This partnership brings one of the Bay Area's most recognized cultural and educational institutions onto ThirdSpace, giving visitors new ways to connect with others around shared interests before and after their visit.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — ThirdSpace, a platform designed to help people discover activities, connect around shared interests, and build community through real-world experiences, today announced that the Exploratorium has joined ThirdSpace as a Foundation Partner.
The partnership brings one of the Bay Area's most recognized cultural and educational institutions onto the ThirdSpace platform. It marks an important milestone in ThirdSpace's mission to make in-person experiences more social, accessible, and community-driven.
Through ThirdSpace, people interested in visiting the Exploratorium can discover relevant activities and experiences while connecting with others who share their interests. The platform extends the experience beyond traditional event discovery by giving users the ability to find people interested in the same activities, organize plans, participate in interest-based communities, and stay connected before and after attending.
“The Exploratorium represents exactly the kind of institution ThirdSpace was built to support: a place where curiosity, discovery, and shared experiences naturally bring people together,” said Patrick Ferrell, CEO and Co-Founder at ThirdSpace. “We're incredibly excited to welcome the Exploratorium as a Foundation Partner and to explore new ways that our platform can help turn an individual visit into a broader opportunity for connection and community.”
As a Foundation Partner, the Exploratorium will be among the early organizations helping shape how cultural institutions, attractions, and community destinations participate within the ThirdSpace ecosystem. ThirdSpace Foundation Partners receive hands-on support from the ThirdSpace team as the platform develops tools and programming designed around the needs of organizations that regularly bring people together in person.
For visitors, the partnership is intended to make it easier to move from discovering something interesting to actually experiencing it with other people. Users may, for example, find others interested in a particular exhibition, program, or topic; form plans around an upcoming visit; participate in related groups and conversations; and maintain those connections afterward.
"Our exhibits and experiences around science, art, and human perception are built to spark conversation," said Jason Davis, Sr. Director of Marketing and Integrated Media at the Exploratorium. “ThirdSpace helps us extend that spirit of connection beyond our walls, making it easier for visitors to find fellow explorers and build community around shared curiosity and discovery.”
For participating organizations, ThirdSpace provides an additional channel for community engagement and organic discovery, without requiring them to build and manage a new social platform of their own.
Rather than positioning digital interaction as a replacement for in-person experience, ThirdSpace is built around the opposite idea: technology can help more people find reasons to leave the house, meet others, participate in their communities, and build lasting relationships around things they already enjoy.
The Exploratorium's participation as a Foundation Partner further strengthens ThirdSpace's growing presence across the San Francisco Bay Area and offers a model for how major cultural institutions can use the platform to complement their existing visitor and community-engagement efforts.
ThirdSpace is a mobile platform designed to help people connect through shared interests and real-life experiences. By combining personalized discovery with community-driven event creation, ThirdSpace enables users to turn ideas into meaningful, offline connections. Founded by Patrick Ferrell, Jon Merripen, and Charmaine Conui, ThirdSpace is built on the belief that technology should bring people closer — not keep them apart.
ThirdSpace — Do more of what you love, with people who love it too.
Learn more at www.thirdspace.live.
The Exploratorium is a portal to the astonishing scientific phenomena that animate our world and shape our actions. We create extraordinary learning experiences that ignite curiosity, upend perceptions, and inspire brave leaps forward. Since 1969, the Exploratorium’s museum in San Francisco has been home to a renowned collection of exhibits that draw together science, art, and human perception, and that have changed the way science is taught. Our award-winning programs provide a forum for the public to engage with artists, scientists, policymakers, educators, and tinkerers to explore the world around them. We celebrate diversity of thought, inspired investigation, and collaboration across all boundaries.
Learn more at www.exploratorium.edu.
Charmaine Conui, CMO & Co-Founder — charmaine@thirdspace.live
Jessica Clark, Director of Marketing & Social Media — jessica@thirdspace.live
Frankie Palmer, Director of User Acquisition & Ambassador — frankie@thirdspace.live
