctuate once I placed my fingers in the device and thought about either relaxing or exciting situations. There were also exhibits on change blindness (the fact that we fail to notice both trivial and substantial changes in our environment, depending on where we focus our attention) and metamers (when we perceive colors to be lighter or darker than they really are depending on the background of the image). Through its content, then, the Exploratorium sufficiently attracted those from academia, putting scientific concepts and theories into practice and hands-on demonstration.

From the perspective of a child, the Exploratorium seemed equally as exciting. The concepts behind the exhibits may have been a little challenging (for example, how a SCR works), but the effects of each concept were clear and simple. Kids would see a grey square turn black when placed next to a white square, and gape in awe. They played with giant bubbles and looked in wonder at the colorful presentations of each exhibit. For those a little older, the captions for each exhibit were engaging, concise, and in large font, expressing any complex scientific observations in a simple way. Though the content of exhibits did capture the attention of the children, the artistic presentation of the information sustained their attention.

One exhibit engaged children and teens alike: the Tactile Dome. This was a multi-story, completely dark labyrinth-like room in which pairs would grope their way around through tunnels and down slides, without their eyes. This exhibit allowed teens to revisit their childhood by entering an obstacle course, while simultaneously experiencing how dependent we are on our eyes. The tactile component of the exhibit also appealed to children’s natural instinct to perceive the world with their hands.

Lastly, there was one exhibit that appealed to all, young and old: the photo display characterizing the universality of emotion. This display featured a collection of photos from various cultures distinct from American culture. These faces were genuine and intense, and made the same facial expressions Americans would for each particular emotion, showing that basic emotions are consistent across cultures. Whether taken as an artistic gallery, a scientific documentary, or simply a means of peering straight into the heart of unknown cultures, this exhibit had something to offer to all ages.

As a whole, the Exploratorium succeeded in probing the natural wonder in us all—young or old, science- or humanities-oriented. This is because the museum explored more than just science; it explored what it means to be a human in a complex, unknown world full of questions. The Exploratorium could thus be taken as an metaphorical ode to the universal, human condition: curiosity.

~Dominique Y.