First time visiting this place and what fun it was! The place is bigger than we expected and had a…read morelot of machines. They are grouped by era of pinball machines. So the front room has the oldest machines and subsequent rooms get progressively newer machines. For the 1 time fee you get unlimited play (so no digging for quarters), there are in and out privileges so you can play, leave to eat etc, and return to play some more. The staff is very nice, friendly and knowledgeable. Only a few machines weren't working, but they had signs so you knew, but almost all of them were working and available to play. Also each machine had a sign that gave some history regarding the art design/layout, or how the particular machine was unique/different etc. I tried to read more of the descriptions but got too caught up in just playing them that I didn't read and learn as much as I should have. Next time I come back I will try to read a bit more. The info provided was actually pretty interesting but I got dazzled by all the blinking lights and sounds. So fun! Speaking of sound- there is enough space between each machine that you aren't drowned out by the other machines or players. There are several rooms of machines so people can spread out. The only thing I would have changed is it is very dark inside (I am guessing to keep the place cool) so it was a little hard to see the action with my aged eyes. Younger people won't have any problems. I am guessing also this place must look amazing at night. We were there mid afternoon. The room with the older machines was nice and bright which was nice. The newer machines are in darker rooms to add to the mood? As we were there on a Friday afternoon, not too many kids/teenagers, but don't know what the clientele would be after school. Street parking is pretty good and there is off street metered parking around the corner. This is a fun place and I will come back and bring visitors.

Finally made the pilgrimage to Pacific Pinball Museum and it did not disappoint! Three rooms filled…read morewith pinball games from the 1950s to now and you can play them all for as long as you want. My son and I made a point of playing every game and I quite enjoyed playing some of the oldest ones. You can go in and out with your bracelet so we had lunch in the great neighborhood and then went back. Highly recommended!

I have been coming here for years. Specifically for their special exhibitions. They are always so…read moreinteresting and well planned out on display. The museum has three floors and their outdoor garden overlooking lake merrit. They have a little bit of everything, if you're curious about real history and wanting to learn more this is the place. Their annual membership is so worth. As they have several special events. Next to the museum they have plenty of parking. I take Bart as the stop is one block away. Chinatown is walkable for great restaurants. The Oakland library is close by too! There's a restaurant inside the museum while the food sounds great it's okay. I would recommend walking /driving to Chinatown or downtown Oakland for amazing food.

I can't believe that I used to live down the street from the Oakland Museum, and have not been here…read moreuntil now!! I really slept on this museum, 5 stars all the way!! We came on a Saturday afternoon, easy parking in the garage. There is a lot to see here, it focuses on California and the Bay Area!! There are 3 floors here, each floor with a vast array of art, history, and science. You're never too old to learn something new, a lot of things here caught my attention for real. There is also a garden and lawn area along with a restaurant here, so it's really easy to spend most of the day here. I'm always interested in history, so that was my favorite part here, but everything here was great. And I probably need a few more visits to actually take in everything that this museum has to offer!!

Definitely worth the price of admission (it's free). Clean and well organized it's a very miniature…read moreversion of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. There are a few small aquariums and some educational materials, too.

Nice place to visit with toddlers, there are picnic tables nearby in case you want to picnic and a…read morepath to stroll on. You can walk a bit and get to sand as well. Very peaceful place!

