The Exploratorium: A Playful Museum Combines Perception and Art in Science Education

The role which museums can play in science education is discussed in general and with particular reference to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. We describe how art, an atmosphere of playfulness, and exhibits about the mechanisms of human sensory perception, have figured in the development of our museum. It is suggested that some of the objectives of interdisciplinary survey science courses can best be achieved in museum like settings where students and general public alike can gain firsthand experience with the fabric of natural phenomena.