Browsing 0 - 10 results of 15 programs from project - Exploratorium at the Piers
The waters of San Francisco Bay are making a dramatic comeback as workers slowly remove a 1950s-era paved deck from between Piers 15 and 17 on the historic Embarcadero, at the site of the Exploratorium’s new home. In early November 2011, the east bridge, dedicated to the Fries family by San Francisco philanthropist Bill Fries, was put in place, connecting the terrace of the new Pier 15 Bay Observatory building to the adjacent side of Pier 17. When the museum opens in the spring of 2013, this bridge will offer prime views of the City and the Bay.
Project: Exploratorium at the Piers | Browse All
Date: January 5, 2012
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): Pouring concrete is an ongoing feature of construction at the Piers. This footage, captured in July 2011, shows the well-choreographed process involved, from pumping the concrete into rebar-latticed slabs via remote-controlled overhead boom, to vibrating the concrete to get rid of air pockets, to flattening the surface using 2x4s (“screed”) and rakes (“come-along tools”), to tamping in (“jitterbugging”) bits of sand and gravel, to the final smoothing and leveling of the finished surface. This pour created an extension to the southeast apron of Pier 15, adjacent to what will become the East Gallery.
Project: Exploratorium at the Piers | Browse All
Date: November 23, 2011
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): Take a look at the construction at Piers 15 and 17 from a different vantage point. This past August we recorded video of the Exploratorium's new home from a boat about 100 yards off the back of the piers.
Project: Exploratorium at the Piers | Browse All
Date: October 17, 2011
Format: Expedition
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): Framing of the Exploratorium's Observatory Building, the only completely new construction at at the piers, began in April 2011. Iron workers placed various sizes of steel beams in piles around the concrete base of the Observatory. Then, while a crane raised and held each beam aloft, the workers used metal spikes to line up the holes of the beams and inserted bolts, tightening them down to tie the structure together. Because the Observatory Building is less than two stories tall, the iron workers were allowed to shimmy across the beams without harnesses. Once this process was finished, the beams were plumbed and welded together.
Project: Exploratorium at the Piers | Browse All
Date: July 14, 2011
Format: Demonstration / Activity
Category: Everyday Science
Subject(s): General Science
