[ More streetcars ]

Even more ancient streetcars that, amazingly, are running in service.


[ Exploratorium ]

Next on the agenda was the Exploratorium. I wasn't exactly sure how to get from the waterfront to the eastern edge of the Presidio, where the Exploratorium is located, by public transit, so I just walked.


[ Palace of Fine Arts ]

The Exploratorium is housed in the Palace of Fine Arts, which is located on the edge of a park which is itself part of the Presidio. It was started by Robert Oppenheimer's brother Frank in the late 1960s.


[ Black Sand ]

Black Sand, aka Magnetic Sand contains a lot of magnetic material and so you can play with it to great amusement! The Exploratorium has a *lot* of hands-on exhibits dealing with magnetism (so much so it was a little too obsessed to my liking), and in this case you basically just dump sand on a big magnet to look at the neat patterns.

If you're curious about Black-Sand care tips, the Exploratorium actually posts maintenance instructions online, including a sensible suggestion not to mine it from some municipal beach for commercial purposes without talking to them first.






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