introduce honorable ed lee, mayor of san francisco. [ applause ] >> good morning, everybody. happy birthday. i just want to make sure that you know that if you combine the ages of myself, or president chiu, and monique moyer we might get to 150 years, maybe. but i'm down here to have fun, today, get out of city hall, go to bubba gumps and make sure that i spend it with other people who love to have fun like our port commission and hers directors and the staff and the rec and parks here and i know that the fire chiefs had to lessen her fun time and go to a three alarm fire and thank you to her for being vigilant for the city. and we would rec and park they have discovered yet another great partner to find water front open space that we can

all enjoy, both in terms of getting our public to understand our bond program better, but also to create new spaces. so thank you, phil for being here as well. our port commissioners extend not to present but to past for commissioners and he knows that and i saw mike and others, because it takes generations of people to create things along the water front. it is incredibly expensive to restore a lot of our piers and monique is the first person to know that intimately and historically but we do have persons and entities that want to continue this fabulous water front experience and to make investments, where there is jefferson street, brandon wharf and pier, 30, 32 and the

exporatorium this wonderful opportunity. i want to thank, past and present port commissioners, and i see them here now. that they have earned the title of being the greatest stewarts of our water front and so thank you for your ongoing effort to do this. [ applause ] >> and the work incredibly well with the other agencies. i know that because this is pier 39 and one of the most iconic travel destinations, i understand that is why, john martin was here, because while he flies airplanes he is part of an incredible transportation center and we all know that and we all share in that wonderful experience with being clearly, the best nation for so many, millions of people, every day. and as we do this, we reinvent and reinvest and find other reasons for people to enjoy

themselves here. and those projects like the exporatorium and like the bay lights and renewed effort to create more water-base theds transportation to compliment the bridges that we build. we will create more bridges on the international level for our city. so, all of that in the context of a great anniversary, 150 years, there is going to be throughout this year, more stories to be told about what this 150 years means to our city, because, there is a lot of generations of people who came to this city, many, many years, built communities, built their small business and their livelihood and hopes and helped us to establish the fisherman's wharf and help us to establish all of the maritime that they have created life times of reasons of why people want to continue visiting our city and we need to acknowledge all of that history. and all of it has not been

easy, there have been difficult things and we have had fights over what is proper, and what is not proper, but we have always had in our sites in all of these different struggles, the success of our city, the golden gate bridge and the hope that it brings to many generations of immigrants that is what our city is built on and the honor that we have with all of our labor partners who also jimmy herman and the cruise ship terminal that they are honoring and built it through years of generations of struggle but also great celebrations that we have. and so this is wonderful year, and 150 years of history. let's learn it all and continue to appreciating, but let's look forward to the next 150 years, because we are building the infrastructure to do that. we are laying the foundation to do that. we are creating partnerships among the agencies, but also

public, private partnership to create it, because i will tell you that someone who is going to invest, $250,000 to $200 million on the piers it is an incredible to the faith that they have in the city and it is about investing confidence and why we exist in such a great wonderful city and so thank you monique and the port commission and to all of your wonderful partners and staff for working so hard with the entities like pier 39 and others who will continue to invest in the confidence here and along the water front and thank you to the labor and all of your partners thank you to all of the other agents for being here, happy 150th anniversary, to our great city. >> thank you, we wish to continue your success. also, here with us today is the president of the board of

supervisors, and the supervisor from our very own district three, david chiu. [ applause ] >> thank you, tailor. mr. mayor, if it is okay, could you and i just declare it a city holiday today so we don't have to go back to work and hang out here on pier 39? >> i want to thank all of you who are the incredible diversity of the community that is the port. the community that our water front peers and our wharfs. this is the story of our city. our port has really defined our past as i think that we all know, the first 49ers came right here to this spot to build this city, during world war ii, our military ships were recommissioned, right here from our port. we know that our friends from labor as the mayor said, built our city, starting here with this water fort and this is the story of our city and we also know that the water front in

