Exploratorium

The Exploratorium is a science museum in San Francisco founded by Frank Oppenheimer and his wife, Jackie. Described as offering visitors a “hands-on” experience with physics, chemistry, and other fields, it represents a public-facing form of science in the book’s account of the Oppenheimer family and its scientific legacy.

Founding and Purpose

Frank Oppenheimer founded the Exploratorium with Jackie. The book identifies it as a science museum that lets visitors engage directly with physics, chemistry, and other subjects. Its defining feature in this account is that science is encountered through hands-on experience rather than presented only as specialized knowledge.

Scientific Engagement

The museum’s stated range—physics, chemistry, and other fields—places scientific exploration at the center of its public identity. The account does not describe particular exhibits or operating methods, but its emphasis on visitor participation distinguishes the Exploratorium as a place where people can experience scientific subjects firsthand.

Place in the Book

The Exploratorium appears in the book’s closing visual material through a photograph of Frank there in 1969. The caption identifies him as its founder alongside Jackie, giving the museum a place in the record of his later life and work. Set against the book’s account of science conducted under wartime secrecy, the museum’s hands-on invitation to visitors also marks a different relation between science and the public.