PHOTO COURTESY OF TYCO SECURITY PRODUCTS

The Exploratorium, a ground-breaking interactive science museum and modern learning laboratory, chose video and access control technologies from Tyco Security Products, part of Tyco, Westford, Mass., as part of a unified security solution for its new facility on San Francisco’s waterfront.

The solution includes American Dynamics’ video management system, which provides security personnel the ability to view, search and export video from VideoEdge NVRs as well as manage the museum’s network of Illustra IP mini-domes. The video platform also unifies access control operations from the museum’s C•CURE 9000 security and event management system, ensuring that museum security officials can centrally manage security operations of its new $220 million dollar facility from one user interface.

“Our new, expansive facility required a flexible and scalable system that would allow us to easily manage our public exhibits and private areas during viewing hours and off hours, as well as bring on additional sub-systems and sites in the future,” said Jennifer Fragomeni, director of facilities and operations, Exploratorium.

Spanning San Francisco’s historic Pier 15, the museum’s campus encompasses 330,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, along with a portion of Pier 17, which the Exploratorium also controls for behind-the-scenes work. Working with its consultant, Security By Design, and systems integrator, Johnson Controls, the Exploratorium’s custom plan includes 75 access control panels and 100 card readers from Software House and approximately 150 American Dynamics cameras to protect staff, visitors and museum displays.

The Exploratorium is described as a global leader in informal learning, igniting curiosity and inspiring creativity in people of all ages. The science museum creates original, interactive exhibits, on display at more than 1,000 science centers, museums and public spaces around the world. Dedicated to education reform in and out of the classroom, the Exploratorium is a premier professional development center for educators and a creator of award-winning educational resources. In April 2013, the Exploratorium opened at Pier 15 in the heart of San Francisco’s Embarcadero.