the port defines who we are and it is amazing in 2013, if you just walk along the water front in my district, you will start at the fisherman's wharf street scape improvements and to the cruise ship terminal that we just cut the ribbon for and you walk down to the terminals and the ports where america's cup will entertain a million, international visitors within a few months. walk down a couple more blocks to piers 15, 17, where we are going to see a half a million kids come to go all the way down to what we know that will be the next site of the warrior's arena and down to the ballpark and the water phone and the port is our city's present and it is our city story. but we also know that this is a story that is going to continue and one of the things that we love in pier 39. if you come here any day you will see the boys and girls

playing with their parents who will come back a few years later as teenagers and young adults. and young men and women, flirting on the peers, dating each other, who will come back a few years later for their honeymoon, who will come back a few years later with their kids. and so, the cycle of the story of our city continues and that i know that in 50 years when we are celebrating the 200th birthday of this blai, when monique's grand daughter and ed lee's great grandson, are helping to run this city, they will look back on to the city leaders today, who are represented by all of you. and say, you know, in 2013, our city forefathers or city foremothers thought it appropriate to invest in our port and make sure that we are building a 21st century port to last, happy birthday. thank you. >> i think that we all look forward to that moyer lee,

administration. and finally, our good friend and dynamic leader, the executive director of the port of san francisco, monique moyer. [ applause ] >> thank you. >> okay, so raise your hands, how many of you would like to be me today? i am so humble and honored, what a great fortune to land my term right on the 150th year because the one thing that i will tell you about being 150 years old if you realize that your time is really short and insignificant, and if i were to dare to count how many port directors there have been before and how many there will be after it will become more of a second time, but, i get to be here with all of you and so many of you who have been here at this water front for decades, all of you from fisherman's wharf thank you for coming today, because of you it is our water front that has evolved ahead of everywhere else in the world this is a

perfect place to celebrate. because here we have a little bit of something of everything, in fisherman's wharf. it has been part of the port since its inception that is how we ate, and how we did commerce and how we paid for the fish we ate with gold but nonetheless we subsifted on fish and the agriculture that was born around the bay and san francisco to feed the miners who were farmers and to create a new economy for san francisco and haven't we brilliantly and completely made new economies and so many knew that we have to name the latest new economy of the economy of invention and creativity and isn't that what we were doing in the gold rush and so it was stunning to be here with all of you who have made this possible. in 1900, the community worked with us to move up here in this area of a water front, and more of a lagoon area where we could congregate better and save the

area where fisherman's wharf had been for the commerce that was needed to sustain our city. as the most of the logistics changed and as the needs changed as a community it was fisherman's wharf that helped us to envision what could be the future. in almost 50 years ago, the discussions began, how to enlifen our water front and how to keep it a working water front as we have here with all of us, as visitors, as those folks who are enjoying the great suit that they have to offer and the wonderful open space and also the working ferries that are helping to transport us around the bay and are here for us in times of emergency and celebration and so that is bha we stand for in san francisco, and this is a terrific place for us to celebrate, and i could not be more honored to be here with all of you, to celebrate those generations that went before us. and as mayor lee, and president chiu said so eloquently, those generations that will come after us, it is a tremendous honor, and i thank you for being here to share in that

honor and please happy birthday, to all of you, and to the board of san francisco. [ applause ] thank you, monique. >> and now the moment that we have all been waiting for. the birthday cake. >> i would like the speakers to gather on the cake and lead us all to sing happy birthday to the board of san francisco. ♪ [ applause ]

i'm nicole and lindsey, i like the fresh air. when we sign up, it's always so gratifying. we want to be here. so i'm very excite ied to be here today. >> your volunteerism is appreciated most definitely. >> last year we were able to do 6,000 hours volunteering.

without that we can't survive. volunteering is really important because we can't do this. it's important to understand and a concept of learning how to take care of this park. we have almost a 160 acres in the district 10 area. >> it's fun to come out here. >> we have a park. it's better to take some of the stuff off the fences so people can look at the park. >> the street, every time, our friends.

