SAN FRANCISCO ATTRACTIONS

Exploratorium

Founded by Frank Oppenheimer, the brother of J. Robert Oppenheimer and himself a physicist, the Exploratorium contains over 650 exhibits that can't be properly described - they have to be experienced.

Almost all are interactive and hands-on. There's the Tactile Dome, where you make your way along a dark maze entirely by feeling the walls made of various textures. There's a small 'experiment' in which you can find out what a tornado is like by feeling it. But far from focusing only on touch, this unusual 'museum' excites all the senses and the mind.

Kids can blow enormous bubbles and find out how they work while having fun. There are dozens of optical illusions and brain teasers. Stand at one end of a room made of an uneven floor and crooked walls and try to judge how close or far away things are.

Create cloud rings and find out why a baseball curves. Have fun with spatulas and eggbeaters while learning about the science of mixing things.

Scream down a huge tube and take a singing 'test', while exploring the science of sound. Sit in the indented seating area on the upper floor far away from your friend. Then speak in a normal voice - and be heard with crystal clarity!

Then leave Earth for a trip to Mars and find out about wing aerodynamics and chemistry. Come try out the 'shadow box' and imagine what it would look and feel like to actually fly.

Gadgets of all kinds teach kids and adults about electricity and energy while providing fun, interactive 'experiments' that entertain as they educate.

The creativity of the designers is endless as you explore San Francisco made of Jello to study the effects of earthquakes. Rack your brain on some of the world's toughest mathematical problems, as you try to see why a ribbon enclosed on itself has only one side.

Located in the most unexpected of buildings - the classical-columned Palace of Fine Arts, Exploratorium is a wonder to behold inside and out. Near the Golden Gate Bridge in Golden Gate Park, the museum is open daily.