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Buckyball by Leo Villareal

Buckyball by Leo Villareal

Highlight • Monument

Buckyball by Leo Villareal

Name: Buckyball by Leo Villareal
Rating: 2

Recommended by 13 hikers

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Location: San Francisco, United States

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Best Hikes to Buckyball by Leo Villareal

4.6

(11)

260

hikers

1. Pier 39 – View of the Golden Gate Bridge loop from Union Square/Market Street

21.2km

05:37

200m

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Hard

5.0

(10)

169

hikers

2. Chinatown (Dragon Gate) – Union Square loop from Chinatown-Rose Pak

9.08km

02:23

70m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

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3. The Fisherman's Wharf Monument – Pier 39 loop from Folsom

14.1km

03:37

60m

Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Moderate

Tips

Katrien

April 30, 2025

Inspired by the shape first explored by futurist and inventor Buckminster Fuller, Buckyball is a towering, 25-foot-tall illuminated sculpture featuring two nested geodesic spheres. Buckyball is comprised of 4,500 LED lights arranged along a series of pentagons and hexagons. The lighting is controlled by custom software programmed by Villareal to display more than 16 million different colors. The lights dynamically shift and fade in both sequential patterns and random order, generating vibrant hues that brighten the Exploratorium’s public space in both daylight and moonlight.

The spherical, football-like shape of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes, which form the basis for Villareal’s work, was discovered by scientists in a carbon molecule in 1985. In his honor, it was named “Buckminsterfullerene” or “Buckyball” and has been avidly studied by scientists and materials scientists ever since.

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Details

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Elevation 10 m

Weather

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Sunday 23 November

14°C

10°C

0 %

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Max wind speed: 6.0 km/h

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See hikes here

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Location: San Francisco, United States

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Buckyball by Leo Villareal

1. Pier 39 – View of the Golden Gate Bridge loop from Union Square/Market Street

2. Chinatown (Dragon Gate) – Union Square loop from Chinatown-Rose Pak

3. The Fisherman's Wharf Monument – Pier 39 loop from Folsom

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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