The Exploratorium is coming to us, beginning next month! Helix, an informal learning space featuring 25 exhibits, will open Dec. 13 on State Street in Los Altos. Best of all, admission will be “pay as you wish.”
Considered an experiment in informal learning, Helix is part science museum, part retail space, and part community center, and will host school field trips, evening lectures, and traditional Exploratorium workshops. It’s funded through a one year grant from Passerelle Investments, which is reportedly funded by Sergey Brin. Passerelle’s work has been a benefit to families, as they’ve helped family-friendly shops and restaurants flourish in downtown Los Altos. Had lunch with your kids at Bumble, then stepped on over to Area 151? You can thank Passerelle.
According to the Exploratorium, the Helix space will showcase approximately 25 exhibits, including Chaotic Pendulum, which demonstrates how a deceptively simple set of pendulums can create surprising motion; Confused Sea, which mimics the action of wind over the ocean by generating waves; and Gaussian Melody, a sound exhibit in which three steel balls fall through an array of pins to produce a random melody that emulates a Gaussian distribution.
Helix has a website, but it will not fully launch until Nov. 20.
