Exploratorium celebrates opening with light show

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The brand new Exploratorium opens on Wednesday on San Francisco's waterfront. ABC7 News is the hands-on science museum's official TV partner and we got a behind-the-scenes look at the spectacular free light show planned for the next two nights.

The Exploratorium is moving to Pier 15 and on Wednesday and Thursday night the historic facade of the building will be transformed by a huge high-tech light show.

ABC7 News saw a digital rendering of the display that shows just one part of the wild visual adventure being created by a company called Obscura Digital.

They also shot video of the experiments used to build the show. The company made10 small replicas of the façade, one so small it was on a microscope slide. Then they used all kinds of natural phenomena to create effects that will be projected onto the Exploratorium.

"We are actually taking into account the geometry and the architecture of the building to wrap the light around the building," said Garth Williams the creative director.

The new Exploratorium is directly across the Embarcadero from the ABC7 News Broadcast Center, so the master control for the light show is actually mounted on our roof. The show uses 11 super high power projectors. They're coordinated to create a continuous image the company says will look like its woven into the skin of the building.

The light show will go on from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. both Wednesday and Thursday nights. It's free to the public.

Written and produced by Jennifer Olney

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