PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 97 George whooping it up on Pi Day here, which was invented in 1988 by an Exploratorium staff scientist. “There are very few museums that can lay claim to creating a national holiday,” he asserts. And, even after all these years, it is still George’s No. 1 spot to bring out-of-towners. What shall it be? Touch a tornado? Capture a wave? Watch water freeze into a colorful kaleidoscope of crystals? If there’s one constant, it’s that every visit is different. And George appreciates that he isn’t alone in his ageless enthusiasm. “I’ve taken Nobel Prize physicists through the Exploratorium,” he says, “and they’re like kids in a playground because everything here is authentic phenomena.” learning laboratory exploratorium.edu PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF AMY SNYDER - EXPLORATORIUM / GAYLE LAIRD - EXPLORATORIUM as chairperson emeritus. Befittingly, George celebrated his 40th birthday in the old Exploratorium’s Tactile Dome and his 60th in the new one. He harbors a special affinity for the Exploratorium’s largest interactive exhibit, which famously plunges visitors into a sensory journey through total darkness. Although George waved off a formal plaque when he stepped down as chairman in 2018, he agreed to an alternative form of recognition: “You can feel my name in braille at the top of the Tactile Dome!” Most Thursday nights, George is a regular at “After Dark,” the special weekly programming that promises: “No kids allowed—but you can still act like one.” And every March 14, you’ll find
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