Exploratorium, San Francisco: Photos, Reviews & Location

Hundreds of interactive, educational exhibits & activities illustrating scientific principles.

At a glance

#36 of 134 Tourist attractions in San Francisco #8 of 46 Event venues in San Francisco

LocalGuideWorld score: 4.70

2.6 km from the center of San Francisco

Rating breakdown

5 ★79%
4 ★16%
3 ★4%
2 ★1%
1 ★1%

What reviewers talk about

Share of 16 recent reviews that mention each topic.

Price & value31%
Waiting & crowds25%
Cleanliness13%
Service & staff13%
View6%
Location6%

Pier 15 Embarcadero at, Green St, San Francisco, CA 94111

exploratorium.edu

(415) 528-4444

Quick facts

What is the rating of Exploratorium?: Exploratorium is rated 4.7 out of 5 based on 16,012 reviews.
How does Exploratorium rank in San Francisco?: Exploratorium is #36 of 134 Tourist attractions in San Francisco by LocalGuideWorld score (rating weighted by number of reviews).
Where is Exploratorium located?: Pier 15 Embarcadero at, Green St, San Francisco, CA 94111 — 2.6 km from the center of San Francisco.
What do visitors mention most about Exploratorium?: Most often: price & value, waiting & crowds, cleanliness (from 16 recent reviews).
How can I contact Exploratorium?: Phone: (415) 528-4444 · Website: exploratorium.edu

Originally we thought $40 was very expensive but once we got in there it just kept going on and on. We had a lot of fun there, but because there was so much stuff to see and do there we did not get a chance to see everything. It was a lot of fun, especially the giant convex mirror, best attraction there.

Onward TheyGo 2024 May 25

Visited: 11/06/2023

Really enjoyed the visit to this interactive museum. Worth a pop in for a couple of hours. Plenty to learn about and enjoy, and even better that you interact with some exhibits to help you understand how it works.

My only advice would be to adults without kids, try to visit on a day when kids are in school otherwise you don't really get to do much interaction.

Mike Ryker 2024 May 24

There are so many interesting hands-on activities the science practically teaches itself. I love the well curated and thoughtful exhibits - the staff clearly has taken great pride over the years adding to and maintaining the experiences. The place can get pretty crowded on holiday weekends and during the week with field trips, but members hours on Sunday morning leave you feeling like you have the place to yourself.

C Marsh 2024 Apr 28

Attended the Thursday adults only After Dark. Well worth the price and a lot of fun. So nice not having kidlets in the way. Got there at the start so managed to do a lot of activities I wanted to do but midway it was packed so had to wait turns. Very enjoyable, entertaining and educational evening!

Layer2chains 2024 Apr 06

The Exploratorium in San Francisco is a great place to take your family and spend the day having fun. It is a wonderful place to teach kids about science, engineering, art, Marin life, and much more. Everything is interactive, so the hands-on experience makes it fun for the whole family. They have parking across the street and a restaurant plus a coffee shop inside.

Nicholas Pun 2024 Mar 29

Eh, it's ok. I can see it being more entertaining in a small group. Lots of knick-knacks and small hands-on experiments to try out. If you come Thursday night for the 18+ after dark special, there's other exhibits as well. Still just a science museum in the end though, so a lot of the experiences I've seen before.

Zamir Mamytov 2024 Feb 03

This location is significantly larger than anticipated.

Undoubtedly the most impressive science museum I've ever been to, boasting around 200 or more fully interactive exhibits that are thoroughly explained. Each exhibit delivers an immediate and clear impact, coupled with sufficient information for adults or older children to comprehend the reasons behind the effects.

Although we dedicated 3 hours to our visit, we could have easily spent 4-5 if time allowed. It's unquestionably worth a visit for adults; don't be misled into thinking it's exclusively tailored for kids just because everything is interactive!

Sheena R 2023 Dec 20

A must visit place for kids, adults, science lovers and for anyone who is curious about or inspired by science.

We went on a weekday so the place was less crowded and we got to explore every exhibit in detail. You definitely need around 6-7 hours to get around the whole place especially on crowded days. But for smaller kids it would be a better idea to cover 2-3 sections only per day lest they lose interest and get tired.

Every section and each exhibit is carefully planned and placed to invoke one’s curiosity. People of any age and experience have something to learn on visiting here. The place is soaked in history and proudly exhibits its journey through over a century in photos and displays.

It is a good place to make your grade schooler fall in love with science and math. So do not miss an opportunity to visit when you plan a trip to SFO..

Ann Hajostek 2023 Nov 15

Very cool place! It was fun to walk around and spend a few hours here. Interactive and got to learn some new things.

Aaron Barkl 2023 Sep 29

Visited for the first time today with wife and son for a school field trip. Excellent facility with friendly staff. Clean, professional setting. So many things to do and see. More than one visit can accomplish. Thank you to Ms Marta and Sequoia Grove for hosting an amazing field trip experience. Highly recommended.

Gergely K 2023 Aug 23

Very interesting and fun hands on exhibits. The kids learned a lot without even knowing they were learning. We had to rush through the last exhibits because we ran out of time at the end. This is one of the best science centers we have visited.

Andrew S Klug (ASK) 2023 Aug 20

This is a great place for families and kids, we visit regularly. There is nothing quite like it in any other city in the world. The Exploratorium is a public learning laboratory where you can explore the world through science, art, and human perception... the exhibits and activities combine science and aesthetics and are experiential, as opposed to traditional museums whose approach is more didactic and magisterial

Margie W 2023 Aug 13

Normally the ticket is $40, but we went to "after dark" adults 18+ only exhibition happening every Thursday 6-10 PM for half price.
You can consider it as Scientific Night Club.
Buy a drink and be a child again & play everything.
It's super fun.
Don't forget to go to the outdoor part to take a photo with the bay bridge.
I love exploratorium so much that I think it's representing part of San Francisco every tourist should come.

Nicholas Klein 2023 Jul 20

We happened here on Father's Day so perhaps the next comment is unfair - but - it was VERY much crowded with kids and it was a bit difficult to enjoy the otherwise amazing hundreds of individual interactive pieces.

Still, this place is HUGE and was very fun to explore. The last area at the end was probably my favorite, going into colors and weather.

I recommend CITY PASS which was $76/person and let us in here and 2 other attractions so great savings (we did the Blue and Gold boat tour and Conservatory of Flowers which is a MUST).

Gina Sitte 2023 Jul 14

Haven't been here since the late 80's and didn't know what to expect. The whole family had an amazing time! Including a hard to impress adolescent. Incredible variety, clean, almost every exhibit open and in good working order. Beautiful views as well.