If you plan to arrive at the conference early, or if you're bringing family members who may not be attending the conference, here are some interesting places that we recommend visiting.

Off-Campus Attractions

The Tech Museum of Innovation

The Tech focuses on how technology works and the way it is changing every aspect of our lives. Its people-and-technology focus and its integration of advanced technologies into visitor experiences distinguishes it from other science centers and engages visitors of all ages.

The Tech has become a landmark for those seeking a glimpse of the most inventive place on earth, showcasing the latest high-tech gizmos and gadgets that put Silicon Valley on the map.

The Tech is located in downtown San Jose and is open from 8 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday.

Computer History Museum

The Computer History Museum is dedicated to the preservation of computer history. It is home to one of the largest collections of computing artifacts in the world, comprising over 4,000 objects, 10,000 images, 4,000 linear feet of cataloged documentation, and gigabytes of software.

A public tour is available on Fridays at 1:00 pm, taking you through an exhibit that spans from pre-computing to supercomputing, and reflects the astonishing development in technology from gears to vacuum tubes to exotic semiconductors. The tour lasts approximately one hour and features more than 450 artifacts, including the Honeywell "Kitchen Computer," the Cray 1, the Johnniac, and an Eniac rack. Reservations are recommended. Please contact the museum by email or by calling (650) 810-1013.

The museum is located in Mountain View, about 5 miles south of Palo Alto and Stanford University.

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)

Founded in 1962, SLAC occupies a 426-acre facility, which includes a two-mile accelerator, and is operated by the university for the U.S. Department of Energy. A visitor center is open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, and offers displays on the laboratory's scientific programs, a brief history of significant milestones, and construction photos.

SLAC is located at 2575 Sand Hill Road, about 1 mile southwest of the campus. For tour availability and reservations, please call (650) 926-2204.

Hanna House

For the architecturally inclined, a visit to Hanna House is a must-see (but you'll have to arrive the day before the conference to catch a tour; see below).

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the dwelling was commissioned in the mid-1930s by Paul Hanna, a professor in Stanford's School of Education. The resulting masterpiece is a glass-fronted collection of hexagons whose honeycomb shapes are echoed in many of the home's details, from the flooring to the bathroom tiles. A National Historic Landmark, the house was named by the American Institute of Architects as one of 17 buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright most worthy of preservation and exemplifying his contribution to American culture.

Tours are available on Thursdays. Reservations are required; please call (650) 725-8352.

Hanna House is located at 737 Frenchman's Road (off Mayfield Avenue on the southeast side of campus).

On-Campus Attractions

If you arrive early on Friday, be sure to take a walking tour of the campus. Here are some of the highlights you won't want to miss:

Hoover Tower

Hoover Tower, completed in 1941 to celebrate the university's 50th anniversary, serves as a landmark to the Stanford community. The 285-foot structure offers superb views of Stanford and the Bay Area from its observation deck, which is open from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm daily.

Hoover Tower is part of the Hoover Institution, a Stanford-affiliated public policy research center founded by Herbert Hoover, a member of the university's pioneer class of 1895 and the 31st president of the United States.

Central Campus

The heart of campus is defined by Palm Drive, The Oval, and the steps leading up to the Main Quad. The buildings that surround the Quad were designed in the Romanesque style by Boston architect Charles Allerton Coolidge, circa 1890. Featuring covered arcades, arch-spanned vistas, and detailed carvings atop stocky columns, these central-campus buildings were fashioned from rough-cut blocks of buff sandstone taken from a quarry south of San Jose. Their warm hue echoes the color of nearby hills and shows how well the architecture, in its setting of expansive blue skies, green lawns, and balmy weather, pays tribute to the California landscape.

Rodin Sculpture Garden

The court leading into the Main Quad displays Rodin's masterpiece The Burghers of Calais. Additional bronze figures can be seen in the Rodin Sculpture Garden, a short (10-minute) walk away (shown as point A on this map).

Stanford Memorial Church

The Memorial Church is the architectural centerpiece of the Main Quad. The mural on its facade is actually a mosaic that includes over 20,000 shades of colored tiles. The extraordinary interior (not to be missed, even by the most science-minded!) includes stained glass windows, intricate stonework, gold leaf decoration, and high redwood ceilings. Early-morning visitors may be lucky enough to hear an impromptu concert performed on one of the church's three organs.

Guided tours are available daily at 2:00 pm and do not require reservations. Meet in the Main Quad in front of the church.

Stanford Bookstore

Carrying over 130,000 high-quality titles, the Stanford Bookstore is the largest academic bookstore on the West Coast. It is located just a short walk across White Plaza from Tresidder Union, the home of our conference.

During the conference, we will have available for purchase a hand-picked selection of books on accelerating change. If you can make time to visit the store, we have listed a recommended browsing list of approximately 125 titles in each of our Science, Technology, Business, and Humanist themes, for a total of 500 creative works for you to consider. Each of these is usually in stock at the Stanford Bookstore.