>> i think everybody should give back. we are very fortunate. we are successful with the company and it's time to give back. it's a great place for us. the weather is nice. no rain. beautiful san francisco. >> it's a great way to be able to have fun and give back and walk away with a great feeling. for more opportunities we have volunteering every single day of the week. get in touch with the parks and recreation center so come

[ applause ] >>my name is sam ashley, anchor at abc 7 news and i am delighted to be with you, i had a very difficult trip over i had to pass the embaracaro and so i worked the late news and about the only thing that would get me up this early is a round of golf, i am proud to serve as your mc and we have a wonderful ceremony, in my line of work any time that i can be in front of a large group of people that can't change the channel, i will get up early for that. >> you know, kind of a unique role here, part news man and

part neighbor, we are right across the street. and super fan of the work that everyone involved in this great project has done and the end result. how many of you have had a chance to see the inside of this facility? it is beyond words, really. and as of this morning, the public now has a chance to see what all of you have been up to these past many, many months to see this come to fruition is truly a programmable and satisfying and it is really a new crown jewel for the city of san francisco. [ applause ] >> you know, some months ago this was just an abandoned pier and 300 million dollars later and a lot of love and attention, it has been transformed into a place of discovery, a place of imagination, and a place of repose. in this new neighborhood, here

along the embarcadaro, the san francisco exporatorium is truly reborn bigger and better than ever, and we know in this new location and facility and sort of a new sense of enthusiasm it is going to be a huge success and a integral part of what visitors come to enjoy in san francisco and of course what all residents in the bay area come to enjoy. it is fantastic, i know that my kids used to love to come visit. i know that they will be excited and they are kind of big now and they will be excited to come and visit this new facility as well. we just aired and i want to remind for those of who you did not see it, i did a half hour special, thank you very much. [ applause ] and it is not, a shameless plug for the special, i promise you, it is a celebration of what was done here, we worked really hard to capture the enthusiasm and the quality of the exhibits and all of the deep thought and love and care that went into

creating this new facility and it is just an exciting look at what has been done, so if you have not seen it, it will air the 28th, a week from this sunday at 4:30 on channel seven, of course and you can go to the website and watch the whole half hour now and it is just a lot of fun to see. we show you what they did in terms of rebuilding the pier and moving the exhibits and just an amazing amount of work that it took to bring us to this point today. let me begin by first speaker this morning, the exporatorium board of directors represents the authority and bay area of course. from the silicon value, the giants a member of the grateful dead, even. i would like to introduce you to george, the advocate and champion of the exporatorium and its vision and campus on piers 15, and 17, george come and say a few words, please. [ applause ]

>> what a beautiful day to open a museum. good morning, and welcome, this new campus is an incredible gift from the philinthropic community and beyond. visitors of all ages, dan, all ages, and backgrounds will come here by the millions to nurture their curiosity. science teachers in the bay area and around the country will call it their professional home, artists will continue to collaborate with scientists here. and science education institutions around the world will benefit from the research and the innovation that will occur here. this has been a true journey,

long, and rewarding. a culmination of years and planning and hard work, not just by the exporatorium staff and board, about whom i can't say enough. [ applause ] but also by the city and the state including many of you here today. the exporatorium is really all about collaboration. collaborativive learning, collaborative decision-making and collaborative management. and this process has been a true collaboration, bringing together the staff and the board, government agencies, neighborhood associations, our fellow san francisco museums and many other con stitcies. >> raising the money to turn this bold vision into a reality

was a true labor of love for the board. two factors made our job actually quite easy. first, everyone in the bay area loves the exporatorium. [ applause ] and second, it is an institution that in its first 43 year has made a big impact in the world. what you see here is the end result of a lot of work by thousands of people. we see this space not just as a new campus, but as a transformative platform from which to multiply our impact, those within the museum and also beyond its walls. it is a great honor for me to represent the entire board along with two chairman ameriti

