One of the best reasons to visit San Fransisco with kids. They will LOVE all of the hands-on experiments to explore. We have an 8 and 13 year old and they both had a blast for over 6 hours. Youll be amazed at how many different activities there are to explore. And even if some of them dont catch your eye, there are thousands of others that will. Dont miss the outdoor section - it was one of our favorite parts!

Wonderful place to go, fun things to see.Really cool and fun place for friends.This place has some amazing facts... check it outFriendly staff, some great exhibits and great price.

I came to the Exploratorium with my 8 year old daughter and it was so much fun. We were in San Francisco for the day only and we came to the Exploratorium around noon on a Sunday, if we wanted to it would have taken the entire day. There is so much to see here, so in order to make your trip worth the price of admission, I would recommend allocating at least 3 hours so that you can take your time with all the exhibits. Of course the kids love all the cool science exhibits, and to be honest as an adult some of them were really interesting. I definitely would recommend coming to visit, especially if you have kids who love to soak up all the cool science exhibits. It was a great place to center our Sunday around.

THE AFTER DARK EXPERIENCE IS SO MUCH FUN!!! If you’re an adult, please go to the after dark event!! It’s so freaking fun. The place is way less crowded and there is drinks! This museum is sooo clean and so interactive. If you have a curious mind, you’ll be in heaven here. Parking is close by on Thursday nights. It was my first time here and I definitely want to come back. The ghost in the booth experience blew my mind! Do it!

Took a visit and was not disappointed. There is a whole lot to do and you can easily spend a whole day here. We only got to spend a few hours because they do close relatively early so start your day here if you have more stops in mind. The moon is very ominous when you see it floating in the distance and does not disappoint up close. They also have Dissection shows and I caught the cow eye. It was very informative

Thursday Adults only was SO FUN! You can grab and adult beverage and play with EVERYTHING, I really enjoyed the Black Box exhibit. They have events and conferences that we missed but give yourself at least 2 - 3 hours to see and play with everything. Entry $20 and drinks are $10-15

Hands down the highlight to our San Francisco weekend trip was the Exploratorium. Such a fun and interactive exprerience that stimulates all the senses!

A beautiful science museum with many different experiments and experiences. In my opinion more suitable for children and young people.

Amazing museum. For yourself, your family, you and some friends or partner. Dont miss it. Its a MUST DO. Take your time, enjoy, discover. Big places, the price is worth it. Also is next to the shore, you could do a walk before or after going to Exploratorium

This place instantly became one of my favorite places, ever! I was amazed and entertained all the 4 hours I spent there on one of their Thursday After Dark events. I could easily have spent a couple more hours and it still might have not been enough to see/try it all. Its just so much fun to interact with everything and get a better understanding of how things work. I simply love it and Ill definitely come back if I ever have the chance.

The Exploratorium is fun for all ages, seriously! We came with a school field trip, but we all had so much fun. Each exhibit has a hands-on activity and a brief explanation of the science behind it. And there are hundreds, maybe thousands of these activities. The knowledge and creativity abounds inside.

This is my 2nd time visiting this place, first time at night and again recently during the day. During the day there isnt that many people here, maybe 10 max around the lights, however during the night time expect at least over 30 people trying to take pictures. The parking garage charges $10 unless I believe its after 6pm its free.

Staff here was super engaging with tons of great knowledge. Their store, which is where I was, had a very nice selection of educational items Games books Etc a lot of very unique gifts here! You are able to find something for every budget.I especially loved the framed picture that was actually made from crochet yarn and it looked like a bat and a mouse being dissected. So cute for friends that I know are in the medical field.Great place for gifts unique and educational! I wish I would have time to go into the Science Center, which I believe, would have been amazing.

Superb learning experience for children and adults alike. So many mini experiments with water, electricity, kinetic energy, magnets. Great games to exercise the brain and promote team work. You would easily need 4.5 hours to fully explore the Exploratorium

Fantastic discovery museum space for kids from 1 to 92. Would be brilliant for a date! My 4 year old loved it, as did her dad. Loads of hands on stuff, good explanations and well distributed so it wasnt too crowded on a Friday afternoon. The gift shop was fabulous too, and the cafe looked lovely, although it was closing as we arrived. Tickets are pricey but its great fun so worth it.

I wasnt sure what to expect when I brought my 3 kids here (ages 9,9&7). We all LOVED it! They were so curious and enjoyed interacting with each and every part of the museum. There were lots of cool things led by people too- card tricks, pendulum drawings, stop motion animation. This was probably the most fun weve ever had at a museum. I highly recommend it!

