'Super Science with Drew': The Exploratorium demystifies San Francisco fog

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco boasts the coldest summers and an endless supply of fog year-round. If you're wondering why the city by the Bay stays shrouded in fog, the Exploratorium has scientific answers.

"One of the things about San Francisco is that we have all these ingredients that just kind of make it so that we're an ideal situation for fog," explains Exploratorium Senior Science Educator, Eric Muller. "It turns out that the water, which is off the coast, generates a lot of salt particles that go up in the air. And it really helps seed those little fog particles."

San Francisco owes its fog largely to the California Current, a cold, southward-moving coastal current in the Pacific Ocean. Incoming air cools as it passes over this cold water, causing moisture in the air to condense into fog droplets.

Fog is a low-lying stratus cloud in contact with the ground. At the Exploratorium, guests can experience this in action through the "Fog Bridge."

"That's our famous fog bridge, and it is a simulation that was made by a Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya," explained Muller. "It's made with 800 high-pressure jets, and it goes off every couple of hours. It really feels like you're walking across the Golden Gate Bridge."

You can also experience fog at home by creating your own! Watch the video above for DIY ways to create fog using dry ice and common household items.

The Exploratorium is now open! Visit here for more information.

Go here for more at-home science crafts and activities.