01 · Campus access
Visiting the Institute
The Salk Institute is private property and an active research facility. Visitors may access campus only through a registered docent-led architectural tour or for official Institute business.
- Remain with your tour group and follow all instructions from your docent and Salk staff.
- Tours follow an outdoor route. Laboratories and restricted interior areas are not included.
- Do not enter work areas, laboratories, offices, or other restricted spaces.
- Salk staff or Security may end a visit when conduct is unsafe, disruptive, or contrary to Institute policy.
02 · Photography
Personal photography and videography
Casual personal photography and brief personal videography are permitted during tours when they do not interrupt the visitor experience.
- Each guest is limited to one hand-held camera or phone.
- Tripods, selfie sticks, lighting equipment, drones, props, and costumes are prohibited.
- Formal, staged, commissioned, portfolio, graduation, engagement, wedding, and other portrait sessions are prohibited.
- Photography of laboratories is strictly prohibited.
- Tour groups may not be delayed or interrupted for extensive photography.
03 · Media and commercial use
Professional and commercial requests
Professional and commercial photography or filming is not permitted during a public or private tour. Requests for commercial, media, or professional use require advance approval from Salk’s Communications team.
Journalists may contact press@salk.edu. Other professional or commercial inquiries may contact communications@salk.edu.
04 · Items and accessibility
What visitors may bring
- Leave strollers, luggage, and other bulky items at home or in your vehicle. The route includes stairs and there is no storage area.
- Service animals trained to perform tasks related to a person’s disability are permitted in accordance with California law.
- Service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered unless those devices interfere with their work, and must remain under the owner’s control.
05 · Image use
Personal, noncommercial use
Images and recordings made during a tour are for personal, noncommercial use only. Unauthorized reproduction, publication, distribution, promotion, or sale is prohibited without prior written consent from the Salk Institute.