Fog Bridge at the Exploratorium in San Francisco

In the lively city of San Francisco, along the beautiful waterfront, stands a unique installation that blends science and art like nothing else seen before. This artwork is called the Fog Bridge, a creation by artist Fujiko Nakaya, permanently installed at the Exploratorium’s waterfront location.

Picture stepping onto a bridge covered in mist, where it feels like reality and illusion are mixing. That’s what the Fog Bridge is all about. Nakaya created it in 2013 for the Exploratorium Museum’s new waterfront spot.

For over 40 years, artist Fujiko Nakaya has been using fog as a medium for her installations. She believes in the power of fog to transform our experiences. One memorable moment for Nakaya was in 1976 during the Biennale of Sydney, Australia, where she created a fog artwork called Earth Talk. After experiencing her installation, an electrician shared a touching story with her. 

He had taken his family to see the Blue Mountains, but the mist initially blocked their view. When the fog cleared, the sight of the mountain was breathtaking. This encounter made Nakaya realize that her artworks could deeply impact people’s memories and emotions.

Nakaya was inspired by this experience to reach a wider audience beyond just the art world. She wanted to enhance people’s appreciation of fog and its beauty, making it a personal and meaningful experience for everyone.

Seen from my side, it is artificial fog by evidence, but seen from nature’s side, it is completely natural. This is the way I like to work.— Fujiko Nakaya on Fog Bridge installation (2013, PNAS¹)

A fascination with water in its various forms—solid, liquid, or gas—runs deep in Nakaya’s family. Her father, Ukichiro Nakaya, was a prominent figure in the field of glaciology, known as a snow physicist and science essayist. He made significant contributions to the study of snow and ice, including growing the first artificial snow crystal in 1936. 

His work also led to the development of the Nakaya Diagram, a classification system for snow crystals based on the observation and micro-photography of over 3,000 specimens collected over three winters. The Nakaya Ukichiro Museum of Snow and Ice in Kaga City, Japan, commemorates his groundbreaking achievements in this field.

The making of the Fog Bridge

The 150-foot-long Fog Bridge in San Francisco envelops pedestrians with fog for ten minutes every half hour; it is illuminated at night, which makes it an even more spectacular sight. The bridge is located within the free, 1.5-acre outdoor area encircling the Exploratorium, featuring artwork that honors the bay’s environment.

The bridge is lined with over 800 nozzles that spray clouds of water vapor into the air, creating temporary fog banks so thick that one could easily become disoriented within them. These nozzles spray for about 6 minutes, covering the whole bridge and everyone on it in the captivating fog.

I like the fog to pool up, thick, so it obliterates your senses.— Fujiko Nakaya on Fogbridge installation (2013, SFGate²)

Nakaya’s fog installations are delicately designed to interact with the specific weather conditions of each location. By using data from an anemometer, a device that measures wind speed, located on the roof of the pier, Nakaya tailored the installation at the Exploratorium to respond to real-time weather updates every ten minutes. 

A computer program adjusts the release of high-pressure water through the hundreds of small nozzles along the footbridge connecting Piers 15 and 17, working in harmony with changing wind speeds. Each nozzle contains a tiny pin that transforms the water into microscopic droplets, creating a fine mist or fog.

Fog makes things invisible, and visible – like wind – at the same time. And because it’s nature that is performing, I don’t always know what it’s going to do. And then it’s gone. It’s in a state of being alive and dying at the same time.— Fujiko Nakaya on Fogbridge installation (2013, SFGate³)

Because San Francisco’s weather changes frequently, the experience of the Fog Bridge can vary a lot. On warm, calm days, the fog gently surrounds the bridge and then disappears over the water. But on damp, cloudy days, the fog stays thicker and hangs around longer. When it’s very windy, the vapor rushes through the canyon between Piers 15 and 17, creating long streams of mist that flow east toward the Exploratorium’s Observatory or west toward the Embarcadero.

Karl the Fog & its artistic counterpart

The Fog Bridge creates a fascinating dialogue with San Francisco’s famous natural fog – affectionately nicknamed Karl by locals. While the city’s iconic fog rolls in from the Pacific Ocean through the Golden Gate, blanketing neighborhoods in a cool mist, Nakaya’s installation offers a controlled, artistic interpretation of this natural phenomenon.

This relationship between natural and artificial fog creates a uniquely San Franciscan experience, celebrating the city’s most distinctive meteorological feature through the lens of art. Visitors can experience both the unpredictable natural fog and its artistic counterpart, deepening their appreciation for this essential element of San Francisco’s identity.

Environmental consciousness

Environmental consciousness is central to the Fog Bridge’s operation. The installation ingeniously uses desalinated water from the San Francisco Bay rather than drawing on potable water resources. This sustainable approach faced a test during California’s severe drought in 2014, when the Fog Bridge was temporarily deactivated as part of water conservation efforts⁴.

Rather than abandoning the project, engineers reconfigured the system to ensure it could operate responsibly even during water-scarce periods. This adaptation demonstrates how public art can respond to environmental challenges while continuing to engage and inspire visitors, serving as both an artistic and ecological statement.

Final thoughts

The Fog Bridge isn’t just a piece of art; it is a living connection between nature, science, and human experiences. Nakaya uses fog to make people think about their relationship with the environment, turning an everyday walk into a moment of wonder. As visitors move through the mist, they don’t just observe the art, they become part of it.

Even though the Fog Bridge looks like a bridge, it is so much more. It is a symbol of curiosity and exploration. It invites us to rethink our connection to the natural world.

In San Francisco, a city celebrated for innovation and creative thinking, the Fog Bridge is something special. It shows that art, science and public space can come together to create something truly remarkable. It sparks conversations about sustainability, creativity, fact versus fiction, and the evolving role of art in our cities, challenging us to imagine what might come next.

Nature is so complex. We can’t understand its complexity. If you just tap one spot it will open up so many things and enlarge imaginations.— Fujiko Nakaya on on the complexity of nature (2013, Smithsonian Magazine⁵)

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