This museum is unlike others. In stead of solely walking and appreciating masterpieces,the activities inside are arranged in a way of workshop. Of course, they require your participation and you eventually get fun. They are focused on sciences and let you have an experiment or play a game. Some natural facts which you may never know them will intrigue you. One more suggestion for people who have kids, if you want them to love sciences, bring them here. Many workshops will build your kids’ curiosity which is a key of success in the future.

Really big. You need a lot of time to see everything and after 3 visits I still haven’t seen anything. The lunch counter is good but cheap, and the ticket price is well worth the experience.

Unfortunately it can also be a bummer for lonely people. Quite a few of the exhibits needed two people to work properly. This place would be a lot more fun if you had a partner and kids. If youre like me youll probably end up leaving this place with mixed feelings.Still, its a very cool place with lots of exhibits to see. Id say its up there with the Academy of Sciences as the two best museums in San Francisco. I did love the great views of the bay on the upper floors and the exhibits are pretty fun for the most part.

Wonderful museum for people of all ages, but if youre looking for a way to keep your kids entertained for the day this is definitely it!

I had not come here since I was young. My mom and I decided to go to see the new building, and I am definitely regretting not coming sooner. We loved all the fun and educational stations! As an educator I really enjoyed all the hands on STEAM materials and ideas. I also loved seeing all the kids having fun while learning about the various topics. I would definitely recommend coming here. If you are a teacher you can email them about getting a free day pass.

A ton of great activities for preschool aged children to adults. There were way more activities than there was time. Something for every interest. Would highly recommend catching out at least 2-3 hours. Getting a season pass for locals makes a lot of sense.

This place is just wonderful for children and adults! I remember growing up and going to this play whenever i came to SF. I remember when it use to be by the Golden Gate bridge. Fun activities to learn, play, etc. I remember where the staff would draw you a picture of the movements you make with 2 markers. Camera shadows were also fun. Great place to learn and explore.

A great place for kids and families! The exhibits were very interactive, fun and engaging. Now, if only I had come here as a kid...maybe I would have enjoyed the Sciences a lot more in school.

This place instantly became one of my favorite places, ever! I was amazed and entertained all the 4 hours I spent there on one of their Thursday After Dark events. I could easily have spent a couple more hours and it still might have not been enough to see/try it all. Its just so much fun to interact with everything and get a better understanding of how things work. I simply love it and Ill definitely come back if I ever have the chance.

This place is brilliant. I will come back multiple times. The exhibits are more interesting and better quality than any government funded science centre Ive ever been to–and Ive been to dozens. The science is great for adults and enough exhibits to keep kids busy for days. The light and visual section is outstanding. π

Went to the new location as a chaperone with my sons class, lots of new exhibits and a few of the old ones. Didnt see the tree of lights(sound activated), Ill look for it next time, when its just me and my children. Heard the shadow wall is still there, that was my other favorite as a child.

Such an awesome place for both kids and adults. I have fond memories of going as a child, and was so happy to take my 3 year old. He was able to enjoy many of the exhibits, even if he didnt understand what exactly was going on. A nice mix of the classic exhibits i remember as a child, and some new ones. The new space is spread out and in a high tourist area, but the weather was nice and we were able to check out the outdoor exhibitions as well. Close to the Ferry Building, where we went for lunch. For a family, 2 visits a year would make up for the cost of the annual family pass. If we lived in the area, I would definitely go for that option.

Amazing place, but there is too much to see.

Unfortunately closed at the moment but I would defo still wander around to explore its iutside exhibits and learn the wisdom thats interactively presented around the building

Incredible place. I had so much fun and excitement.

It’s a great interactive museum in San Francisco that allows visitors to explore the world through science, art, and human perception. Its mission is to create inquiry-based experiences that transform learning worldwide.

Magic place! At several oclock I became the child again - everything wanted to be twisted and to touch. It is so much emotions, the improbable number of the experiments taking the device. I recommend to all: to both children, and adults. Two floors which are well thought over, fascinating opening! There is a restaurant, where it is possible to eat and have a rest. On weekdays the restaurant works up to 3p.m, on week-end up to 4p.m. Come to the Exploratorium to all family - you will not regret!

The exploratorium was very interesting. I visited the after dark session which runs on Thursdays 6-10pm and it was loads of run. Lots of interesting activities and learning opportunities. Would recommend to anyone, if you have 1 hour or 4 youll find something fun to explore!

Excellent hands-on science museum. One of the best things to visit in the whole Bay Area, if not the world. We particularly loved the sand, magnetism, and electrical exhibits, plus the movies and movement tracking screen. The tactile dome was a splurge but lots of fun. A once in a lifetime thing. Cant wait to go back for more. In four hours we barely scratched the surface.

