Unbeknownst to the kissing swans in the lagoon and the fawning tourists that stroll around the Palace of Fine Arts, a 60-foot-tall secret room resonates inside one of the columns of the handsome rotunda. The Exploratorium’s Sound Column is a listening exhibit/musical instrument that turns the massive pillar into an impressive resonating chamber. This hidden gem has always been hush-hush, but now that the museum has settled into its new wharf-side home, the magic room has gone quiet.
The sonic installation was built in 1980 by then artist-in-residence Dan Schmidt to teach visitors about sound waves. A metallic marimba stands bolted to the floor with five polished bars. When struck with a mallet, the bars vibrate in tune with the architecture of the room, overwhelming the cavernous space with bouncing, echoing chimes in various pitches. It’s totally rad and loud and beautiful.
The sidewall also includes a mosaic visualization of the waves: a series of rainbow stripes that correspond in thickness to the tone you hear when your ear is at that height level. This is confusing on paper, but quite cool when you’re inside the column, playing marimba. Unfortunately, you may not get the chance.
In the past, lucky visitors simply stumbled upon its open door or heard word of its public hours through the grapevine. A handful of employees held the special key. Reggie Watts and Youth Lagoon are among artists who have performed inside the trapezoid-shaped space. It’s an oddity worth seeing; worth saving. But the site-specific exhibit couldn’t just pack up and rebuild at Pier 15 along with the rest of the museum’s toys.
“The sound column is my favorite thing in the entire universe. It’s just something we can no longer maintain,” says Jordan Stein, an assistant curator at the Exploratorium. Staffing and budget concerns are making things logistically tough. “I would love to get it back.”
Thankfully they’re not giving up. Stein says they’re working with the park service on how to keep the column alive and open to the public. Until then, the hunt for the keeper of the key begins…
Photo by Susan Schwartzenberg via Exploratorium