The Bay Model and the Bay Model Visitor Center is a research and education facility built and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Inside is one of the most fascinating scientific tools you'll ever see: a working hydraulic model of San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento - San Joaquin River Delta Systems; simulate tide, currents, sediment movement. Used by scientists and engineers.

What makes the model special is that its pipes and hydraulics make it a real simulation of the water environment of San Francisco Bay and the Delta. There are no glowing Disney-esque cityscapes, just a highly accurate physical model that can be used to simulate the effects of everything from oil spills to upstream dams, and from water diversions to floods caused by global warming.