'Outdoor Exploratorium' at Fort Mason

Fourth of July weekend is the public's last chance to taste, touch, and take in the Exploratorium's temporary exhibits at Fort Mason.

Known as the "Outdoor Exploratorium," the eight exhibits displayed at Fort Mason are what remain of a 20-exhibit collection that opened in 2009. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the exhibits put a lens on the existing environment and were created by the Exploratorium in partnership with the National Park Service and the Fort Mason Center.

From "Tasting the Tides," a drinking fountain that lets visitors experience the surprising range of salt content in local waters, to "Pier Piling Pivot," a movable piling that unveils the extraordinary range of plant and animal life making an aquatic home at Fort Mason's piers, the exhibits emphasize noticing and deeply observing the natural world.