Not for Sissies! Feeling your Way Around the Tactile Dome at the Exploratorium

First, let's assume you are not claustrophobic. Or THINK you're not. AND, let's assume you left your fear of the dark back in your childhood bedroom along with that scary, hairy thing under the bed--if so, the Tactile Dome in San Francisco's Exploratorium is for you!
A recent trip on a rainy day gave me an opportunity to check out differences between the exhibits in the Exploratorium's expanded space on Pier 15 and its old home near the Marina. The space expansion has permitted the addition of quite a few more of the interactive exhibits the Ex is known for. Often designed by artists, the exhibits illustrate various scientific principles; in total, a really clever way to introduce your little one or yourself to science--and there are dozens of principles to see in action, from earthquake prediction to the visual breakdown of light. These exhibits are beautifully designed, and can withstand the rigors of hundreds of tiny hands every day (mostly--there's always one unsupervised kid who can't keep from bashing something and causing it to implode).

On the hour, a gigantic mechanical clock unfolds itself in the center of the exhibit space and announces the time. Nearby, special exhibits delight visitors; when I was there, mechanical toys of all types were hard at work moving, clanking and charming one and all. The exhibit space also showed the principles behind the toys--gears, levers and other mechanisms that created movement--all in touchable, teachable exhibits that illustrated how it was done.
Some of my favorite exhibits had to do with light, vision, sound and hearing in the central gallery. Inside one exhibit, life-size shadows were projected on a screen the size of a semi truck; the movements were interpreted in flowing rainbow colors: beautiful!

Speaking of light (or lack thereof), I left the "thing" under the bed years ago, but I was surprised to find that I was a tad more claustrophobic than I thought. I moved pretty slowly through the dome (it really is blacker than midnight in a coffin in there), feeling my way along, discovering where the handholds led up or down, where a slide was, or a net to walk on; however, there were folks who zipped right through it, and did it more than once! I wasn't worried, however, because while inside the dome's tight spaces, visitors are actually being monitored by the front desk--one yelp for help (and it has happened, they tell me), and you're whisked out of there in minutes. It was really quite an experience.
One of the best times during the day to be there is lunchtime, when all the families head for the food service area--the big clock will strike 12 times!