Frank was also a physicist - a particle physicist, a professor of physics at the University of Colorado, and the founder of the Exploratorium, a science, technology, and art museum in San Francisco.
As a child, Frank studied painting. He also learned to play the flute under the tutelage of nationally renowned teacher George Barrera. He reached such a level of proficiency on the instrument that he even considered a career as a flutist. However, he followed the advice of his older brother Robert and began studying physics.
