Through inquiry-based, hands-on experiences, the Exploratorium has been changing the way its visitors view the world for decades.

“I remember feeling there was going to be a lot to discover,” says Lianna Kali, of her first visit to the Exploratorium, now located along the Embarcadero in San Francisco. These days, as a program leader for the museum’s Tinkering Studio, Kali leads visitors of all ages through the same process of discovery she experienced as a kid. Experimentation — through light, sound, wind and physical objects — is at the heart of the Tinkering Studio experience. “The kids who come here may not have experienced science in a hands-on way before,” says Kali. “And I know that it can be a transformative, lifelong experience. Because it happened to me.”

In this video, Kali, with an archival cameo from the museum’s late, legendary founder Frank Oppenheimer, provides a behind-the-scenes look at what makes the Exploratorium experience a singular one — and how the space acts as a “portal into your own curiosity.”

The Exploratorium joined the Science Sandbox community of awardees in November 2017.

Stories of Impact highlight the real-world influences of Science Sandbox projects through personal narratives, videos and interviews.

This film was commissioned and executive produced by Science Sandbox, an initiative of the Simons Foundation. It was produced by People's TV and directed by Ian Moubayed.