Tactile Dome Opens
Blair Wolfram
1/8/2014
For Immediate Release
San Francisco, CA. The Tactile Dome is open at the Exploratorium Museum. A signature exhibit at the New Exploratorium on Pier 15 at Fisherman’s Wharf is an interactive experience lasting an hour and fifteen minutes. Guests feel, bump, slide and crawl through and past hundreds of materials and shapes which blend, change and contrast, while they are in total darkness! A variety of materials, from diamond plate, to fuzz and slime surround the floor, walls and ceiling throughout the maze, and guests feel their way through the exhibit without light or any sight reference. The Tactile sense is touch and feel, and the sensation in the black out dome disorienting the sensory world is outside any ordinary experience. Reservations are required for this popular attraction.
Designed by Dr. August F. Coppola in 1971, the relocated dome exhibit presented structural challenges with the existing pier roof height, bringing a team of Gerry Toomey and TaffGoch together to create an oblate sphere with 200 triangle faces and 300 structural pieces enclosing the three level adventure. The 4 frequency dome is taller than half of a sphere, similar to the earth at the Tropic of Capricorn. The custom dome is manufactured by Dome Inc. of Minneapolis, MN. A geodesic dome is biomimicry by design, and this exhibit utilizes FSC Forest Service Certified MDF-FR as its shell. The dome was assembled in partnership with RCI, Inc. from Oakland, CA.
Exploratorium Museum RCI, Inc.
http://www.exploratorium.edu http://www.rciinc.com
Dome Inc.
http://www.hurricanedomes.com
Blair Wolfram 612-333-3663
See attached photos:
Photo outside dome
Photo inside dome
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