Racking your brains for a great place for family-outing? Do not skip Exploratorium in San Francisco, a museum offering fun and inspiration for visitors of all ages. This museum was established and opened to general public in 1969, inside the Palace of Fine Arts building in Marina district. Over 40 years history, today this venue has been ranked one of the most comprehensive science centers in the US. It nourishes visitors with a wide variety of interactive activities, exhibits, websites and featured events. Children are provided with hundreds of playful and hands-on opportunities which boast their understanding about the mysterious world around us and revolutionize traditional definition of science with updated technology.

Exploratorium is really a fun fair for kids to discover, explore and interact. If you think this venue is in a perfect match with your ideas about a science-inspired getaway for kids, let it do you a favor and pack your kids with tons of fun! To get more and further info about Exploratorium, please visit its homepage:

Exploratorium Homepage

http://www.exploratorium.edu/

To help visitors get to the venue conveniently, Exploratorium has offered an inclusive directions guide on the website below, ranging from car driving to public transportation, and caring your every demand.

Location & Directions of Exploratorium

http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/location_directions/

In order to facilitate visitors with a better experience, we are going to introduce a handy guide on Exploratorium parking. After reading this article, parking will never be a challenge to you!

Exploratorium Parking Lot is located next to the S St. Francis Yacht Club on Yacht Road. This lot has limited parking spaces and easy to be full filled up even on moderately-busy days. As a result, visitors are encouraged to park at parking facilities nearby or try street parking around Palace of Fine Arts building.

Please Note: Due to construction of Doyle Drive/Presidio Parkway started in January, currently Exploratorium Parking Lot is unavailable to use! Therefore, bearing some parking sites nearby is necessary.

At Crissy Field which stretches along Mason Street, off San Francisco bay, there are ample FREE parking spaces in the east and west ends. If you just want to park for a visit to Exploratorium, then choose the east parking lot. If you are longing for a nice walk through the Golden Gate Bridge, the west parking lot is recommended.

Crissy Field on Google Map

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=crissy+field+center+san+francisco

To be honest, finding parking spaces within a few steps to Exploratorium is a bit difficult. However, you can try the parking facilities within blocks and walk a few minutes to get to the museum. Listed below are three parking options in Marina District. In any case that you find parking is tight in the Crissy Field, you can park your vehicles at any of them.

- Wells Fargo 2055 Chestnut Parking Garage offers 44 parking spaces. This garage is operated 24 hours a day, and seven days a week. For parking during daytime Monday through Saturday, the rates are $2 for the first 3 hours, and $18 flat rate for 3 to 10 hours. Evening parking rate is applied after 6 pm and it is $10. On Sunday, parking is $10 flat rate no matter how long time you park.

- Wells Fargo Union/Laguna Garage is located at 1910 Union Street and can accommodate 75 vehicles at the same time. This facility offers services from 8 am to 12 am Monday through Thursday, 8 am to 2 am on Friday and Saturday, and 9 am to 11 pm on Sunday. As for the parking fees, they are $2.5 for every 5 minutes, and $20 flat rate for parking over 12 hours. 24 hour parking is charged $24.

- Lombard Street Parking Garage is seated at 2055 Lombard Street and offers 205 parking spaces! Parking is rated at $2.5 per hour, and $22 maximum. For overnight parking, the fee is $10. The hours of operation are listed as follows:

Monday and Sunday: 7 am to 12 am

Tuesday and Wednesday: 7 am to 1 am

Thursday: 7 am to 2:30 am

Friday and Saturday: 7 am to 3 am

San Francisco is rated among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It is mainly due to the numerous attractions present there. The Exploratorium is such an attraction that is visited by millions of visitors from different areas in the globe. Its main focus lies on hands-on demonstrations of human perception, science, technology and art across a wide span of ages.

