This year, the film “Oppenheimer” swept the Academy Awards, as it should have. However, the Manhattan Project was not all about one guy, and the film completely ignores the effects of dropping nuclear weapons on Japan – something I couldn’t do when I visited Hiroshima in 1986.

Nonetheless, Oppenheimer is an important name worthy of study, but what about J. Robert’s little brother, Frank? In the long run, he may be the one more worth considering as the founder of the Exploratorium in San Francisco. In the educational pantheon, he is a mensch among the mightiest.

If you haven’t been to the Exploratorium, you must go. If you have – as I had when it was in its original location at the Palace of Fine Arts – you must go back. You need to have time, and it really helps to bring along some kids, or friends who are deeply in touch with their inner child. Read the story, the history of this magical place.

Frank Oppenheimer was way ahead of his time, a true leader in the field of education, fun, curiosity, & art! In fact, his shining example as a world class science teacher perhaps helps his poor older brother’s self-proclaimed reputation as a “destroyer of worlds.” Are we not all brothers & sisters after all?

So, when I had the chance to go to a UCSC event about AI at the Commonwealth Club in SF, I went early so I could go play a bit at the Exploratorium. Here’s just a snippet of that lil’ escapade…

This batch is an interlude of surroundings there at the Embarcadero: Pier 15 (new site of the Exploratorium, the old clock tower, the city & the bay…

Rather than explaining what each picture depicts scientifically, I’m just going for cool art photography, but you get extra points & love if you can identify the various concepts to be explored…!

As mentioned, later that day I did go to a UCSC event for alumni, parents, and others at the Commonwealth Club, just a walk away from the Pier 15. (The topic, Artificial Intelligence, almost seems antithetical to the purpose, mission, and vision of the Exploratorium?)

Thanks again for coming along…