Aquarium of the Bay is located at San Francisco's popular PIER 39. Its focus, as the name suggests, is local aquatic animals from the San Francisco Bay (and nearby waterways). There are three main exhibit areas, each with a specific point of focus. The most thrilling is the underwater tunnel, though the touch pools and naturalist talks also help make this an exciting and interactive way to get to know the bay.
Once a notorious offshore prison where some of America's most infamous criminals, like Al 'Scarface' Capone, and 'Birdman' Robert Stroud were incarcerated, Alcatraz is now a visitor attraction operated by the National Parks Service. Reachable by ferry, the island is the site of the oldest operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the U.S. and home to large colonies of gulls, egrets, and cormorants, which add to the island's atmosphere as they circle overhead.
The Exploratorium is an interactive museum in San Francisco that lets you get wacky with over 650 hands-on exhibits! Explore the world through science, art, and human perception and prepare to be wowed by inquiry-based experiences. The Exploratorium is located at Pier 15 on The Embarcadero.