The Exploratorium

We have some pretty fantastic museums here in Chicago so I'm always wary about plunking down money for museums elsewhere. However, the Exploratorium was on every list of Must-See's that I researched about San Francisco. Vanessa gave it rave reviews as well, so I was excited to check it out. 

I'm a real stickler for being on time and organized and well, not everyone in this world has the same modus operandi. We ended up having a fair amount of downtime outside the museum waiting for everyone to arrive. Photo op!

I really don't purposely put my girls in the blinding sun and then decide to take pictures. I always realize mid-shot it's a struggle for them. I love them for trying to give me good smiles anyway!

 The Exploratorium really was amazing. It was so interactive with something around every corner for everyone to enjoy. I honestly could have spent an afternoon there by myself and had a ball while learning a ton. For all the pictures I did capture, there are so many more I didn't because I was too busy with something more interesting.

Just inside, there was a set of drinking fountains with this sign:

One of the drinking fountains was just a run-of-the-mill drinking fountain (in the background), and the other one emptied into a toilet. To my utter shock and amazement, Brigitta wouldn't actually drink from the toilet fountain. I thought that would be right up her ally.

She still wouldn't do it even when I tried it out, just to show her it was perfectly fine!

Turns out Sydney was the only one who wasn't quite so persnickety.

There was an entire display made out of cardboard that really qualifies as art.

 These chairs are the same design but in different sizes. The largest has to be reinforced and weighs far more than the others. It's interesting how so much more is required to accomplish the same thing but larger in scale. 

How the United States would look if state lines ran exactly halfway between the 48 most populous cities. I never thought I was sentimental for the shape of the states, but after seeing this, I guess I am!

This experience required a ticket and I'm really glad I grabbed ours early because they went fast. The girls got to push this suspended platform in a pattern that was then traced by the marker. It seems like a simple demonstration of kinetic energy, but it was kind of mesmerizing to watch.

Even though the grandparents typically enjoy a much quieter, calmer day-to-day, the grandchildren kept up their spirits.

There's nothing like a shrinking room with a checked floor to gain some perspective. Ha!

Cousin love! Elizabeth fit right in with our girls; it was tempting to just take her home with us.

This was my favorite part of the whole museum. Each of those pieces of wavy plastic represents the high and low tides of one day.

 With them all lined up, suddenly it was so easy to see and understand the rhythms of the ocean. The tides crest and deepen more at certain times of year but they keep that gentle wave pattern. I could not stop looking at it! I would have put this in my home, seriously.

I love this picture of Brent and Sydney checking out an exhibit with the iconic Transamerica Pyramid building in the background. He's usually at work when we are doing museum stuff and it was so nice to have him along for once!

Fish faces with Aunt Suzanne. Sydney got a lot of one-on-one time with her and Uncle Craig.

I see their true colors shining through:

In this exhibit, Brigitta and Sydney would talk into the microphones in front of them but they were delayed hearing each other through their headphones by just 1/5 of a second. Even though that seems like a very short amount of time, it was impossible for them to effectively talk to each other and they ended up just laughing their heads off.  It really underscored our dependence on being able to read lips as we hear someone speak.

 In this room we saw how a yellow light can make some things seem yellow like the white jelly bean, but otherscolors look completely different, like how Brigitta's blue shirt suddenly appears black.

 The colors in this jelly bean dispenser completely changed colors. If memory serves, Brigitta wrangled that jelly bean out of a machine somehow and was pretty proud of that thing.

There was one display with two sets of coils interwound with each other. One had warm and one had cold. When I touched it, I was sure I was getting burned but it was the cold that actually amplified the feeling of heat. Sooo interesting!

Brent had dropped us off and then parked the car in a parking garage not far away. As we entered the garage, I noticed this sign.

Sounds pretty horrific, right? I mentioned it to everyone once we were all back at the house and all the Californians laughed and said these signs are everywhere. They just ignore them.

WHAT?!?!?!

I'm pretty sure Sydney was just plain tired as we drove away, not stricken with cancer. But that sign made me wonder!

 The Exploratorium was an incredible place to take the family. I'm not fond of being herded around in a huge group, so the ability to break off into small groups and then run into different members of extended family throughout the day was really nice. Should we ever find ourselves in San Francisco again, I'd definitely set aside a day for more fun at the Exploratorium.