Exploratorium founder Frank Oppenheimer created the Exploratorium as a place where visitors could comfortably explore exhibits and phenomena. Frank didn’t want to staff the floor with scientists who would tell visitors the “right” answers. Instead, he wanted enthusiastic young guides who could encourage visitors to play with the exhibits and discover their own questions and answers. Explainers are constantly learning themselves, so they authentically model this type of learning in the museum.

When the Exploratorium opened in 1969 with a handful of exhibits, there was one high school student to help visitors explore them. By 2009, when the museum turned forty, about 3,500 High School Explainers have been part of the program, helping visitors to interact with exhibits in a variety of ways. The Exploratorium’s Explainer programs (there is also a Field Trip Explainer program for young adult educators) have become models for museums and science centers worldwide.