Exploratorium
The Exploratorium is a museum of science, technology, and arts in San Francisco, California.
A museum inside San Francisco
You can stay in San Francisco
Exploratorium is inside San Francisco, which has 80,648 hotel and restaurant jobs, so you won’t need a base farther out. Where to stay ↓
A day trip from San Jose
San Jose is about 47 miles southeast (straight-line). Where to stay ↓
Best months: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct and Nov
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November are the mild months, with highs of 63–76°. When to go ↓
An airport 11 miles away
Oakland San Francisco Bay (OAK) has airline service, about 11 miles from Exploratorium.
Established in 1969
Exploratorium dates from 1969. About ↓
Written from NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Census job and town figures, Wikidata and Wikipedia.
Weather, month by month
Typical highs and lows in Emeryville. Green months are the mild ones.
Exploratorium
The Exploratorium is a museum of science, technology, and arts in San Francisco, California. Founded by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer in 1969, the museum was originally in the Palace of Fine Arts where it founded Pi Day in 1988. The museum relocated in 2013 to Piers 15 and 17 on San Francisco's waterfront.
The museum has over 1,000 participatory exhibits divided into several galleries, mainly separated by content. Since its inception, the Exploratorium has expanded into other domains and has inspired more museums to adopt hands-on learning-by-doing exhibits.
- Type
- Museum
- Established
- 1969
- Wikipedia readers
- 34K a year
Stay in San Francisco, or close by
Towns within 30 miles, closest first. Hotel and restaurant jobs show how many places there are to stay and eat.
| Town | From Exploratorium | Hotel & restaurant jobs | People | Typical home | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | in town | 80,648 | 830,235 | $1,395K | D |
| Emeryville | 6 mi northeast | 1,568 | 13,081 | $605K | D− |
| Belvedere | 7 mi northwest | 67 | 2,345 | $2,000K | A |
| Sausalito | 7 mi northwest | 1,265 | 7,141 | $1,895K | B− |
| Tiburon | 7 mi northwest | 382 | 9,012 | $2,000K | B+ |
| Berkeley | 7 mi northeast | 8,520 | 120,257 | $1,414K | D− |
| Albany | 8 mi northeast | 1,048 | 19,414 | $1,202K | C |
| Daly City | 8 mi southwest | 3,691 | 101,964 | $1,115K | C |
| Marin City | 8 mi northwest | 47 | 3,195 | $1,143K | — |
| Alameda | 9 mi southeast | 4,285 | 77,238 | $1,236K | D |
| Brisbane | 9 mi south | 944 | 4,692 | $1,232K | C+ |
| Strawberry | 9 mi northwest | 472 | 5,830 | $2,000K | — |
Day trip from
Straight-line miles.
Getting there
Nearest airports with airline service
Also near Exploratorium
Other well-known places within 37 miles. Numbered ones are on the map above.
Big draw12 mi🏛 MuseumAlcatraz Federal Penitentiary
2in town👀 LookoutCoit Tower
Big draw36 mi🎢 Theme parkCalifornia's Great America
38 mi🎢 Theme parkChildren's Fairyland
44 mi🏛 MuseumM. H. de Young Memorial Museum394K visitors a year
54 mi🐾 Zoo & aquariumCalifornia Academy of Sciences1.0M visitors a year
66 mi🏛 MuseumLegion of Honor302K visitors a year
72 mi📍 LandmarkFort MasonPhoto credits
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary: druchoy, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Coit Tower: Chris6d, CC BY-SA 4.0 · California's Great America: Oleg Alexandrov, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Children's Fairyland: Wordworking, CC BY-SA 4.0 · M. H. de Young Memorial Museum: Mark Miller, Public domain · California Academy of Sciences: Adamsofen at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Legion of Honor: No machine-readable author provided. Urban~commonswiki assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Mason: Sanfranman59, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Visiting Exploratorium
Is Exploratorium in San Francisco?
Yes. It’s inside San Francisco, CA.
When is the best time to visit Exploratorium?
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November, with highs of 63–76°.
How far is Exploratorium from Oakland and San Jose?
About 10 miles east of Oakland and about 47 miles southeast of San Jose, as the crow flies.
What is the closest airport to Exploratorium?
Oakland San Francisco Bay (OAK), about 11 miles away.
Where should I stay near Exploratorium?
San Francisco (in town, 80,648 hotel and restaurant jobs), Emeryville (6 mi, 1,568 hotel and restaurant jobs) and Sausalito (7 mi, 1,265 hotel and restaurant jobs).
Tips from people in San Francisco
No tips yet. Ask, or answer, in San Francisco’s Town Square.
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons · NOAA climate normals · U.S. Census.