Discovery:
Besides having one of the best names in the museum business, San Francisco’s Exploratorium is widely considered to be among the most beautiful and well-designed educational institutions on the planet.
Its oddball, hands-on exhibits are considered a model for the modern participatory museum. The Exploratorium has famously been termed a “mad scientist’s penny arcade.”
It turns out the Exploratorium makes apps, too. The latest from the museum team is called How Many Saturdays? and it’s a lot of fun.
San Francisco’s Exploratorium, a wonderful “participatory museum”, was always one of my favorite places to go when we had any extra time at a Macworld Expo. This app typifies the Exploratorium – quirky and weird but in the best possible way.
I lived just south of San Francisco and grew up with the Exploratorium. It’s hard to say just how much I love that place. I don’t remember a lot from my childhood but I have numerous vivid memories of Exploratorium exhibits.
At one point, I’m guessing around 1973, they had a strobe light room. It was surreal. I remember watching my arm moving and feeling like it wasn’t part of my body. It must have been a school field trip because I also remember running around in there with a bunch of other kids and bouncing off of people at full speed.