Forty years ago, physicist Dr. Frank Oppenheimer opened The Exploratorium a few miles from San Francisco. He developed the concept of a hands on science museum. Growing from that start, 1000 participatory hands on science museums now exist around the world.

ENR reports that the Exploratorium’s $300M project, that moves the facility to the downtown pier area, will complete April 17, 2013. Exploratorium Executive Director Dennis M. Bartels said in a recent press release:

“The scale of our new home on Pier 15 will not only allow us to welcome a magnitude of new visitors, but also broaden our impact around the world by developing new experiences that make science accessible to all.”

They plan to be the first net zero energy large museum in the world. The 1.3-megawatt high efficiency SunPower solar power system on the roof  will supply are their electricity. System performance will be displayed in the lobby.

The Exploratorium construction website does a great job show casing how the project has been built. Photos and videos from the pier construction to the observatory steel shown above give a great sense of the construction process.

Pulling more American youngsters into the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields needs to happen. The Exploratorium leads the way. I’m looking forward to visiting San Francisco and experiencing the exhibits.