USS Hornet (CV-12) is the 4th Essex class aircraft carrier built in 1943 and served in the Pacific…read moretheater fighting some of the biggest battles of WWII. Later, after her modernization overhauls, she would serve as recovery ship for the Apollo 11 & 12 moon missions. Now in her retirement, she serves as an aviation and space museum in Alameda, CA. Of the 24 Essex carriers that were built, only 4 remain as museum ships today. We were lucky to visit on a great day with fantastic weather! You have to drive to this remote location on the island of Alameda, a former naval base, where there is ample parking. Being so far away from downtown SF keeps the crowds away, but is not that great for the museum because it doesn't get enough visitors to sustain them financially, so they rely a lot on volunteers and donations. I heard that there are plans to move the ship over near Fisherman's Wharf, which will increase the flow of visitors. I hope that they will bring her in for a nice facelift before that because the old girl is looking a little ragged these days. Let's see how you look when you're 82 years old! From the pier you have to climb a set of stairs and walk over a sloped gangway high over the the water into the hangar. Her hangar deck and flight deck are pretty spacious with not a lot of aircraft exhibits because they are hard to come by these days and Hornet could use a nice sponsor to help. Even so, the exhibits they do have are significant. The historical aircraft span from the WWII ones she carried into combat like the FM-2 Wildcat fighter and the TBM Avenger torpedo bomber, to the jet age of the Vietnam War with the FJ-2 Fury, the F8U Crusader and F11F Tiger jet fighters and recent ones such as the F-14 Tomcat (of Top Gun fame), S-3 Viking sub hunter and the current F/A-18 Hornet. Below decks, you get to do the self-guided tour of the spaces occupied by the crew, from their sleeping racks to the mess decks to see how they lived day-to-day at sea for months. There are also additional docent led guided tours (at extra cost) that will take you up to the bridge in the island superstructure and also into the bowels of the ship's engine rooms. For me as a military history buff, this is what I like to do on vacations and I drag my poor wife along for the ride.

This is our 5th year attending the overnight on the USS Hornet with the Scouts. Every year we still…read morelearn or see something new. Each year Natalie is amazing getting us booked and answering every question we have. All the docents are so friendly and knowledgeable. Ross is one of our favorites every year, and Steve did a great job as our unit leader this year. The food was good and the portions were generious. The tours were great. Can't wait to see what we learn next year. If you haven't been I highly recommend just visiting, but the overnights are the best.

A great Museum in Downtown Alameda!!!…read more I've been here a few times, as it's free to enter, but it does close early!! They also accept donations!! From the outside, it doesn't seem very big, but once you go inside, it's larger than you think. The different rooms here are interesting, some are like classic home dining rooms, others feature businesses, Neptune Beach, the Fire Department, just an assortment of old artifacts from the past. There's a very impressive train right when you enter. Also, the people working here are very nice, very knowledgeable and inviting!! Everything is neat and organized, and to really see everything, it probably takes more than just one visit!!! The Island of Alameda has a lot of very interesting history, and this museum definitely showcases all of it!!!

This is a precious gem of a museum with delightful vignettes on Alameda history and an intriguing…read morepresentation of general historical pieces including Victorian fashion items. I particularly appreciated the inviting welcome and information provided. My personal favorite was the extensive display about Neptune Beach. Did you know that it was once the largest amusement part on the West Coast or that Johnny Weissmuller (AKA the original Tarzan and Olympic swimmer) won a swimming competition there? Note: its open hours are on the weekends only. And I also enjoyed how instead of charging for admission, they offer a clever and unique second hand store for purchases to support operation. I happily found and bought the classic "Operation" game for my granddaughter. I hope you get a chance to check out this treasure soon!

The Pardee Home Museum has been on my radar for a while as one of the few places in the East Bay to…read moreget afternoon tea. I ended up finally booking the garden for a large party this month and was impressed by the experience from start to finish. It's hard to believe that it's entirely volunteer-led! Everyone I met was clearly knowledgeable and passionate about the house, its history, and its preservation. Making a reservation was easy and the coordinators were kind and courteous during the whole process. The day-of place settings were beautiful and the food was some of the best I've had for tea in addition to being generous and variable in servings. There were even some kid-friendly items (including some non-caffeinated beverages) as I had a few young guests in attendance. The tour we had following our tea service was detailed and informative without being boring. The house itself is incredibly preserved and in immaculate condition. It was great learning about the history of the Pardee family and their influence in the Bay Area, California, and beyond. There were some interactive parts too including getting to touch some antique items and listen to some hand-cranked music players. I will undoubtedly be back sometime and highly encourage anyone who likes good food and vibes or learning about local history to book a visit themselves. If you have people from out-of-town visiting, the Pardee Home is an excellent first choice for doing something low-key and private but still touristy.