Fun place to get hands on science. Tons of info inside for all the geeks. Tickets were very reasonable. The outside also have a great lake. I would suggest coming here early if you want to learn everything.

Its a great experience for everyone. Kids and adults can enjoy together and most important is that the children learn when they are playing.

It’s an amazing underrated attraction, I try to go every year whenever I’m in San Francisco. It’s a great experience for the whole family with interactive activities for all ages which will occupy you for the whole day. No matter how often you go there will always be something new to learn in a hands-on way. It’s one of the best things to do in San Francisco, especially for children.

Fantastic museum you could easily spend your whole day here. They have so many different interactive exhibits, you can enjoy them all no matter what age. If you can go on a day when there isnt too many kids, i.e. field trips, then you will have no problem moving around and playing/interacting with whatever exhibit you wish.

Great museum located on the piers line of San Francisco. It has lots of activities for kids and big enough size to fit all the people going into.There are number of experiments with liquids, electricity, light, and all of them have quite clear description nearby. It say whats happening and why in short and easy to understand posts.There is a parking lot right across the street. When you pay for it, mention that you are going to go into the Exploratorium, and you will get more than 50% off the cost.

So much fun you could spend days here! So many different aspects of science to learn about and unique interactive displays. You can tell they update the attractions often and keep fresh exhibits throughout. Loved the outdoor section as a nice break from being indoors. Spent 3 hours here and didnt see everything.

This is SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have been to this NEWER location only once. The old location near Golden Gate park, I have fond memories of going there when I was a youngster. I remember being scared going into the area where its way, total, super, extreme dark. I DID NOT like that part AT ALL.

A lot of fun!! Tactile dome is neat too.

Full disclosure : I HAVENT actually been to the exploratorium at the NEW location but I remember the GREAT old location at the grand ol Palace of Fine Arts ... so if its anything like that.. its probably a great place to go and have some fun and see some interesting things and ideas ...Hands-On of course

We will definitely be back! We happen to come on a community day where you pay what you can to get in. The love way crazy long! We had so much fun!

On our first visit 3 hours seemed like nothing, so we had to come back for the whole day and had a blast! A lot of exciting, interactive and interesting exhibits, the outdoor and roof top galleries and a very decent canteen made the whole day experience in the Exploratorium super fun for both kids and adults.

We had a lot of fun! We went on a Thursday night and it was awesome! No kids around because at that time it’s only open for adults and you can purchase drinks inside. We enjoyed the experience and we are looking forward to going back because we couldn’t manage to visit the whole museum! Totally recommended!!

Excellent fun for all old and young. 3yr old had a blast, lots of buttons and interactive science exhibits/stations. Restaurant inside more like a fancy cafeteria, a bit over priced but still delicious healthy options available. We spent all day there being one of the first to enter and last to leave and still didn’t do everything. The shop had lots of interesting items too.

Wonderful place with so many things to explore. Definitely made the kids happy as the exploratorium is very hands on and they loved touching everything.

Parking lot available across the street from Exploratorium. Cost $10 for all day parking. Lots to touch, see, and explore. Attended the after dark event. Cost $19.95. Not too crowded when you go early. Starts at 6-9pm. Lots to drink and eat. Can be a bit overwhelming with all the gadgets and spinning machines. Some gizmos didnt work. Food and drinks looked good, but expensive. Overall, a fun filled place to go to for a date or night out to do something.

Fabulous experience. We have adult kids and found ourselves at the exploratorium while walking the boardwalk. The museum was incredible! We ended up spending 3 hours learning and experiencing it all.

This place is so amazing its a shame I only had 4.5 hours to spend here. The kids can easily spend hours just on one section, so if you can only visit once, make sure to pace yourself. Kids will really enjoy sections 2 to 5, so start somewhere there first. I personally learned a lot of things, especially in the electricity and magnetism section. Im sure that both adults and kids alike will learn something useful so it is definitely worth a visit.

Excellent place for kids between 5-~

Super awesome place to spend at least 2-3 hours at! I recommend it especially with kids as everything is interactive. Prepare for crowd though. Bonus: there is a great view of the bay from the pier behind it.

This place is so much fun, there is literally SO much to do. All hands on too! Its geared for mostly kids 4 and up (maybe) but my 2yo had a blast! So dont count them out. The food and the gift shop are fair price on most things. The is also a large variety of gifts and toys too. My favorite is the fog bridge, but be careful! It gets SUPER dense and you literally cannot see in front of you. My only complaint is that I didnt get to stay long enough. Very cool place!