who are both here today, dan casper and bill bos. >> both of who played... [ applause ] both of whom played critical roles in making this happen. over a decade, i'm thrilled to be placing this first ring on our beautiful new bell, this ring represents visionaries and designers, the dreamers, architects and imaginers, of the exporatorium, thank you very much. >> george, thank you very much. please welcome now, dr. dennis bartel the executive director of the exporatorium and truly a driving force behind this remarkable and amazing project.

[ applause ] >> wow. what an amazing journey. i know, my chairman was nervous for a second that i was going to use an expletive. we are unbelievably excited to open the exporatorium at piers, 15 and 17 here to the entire san francisco community and the world beyond. it has been many years coming and it took an army of thousands to put it together. there is just a few special groups that i want to highlight here today. the first from the bottom of my heart this tireless, staff,

this leslie, yes i am going to do it, this lovely band of miss fits anywhere in the world who pulled this together, thank you. >> to our board of directors and their leadership and support. never waivering, that unflagging optimism and vision to finally land here on san francisco's front porch. to our architects led by mark batalion to our contractors led by midy brother and our banks, led by the bank of america this would not have been possible without you. to our partners the city and port of san francisco and the agencies that approved this

project unanimously to bring it here. six different boards and six unanimous votes. >> and finally who welcomed us and even this fabulous institution across the street, dan, thank you. our founder, frank openhimer when he started the exporatorium created something unlike it in the rest of the we woulder. it led to the movement of thousand of similar institutions since that time and never really wanted to call it a museum and he searched for a different word and it was our neighborhood across the street, who sat down with frank to come up with the word exporatorium. but to us, the staff, we really believe that it is this wonderful, zany public, learning laboratory. and where we get to invent and create things all of the time and now we have this beautiful

new platform of which to do that work. but it took my predecessor who is also here today, a french physicist. to boldly declare that it is not a place, but an idea, an idea and way of thinking to change the way was learned, and for the exporatorium and its brand. today, i'm just so delighted, that we have a chance, to open up our doors with more space, more exhibits, more classrooms, more play, by our own estimates we believe that our impact will be multiplied somewhere between three and ten times depending on what type of a program that you are talking about because of the beautiful site and the radical accessibility. [ applause ]

so i just wanted to explain a little bit more about the ceremony today and the beautiful bell over here, a hand crafted bell done by artists nick depilipo, would you stand for a second? this has quite a bit of significant, for the community. many of you will know that frank brought the bell from his ranch to the original exporatorium and ever since that day, the youth that run the place, trust me they really one the place, ring that bell to among the end of the day. this place is obviously too big for one bell and so we needed another one. and nick in his vision, nick who served actually as the head of foundry for a kindred institution across the bay, the crucible came up with this amazing vision of this hand crafted bell that each speaker as they get up here today will

put another ring on at the very end, we have a very special guest, who will do the final ringing and we will open up for the day. so for my ring, i want to honor our institutional history and memory and for all of those who have come before us. thank you, dennis very much. >> our next speaker needs no introduction, he is a advocate for redevelopment and believes in buildinging the peaceful communications and a great communitier and collaborative or and reorganizing agency to better serve all of us in the

bay area and coming all of those to come to the exporatorium he is a walking billboard for this place. please welcome san francisco mayor ed lee. [ applause ] thank you, dan. dan i just wanted to say, thank you for your great work and leadership, you are quickly earning, this new title that we are creating here, explainer extradinaire. in fact when we were pulling up to the station this morning and greeted by the warm and wonderful staff, the first question is how do you feel, mayor? andvy to be honest with you, i feel like the kid in the family who is just moved into san francisco, and about to be shown his or her bedroom. you kind of get really excited. so good morning, everybody