The Pardee Home Museum (Italianate architecture) was built by the Pardee family. Three generations…read morelived lived there from 1868 to 1981. The last survivor put the home in a trust that is run by a Board of Trustees. It's self-supporting and run by volunteers. The father (made money in the mines, was an eye doctor and a California State Senator) and his son was Governor of California who made the poppy flower CA's state flower; reformed prisons; and established the EBMUD. All furnishings and collections are original and left intact. The tour is about 1.5 hours. Tour was educational and interesting - it covers the entire residence of 3 floors. The tour guide was nice and knowledgeable. She kept the tour intense so you wanted to know more. She gave insights and tibits of the family. All questions were answered. The afternoon tea is delightful. The food is prepared from scratch with lots of love from the volunteers. They were friendly, personable and thoughtful. Since it was the day before Easter, they put some Easter bunny theme to the tea. Just lovely people who made a delcious three course of food assortment. I definitely recommend the tour to learn about Oakland history and to visit one of the last standing historical mansions. Tea was authentic - no crust on the bread :)

This is a very interesting place. I did not know what to expect, and came here with 3 kids of…read morevarying ages and 1980s-2010s console knowledge experience. The museum is a very interesting place, and the gal that was manning the operations that day was very welcoming and friendly. Parents who are supervising but not playing can avoid paying, which is a welcome option. Regarding the technical aspects: It's awesome that there are various levels of PC games available: 1. 486DX-33 setup with Doom, Hexen, Heretic, etc. Let the kids understand the +/- screen size and FPS limits 2. Mac with all the Marathons 3. C64 4. Apple II with Zork and the Oregon Trail 5. Laptop with SCUMM games 6. Win98 with Tribes, UT, etc Regarding the console options, many of the consoles are not playing real carts, but are emulators. There were NES, Wii U, Wii, PS2, Genesis, Master system, PS2, PS3 and Xbox setups. Some played real games, and some played from roms/images. This is fine, but if you are expecting to come and play 100% 1:1 setups, that is not the case. There were no Turbografx, Neogeo, 32x, Sega CD, Saturn, Jaguar, virtual boy, etc playable setups. However, some of these were on display. The lack of older (non emulated) consoles such as Intellivision, 2600, Odyssey being available to play hard games is unfortunate, but understandable given the age of the hardware. The amount of displayed boxed games for various consoles and PC was very impressive. My only disappointment was that the Steel Battalion setup seems to have been retired for public use. This is one of the most hardcore games for Xbox that most people would never have a chance to experience. If you are passing through and grew up with PC or console games, I highly recommend a stop here.

I visited the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment when it was on 3400 Broadway. I went back to…read moretheir newest location, and it was as good as the last time I visited.

I went for one of their Intro to Bonsai classes (doesn't teach how to do bonsai, just fundamentals…read moreof what bonsai is, how to appreciate, etc), and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a one hour intro led by a volunteer, who was knowledgeable and also answered a lot of our questions. Afterwards, they took us around the garden and gave us an overview of some of the trees in the garden. Membership is also available and fairly affordable - also seems to come with a lot of good perks! Regardless if you go for the class or not, it's a very nice and tranquil way to spend an hour or two.

Beautiful gardens hidden away in a busy city…read more Sad to see a group of teen throwing trash into the lake. They don't even respect their own area.

This place is crazy nostalgic, and I'm loving it. Playing the games I grew up with, along with the…read moresounds of kids having fun, the games are clean, and the area is fantastic. A nice park around the corner and plenty of restaurants a short walk away. I drove just shy of 100 miles to get there and try their games, and it was worth it. The town is like a cool getaway, especially if you live in an area that gets hot.

Good, wholesome nostalgic fun at a great price! I've taken my 22 year old nephew there when he was…read morea kid and a teen and now I take his younger brother who is 11 there to keep the tradition going.

It feels so important to have this museum, especially in Downtown Oakland. It is easily accessible…read moreby BART and free admission, though I recommend donating to help support. It is a small space but the exhibits are curated nicely. I went during the Happy Birthday Oscar exhibit and it was emotional but informative.

Easy to get to on the Bart transit system. You only walk…read moreabout a block from train station. Building is clearly labeled. Aliyah was welcoming when we walked in. We signed in using tablet. Aliyah explained the best place to start exhibit. There is comfortable se as ting to look at books and watch the video. Good information to add to what you may already know or not know. Great merchandise in store and online. Would definitely pop in again!