Great learning space for younger kids, and adults too. Budget a few hours to take your time and try out all the hands on exhibits.

Extremely fun place to take people of any age. You can visit a couple of times and not run out of things to see. Some metered street parking nearby and there’s a parking garage for $15 with the code on their website. Plenty of public transit options too. If you have EBT, you can get in for free along with four family members!

I rather enjoyed my day here. Note that I visited alone on the Community Day for $1.The venue, naturally, was crowded. The majority of visitors were families with children, so it got rather loud, and many of the activities were being used at a time so it was hard to get to all the attractions. However, this did not impede exploring, because in many cases watching someone else interact with an attraction was enough to understand it or be fascinated by it. There is a lot to do here - maybe even too much for me - and I think a $30 price tag is justifiable if you spend a good bit of time here and go through most of the attractions and perhaps even a short film screening.

Great place for kids to have fun and learn science. Adults can also learn a lot in here. This museum had several sections and each section focus on one topic such as sounds, light, human life.. Etc. There are a lot of machinery and projects for kids to interact with and learn from the process and they all make sense while kids have great fun trying then out. Detail instruction and how to do it are well explained on each station.Parking is extra and its $15 all day for museum visitor

Fun for the whole family! Friendly staff and plenty to do.Its nice to go to a museum that you can touch things!Very accomfing for student and disabled.Like that you can learn different things while being fun!Love the new location, much more accessible and still quite dense for its size than you think. Was in there for at leas least several hours.

One of the coolest place in SF! Strongly recommend this place. Perfect location, friendly staffs and amazing activities to explore. Should spend 2-3 hrs+ here

Need All day to spend here. Alot of hand on experiments here, great for kids all ages. Best to read the instruction and follow it. Highly recommend for little scientist to open his or her mind.

Great place for kids to learn science. Very interactive exhibits are really good. Dont forget to check out the telescopes with beautiful views of sf and the bay.

Ive been going to the Exploratorium since I was a kid, and its still my favorite hands-on science museum. We mostly go to the After Dark events now, and the lectures are great. The recent temporary exhibits have all been super interesting, and were excited to see whats next!

This is a museum-to-be in SFO! I visited it on San Valentine evening, when the museum was open until 10 p.m. (this happens every Thursday, so check their calendar out). Its a science museum with lots of installations and experiments to try. Its perfect for everybody: couples, families or groups of friends.

AMAZING! We went to the After Dark Thursdays for Adults and were amazed. WELL DONE. Great hands on for us all. Simply Incredible! We definitely will be coming back a few times a year to see it all - After Dark Thursdays or during the day. The first few hours we saw only 1/10th of the whole place!

I really enjoyed the exploratorium experience. I came for a night event and got to check out some really cool science exhibits and a lot were actually interactive. There was alcohol available for purchase to consume while checking the place out as well! Super cool for kids and adults alike! The #BuckyBall outside is crazy cool at night!

Loved going to this special place, visited frequently as a child and brings back loving memories. Miss you!

Always very cool. I dont think they are ever going back to the palace of fine arts. That being said, still very awesome! No tactile dome any longer but great stuff for all ages. Great looking food court...sushi, wow!Learn and grow in San Francisco!

Great experience. I went for the 18+ night on Thursdays from 6-10. It was great. They had beer stands. Since it was all adults every one wasnsuoer respectful. The outdoor exhibits were fun but next time Id get them done early when the sun is out before it gets cold. There was so much to do. I got a little tired half way through and left. It was $20 bucks to get in which is nothing. The staff were friendly and helpful.

Very cool and interactive exhibits! We were here for several hours, but I can see how someone could spend all day! Loved the informative signage.

I’m glad I made a stop here, I thought is more for children. But adults can have tons of fun here! The ticket price is around $20-29 depends on where you buy them at.Try to come during the week to avoid the crowd. I went during the week, it wasn’t busy at all.

Great place to explore because of the ocean view and all the different exhibits inside.

Fantastic science museum, one of my top 5. Everything is robustly built and interesting. A surprising amount of free-play exhibits too. I guess it has to do with the museums namesake! Try to avoid 10:30-2pm timeslot during the weekdays as it’s packed full of kids from schools/camps

650+ models. Great place for physics lover and even tourists. Venture, discover and build the concepts

I had high expectations for the Exploratorium after such high reviews and enjoying previous exploratoriums in Canada. This one is huge with an open floor plan. That being said, all of the activities are interesting and science based, however, if the Exploratorium is crowded, you have to be patient to try each one. After the waiting, reading about the inventions, and taking pictures, we got tired real fast. So if you want the full effect of the Exploratorium, make plans to spend at least three hours (if you want to try everything). My kids are 4 and 8 and werent into the reading so much. I actually wished they had workers in science labs to share and add to the effect of making each item more enjoyable. Despite that, most of the concepts there will reinforce science concepts your kids are learning in school. I expected the environment to be colorful and lively, but it felt like walking through an ancient, tin, drab war station or something, (I guess thats a scientist dream, but not mines). Overall, it was a good, not great experience.

