The Exploratorium debuted an interactive installation Tuesday built directly in front of San Francisco’s Main Library. The project’s goal is to challenge people and their social perceptions in an accessible space.
Entitled “Middle Ground,” the Exploratorium invites public to learn more about how they interact and perceive other people around them. With 14 different, interactive, large-scale designs, the exhibit touches on topics of bias, stereotypes, social behavior, prosocial behavior and social polarization with activities that test assumptions.
Exploratorium Executive Director Chris Flink joined city officials Tuesday for the installation’s opening.
Flink said:
“Together with our civic partners, who have their own super powers, we are reimagining our public spaces by advocating for and implementing open ended inquiry-based installations like the ones we’re surrounded by today.”
City Librarian Michael Lambert said the library was the perfect location to install the exhibit as the library represents inclusion, social bonding and learning:
“This installation is a grand, social science experiment that will allow us to reconsider ourselves and others.”
Middle Ground is part of a project to make the Civic Center area a more inviting place for the public. A new children’s playground, Bi-Rite Café and a Friday farmer’s market at the United Nations Plaza are just a few recent changes The City has made in the area.
Mayor London Breed said The City is doing what it can to create a better environment around Civic Center.
Breed said:
“We are trying to do everything we can to transform this public space so that everyone is welcomed. So that everyone has access to the library and the Asian Art Museum and everyone can enjoy the beauty of the front yard of City Hall.”
John Rahaim, The City’s planning director, said there is a long-term vistion to transform Civic Center and that pop-up installations, like Middle Ground, will be used as guidance as the department faces future planning decisions.
“These kind of spaces, these kind of installations, can teach us some lessons about what we can do in the future.”
The installation is part of the Civic Center Commons Initiative that seeks to refresh the area around Civic Center Plaza, United Nations Plaza and Fulton Street — the space between the Asian Art Museum and the Main Library.
Middle Ground will remain at the Main Library for one year. The nonprofit organization Urban Alchemy, which serves formerly incarcerated individuals, has partnered to help facilitate and care for the interactive installation.
Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.
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