The Wave Organ is an acoustic sculpture constructed on the shore of San Francisco Bay by the Exploratorium. Through a series of pipes, the wave organ interacts with the waves of the bay and conveys their sound to listeners at several different stations. The effects produced vary depending on the level of the tide but include rumbles, gurgles, sloshes, hisses, and other more typical wave sounds. The structure incorporates stone platforms and benches where visitors may sit near the mouths of pipes, listening.
The Wave Organ is located at the end of a spit of land extending from the Golden Gate Yacht Club. The overall styling of the Wave Organ is reminiscent of Lego, or perhaps the exaggerated Lego scenery at the end of the movie Time Bandits. The stone pieces used in its construction were salvaged from the demolition of the Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco.
There's a panoramic view of the city across the narrow channel into the St.Francis and Golden Gate yacht clubs, bounded on the left by the Fort Mason piers and to the right by a towering eucalyptus grove bordering Crissy Field. The Marina Green park lies directly across, just beyond a stone sea wall; so in the foreground, daytime, are people strolling, dogs cavorting and kids flying kites.