The San Francisco Exploratorium has been developed in-house with the help a lot of development and research. Already over 700 exhibits of the museum with more than 400 that are presently on view, has mainly been created to spark curiosity and generate interest in age groups regardless of their exposure to science. These exhibit collections are accompanied by a wide range of demonstrations, artists-in-residence projects and public programs. Annually, the museum receives over half a million visitors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploratorium

The best hotels near hotels in San Francisco CA near the Exploratorium (in miles) are:

Economy Inn San Francisco

0.39 Miles from Exploratorium

http://www.economyinnoakland.com

Presidio Inn

0.55 Miles

http://www.presidioinn.com

La Luna Inn

0.44 Miles

http://www.lalunainn.com

Greenwich Inn

0.69 Miles

http://www.greenwichinn.com

Hotel Del Sol

0.83 Miles

http://www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/sanfrancisco/del_sol

Thus, being located within 1 mile to the museum, it will prove to be beneficial if you lodge in any of these hotels. You will not have to waste time in traveling and can spend the extra time in exploring the region instead. However, before booking a room in any of the hotels, you should keep certain essential factors in mind:

Some crucial pointers to consider for booking a hotel near the museum:

- It should have a good communication network.

- Should be located as near to the museum as possible.

- Should provide special discounts to the guests visiting the museum.

- Should provide free transport.

- Should provide basic facilities and comfort.

An Exploratorium is a museum but different from ordinary kind of museums. Here the visitors can learn the scientific facts through experimentation and on their own discover the truth behind the theory. Hence it teaches science to the visitors but in an innovative and creative way that helps the student understand the practical aspect of the monotonous theories they learn in colleges. It also help them retain all the important discoveries and innovations through a simple system but makes the learning a fun thing to do. It is such a famous educational learning center that students from all over the world flock there to understand the finer aspects of the things they are studying.

Where is it and what to do there?

It is located in San Francisco and is one of its kind museums. If you are near the area you should check it out because it is one place you should miss seeing. No matter how old you are the place has something for everyone. It is based inside the San Francisco palace of fine arts in the Marina District, San Francisco, California.

There is a Tactile Dome which is one of its key attractions. It is labyrinthine and is three dimensional in structure. The entry tickets are for 17 dollars and this is for one entire day of exploration. The interior of the dome is completely dark and you can only find your way through the sense of touch. And the entire journey is filled with different kinds of objects and textures that make the journey tough.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/

All the doubts entering your mind would be solved and this trip would help you get more innovative in anything you do. You would know the logical aspect of all the scientific facts, something you thought were very difficult to grasp.

More information

http://cityinsights.com/sanfran/sfexplor.htm

http://san-francisco-attractions.blogspot.com/2008/07/exploratorium-san-francisco.html

If you are coming to San Francisco with your family then in order to experience a fun filled vacation you need to stay near the place you would most likely go again and again. This would help you to save time and energy and let you enjoy the holidays without the stress of moving from one place to another. Most of the time, for a family the vacation is spent traveling from one destination to the other, hence it is highly important that you choose a hotel which is centrally located to all the places to wish to go.

The Exploratorium is a place you must visit again and again as it offers tremendous fun activities for kids and adults alike. It is full of adventures, fun activities, exploration material that you would love to visit it several times. The place is full of things you can learn and a one day tour isn't sufficient there. You need to stay and observe the place for more than one day to understand all the finer aspects of science.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocalMaps-g60713-d102775-The_Exploratorium-Area.html

http://travela.priceline.com/hotel/POI-Exploratorium_San_Francisco_California_United_States-67101105.html

http://www.hotels.com/landmark-hotels_Exploratorium_1652889.html

How to find a good hotel?

• Check out all the hotels near the area online.
• Make a list of the ones that seem attractive to you because of their price or the facilities they offer.
• When you are searching for the hotel make sure you write that you want a kids friendly hotel.
• From all the hotels you shortlist, try to compare each of them through the different hotel comparing sites available online.
• Also read the reviews of the hotels and the ratings given to the hotels by the trip advising sites.
• You can also consult a travel agent for any help you need.
• The most logical thing to do after you make the final selection is to call the hotel and to tell them about your situation and ask them more about the amenities they provide.
• You can then book your hotel online.

Hotels near San Francisco

http://hotels.uptake.com/california/san_francisco/family/89457237.html

A hotel near Golden gate

http://www.travelodge.com/Travelodge/control/Booking/check_avail?variant=&id=09598&propBrandId=TL&force_nostay=false&bmInSession=true&tab=tab1