Came here a couple of months ago with my nieces, a...

Came here a couple of months ago with my nieces, ages 8 and 11. We arrived around 1:30pm, and with closing time at 5pm I figured we had plenty of time, there was no way the kids would want to be there for 3.5 hours. Well, I was definitely wrong! We stayed until 5pm and we're 'kicked out' as we were still trying to explore.

I've been here before, once as a kid myself in elementary school (probably 18ish years ago!), and once for the Yelp elite holiday party in 2008 (Pley!). I remember loving it both times, but this time around it was a completely different experience. Bringing kids of your own (or in my case, my nieces) was awesome because not only did I have a great time exploring and learning, but I got to see them do the same (which made the experience that much better for me!).

Our favorite exhibitis were the bubble wall (you pull a string of bubble wand up and try to keep the bubble wall from bursting) because it was so full of color with the reflection of the light. We also had a lot of fun with the light wall (a white wall that reflected neon lights when you got near it/moved). We all learned that steel is a much stronger magnet than brass or aluminum, and we had a ton of fun playing with sand and sound waves.

I'd love to come back with the kiddies again, maybe once the exhibits change. I wonder how often they change? I remember some cool human body exhibits that were there when I was young, I was a little disapointed there was nothing like that this time. Maybe next time!

On a bit of a sad note, I am really bummed the Exploratorium is moving away from the Palace of Fine Arts in the spring. What a great and beautiful location for this museum, the Palace's awesome architecture only adding to the magic of the museum. Hopefully the new local lives up to the high standards the current one has set!