Such a fun place to explore for my little one and the adults can also enjoy different interactive exhibits. Love that they change up the displays so we can always learn something new each time we visit the museum.

Oh this is such a fun place to visit! Not just for kids to learn a lot about science, but for adults too!You can lean so much!Definitely you will have to come with a ton of time, and be patient of people trying out all of the huge array of things on display. It is entirely worth the ticket, unlike some other places (I’m looking at you Aquarium of the Bay).

Ok so is 29$ just to go in I’m pretty sure is worthy but in my case I didn’t have that money is amazing from outside so imagine inside

It was a great place for kids and science enthusiasts. Various hands on experiments and learning experiences. Could spend an entire day if you would see all experiments. The Tinkering studio was the highlight of the tour. Try to go and get tickets early and then watch the rest of places while you wait for your turn. Same goes for drawing station.

Great place for all ages (all about science)

One of the best science museums out there. Unbelievably huge space for the location. All the exhibits are well put together and explained. highly recommend!

Very cool place for kids. The diner towards the front is very good! The pendulum drawing board is awesome!

Best museum. We are never able to see everything. Everything is hands on and touchable. The staff is always really helpful with the children. There is parking right across the street and easy to get to. The outdoor exhibits are fun and give the kids a chance to run around outside.

One of the best places for children on Earth. Well worth the visit; you will find something that is fascinating to them. We spent all day there.

I wish I could spend more time here, there are way too many people here to try all the attractions. But still loads of fun!!

Has a very nice shop at the entrance. My kids had a lot of fun. Lots to see.

I was worried that it would be too kid-focused, but its actually a great museum for adults too. The place is also huge.

Amazing place great for the entire family. Theres a sound projection installation right outside the street. You can talk to each other tens of feet away. Dont miss it !

Can not say enough about this place. We made it for the Pi Day anniversary and worth it. Could not get through all the exhibits, will have to go back later. Neither my 7 year old or 4 year old were bored. The 8 year old was highly engaged. The social psychology exhibit generated days of conversations on behavior and morality. We initially were ready to pass on the visit due to expense, but it was pay what you want community day. Would’ve been worth every cent, so we donated heavy regardless.

Great venue, but more appropriate for older kids. We were there with 5 and 2 year old grand kids. The 5 year old was intrigued by half the exhibits and the 2 year old found only some of them interesting. Also, keep in mind that the Exploratorium is a little pricey.

We visited the Exploratorium for the after dark event on Thursday evenings during a three day trip to the city, by far it was our favorite evening. Seeing all there is to see is definitely at least a two night affair. All of the exhibits are interactive and give lots to connect over. Bring a friend and you two will leave with fond memories.We were able to get the last two tickets for the Tactile Dome and I unfortunately lost them, discovering this about 5 minutes before the event started. The staff and management were so helpful and quick, reprinting our tickets and making sure that we were able to attend this unique event. Were so grateful for their great customer service in this regard, because it one of our favorite activities from our stay.

This is the science museum by which all others are measured. Come here and learn what learning can be.

Great! Thats what should be in every city instead of churches.

So. Worth. The. Membership. The place is awesome anytime of day with so many cool physics, sound, light, nature, etc. machines and toys to play with. After Dark on Thursdays is really fun and always full of people. They have drinks, music, and no kids at that time.After Dark also has events called Pairings where a chef, bartender, and scientist cover a topic (e.g. fish sauce, caffeine, rice, etc.). First you get a sampling of food that includes those ingredients. Then the scientist presents on the flavor, preparation methods, and history of it. Finally the bartender makes everyone a cocktail with the ingredient. Super fun! And that’s free!

Large cool place for interactive physics exhibits

For a family with younger kids (12 and under) this place is amazing! Interesting exhibits and science toys to play with. Very interactive experience

This place is fantastic. We spent 3 hours there and went back after going to Alcatraz. Till they sent us out. Three building manager was great. Got an additional tour... this was fun for kids and adults.

Its a knowledge base for kids and adults too. I have learned my things from this. I liked it so much.

Felt like a kid again! Even the most apathetic cynic will find something that interests them in this 6 gallery, massive interactive museum - featuring fun outdoor activities. Tip: bring hand sanitizer and comfortable walking shoes.