Physics classes went to the Exploratorium yesterday instead of Great America.

The Great America trip was scheduled for May 30, the first weekday the park is open to the public this season, according to physics teacher Bryan Cooley.

“We understand that some teachers give finals on more than one day,” Cooley said. The field trip “would interfere with preparing for, or directly with, finals. Last year, teachers were upset that (physics classes) were going so late and so close to senior finals.”

Some physics students disagreed with the administration’s decision. “Clearly, physics is of greater importance than other trivial classes, so we should have gone to Great America,” senior Advanced Placement Physics student Angela Huang said.

Great America reserves three days for physics students, but two of the days coincided with AP testing. The third day, May 18, was after AP testing, but all of the San Francisco Unified School District buses were already reserved. Going on May 18 would also mean that the students would get “less value for their money,” than if they were to go on May 30, a normal weekday with less people in attendance, Cooley said. Physics teachers felt that though the Exploratorium is not as exhilarating as Great America, it is the best alternative for the field trip. “Schools always say, ‘This is what you have to know,’ but at the Exploratorium you get the sense that you really have to question what you see and believe,” Cooley said. “It’s not necessarily as simple as it seems. It lets you be curious and challenge your own ideas.”

The Exploratorium is more physics-related than Great America, but “it won’t be as much fun,” physics teacher Richard Shapiro said. “Sometimes when extreme fun is involved, things that we learn are retained much deeper. I think it is disappointing, but I understand that teachers can feel (the field trip) is disruptive and I respect that.”

Some students voiced other concerns about the Exploratorium field trip. “I think it’s impractical to bring 550 people to the Exploratorium, especially since there is such limited space,” junior Carmen Ye said.

However, physics teachers say that the Exploratorium was worth it. “The Exploratorium is more of a way to get you excited about science in general,” Cooley said. “We want you to relate what you are learning in class to experiences in everyday life.”

The sound exhibit that some physics students participated in did just that. The exhibit is held in a small room with a large xylophone in the center. An Exploratorium employee strikes a metal bar to create a sound whose volume varies with the height of the individual student. This occurs as sound bounces off of the ceiling to form a standing wave — a standing wave occurs when a wave interferes with its reflection. Students notice that when they change their height, the sound is either louder or quieter. Another exhibit involving a color display allowed students to see differences in color perception among individuals. The exhibit involves a circle of lights that forms a gradient from green to red. One light in the circle is true yellow, with 50 percent red light and 50 percent green light, yet some students recognized true yellow as being skewed more towards red or green. This discrepancy is due to the variety of color cones in the human eye. For example, a student who saw what he or she perceived to be true yellow as shades closer to green would have more cones that are sensitive to green, according to Cooley. This exhibit directly relates to the material students are learning in physics this semester.