Expand your mind by exploring the hundreds of interactive machines, contraptions and artworks at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, a quick 10-minute walk from the Ferry Building and a 15-minute walk from Fisherman’s Wharf. Head down on any Thursday at 6pm for the wildly popular After Dark event, when the museum stays open until 10pm for a full evening of adults indulging their curiosity about science and art. Each night revolves around a different theme. The Exploratorium is an intellectual playground for adults ─ part art gallery, part museum, part laboratory with a dash of party thrown in the mix.
Work your way through diverse exhibits that explore cutting-edge technology, while a DJ spins music. Sip on cocktails (own expense) as you mingle with people and discuss the thought-provoking displays. Watch new exhibits be crafted right before your eyes in the Machine Shop and get hands-on experience in the expanded Tinkering Studio. The particular installations and performances vary each evening, but all attract a crowd as diverse as the exhibits, from scientists to musicians to fashion designers and computer programmers.
Learn about how people interpret their surroundings in the West Gallery and don’t miss the installations that surround the beautiful waterfront building and form the Outdoor Gallery. Examine life at different scales, from tiny microbes to interconnected ecosystems, in the East Gallery. Then indulge in tasty appetizers and take in the spectacular bay view through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the SeaGlass Restaurant (own expense), a perfect way to cap off the evening.