I came here for the Taylor Swift laser show and it was a fun way to spend an hour. It was just fun…read moremusic, lots of screaming kids singing the lyrics, and some cool lasers to look at. I did have to close my eyes a few times to give them a break from all the colorful lights. You can choose where to sit when you come into the planetarium room. The presenter did a good job. The visuals were a bit older, but it was still fun and the ticket prices were pretty reasonable/affordable. There were lots of parking available in I think Lot E.

My husband and I attended the Daft Punk laser show and it was sooo good. Apparently, they only do…read moreDaft Punk once a year and we were lucky to catch it. Parking is easiest in lot E and there were plenty of spots available. The workers were friendly and gave good advice on where to sit, which is toward the back and in the center. We got there 20 minutes early which was perfect because there were only a few people waiting outside the door. Around 15 minutes before the show, they opened the doors, and we were able to snag the best seats. The seats are decently comfortable and you can rest your head against the back for the show; I've been in more comfortable recliners but it was adequate. The laser show was very good - had some of the best Daft Punk music and a variety of lasers from just syncing to the beat of the music to drawing out storylines. The show ended up being about 45 minutes total from start to end and I would definitely go again.

It's very interactive. I had a lot of fun going here over the years. It's near the art museums and…read morein a good location. I usually go when it's the first weekend of the month but they changed it so first weekend of the month they choose for Bank of America and Merrill customers. The San Jose libraries have free access but you have to book in advance to get free or low cost tickets. For someone who goes for free, it's worth going.

Uniqueness: Sadly, a lot of the original exhibits and contraptions have been replaced. But at least…read morethe Human Body Exhibit is still here! Wait Time: [x][x][x][x][x] Service: [x][x][x][x][ ] Setting: [x][x][ ][ ][ ] Cost: [x][x][x][ ][ ] Recommendation? Sadly, for a musuem recommendation for the kids, it feels quite limited in what they have to offer and other museums in the Bay Area have more to do for the kids and even the adults. I was quite disappointed at how much has changed at the Tech Initiative (not Tech Museum) recently. It felt like a lot of the key exhibits and attractions of the museum have been replaced or lost vs what it used to be a couple years ago. The museum felt unusually more spacious i.e. a lot of empty space than before due to exhibits being removed and interestingly, it felt slightly outdated. The Human Body exhibit was still there so that was nice to walk through and the Rube Goldberg exhibit outside was exactly as it was years back. The gift store was pricey and didn't have as much interesting gifts but the IMAX show felt just like before & was included in the admission, which was nice. With all the changes that this museum has gone through, I unfortunately won't be coming back here in a while until there's something new that's rolling through.

What would your dream trip to Paris include? I had a dream trip, told Celine Glon of Et Voila Paris…read moreabout it, and she made it happen. I had very specific ideas. I'm a writer and have just finished the first draft of a mystery novel that involves the life of Georges Bizet, composer of the opera, Carmen. I wanted to go to Paris and various places there to see where Bizet lived and worked so I could add such settings to my book. Celine made an itinerary for me, got me wonderful guides to drive me to these places and to tell me about their histories and even explore with me. NOT ONLY THAT, Celine got me introduced to people knowledgeable about Bizet, and she got me into places where people normally can't go. For example, there is a house in the town of Bougival near Paris where Bizet lived when he wrote Carmen. Celine got me a private tour of this privately owned house (not open to the public) AND an introduction to a board member of a society that promotes art and artists as part of the memory of Georges Bizet. She also got me introduced to a gentleman who speaks excellent English and who is extremely knowledgeable about classical music and opera so he could go with me to meet with the board member and see the home. There are many other things I could mention about the Bizet part of the trip, like my private tour of the Opera Comique (where Carmen opened in 1875) and lunch with the Comique's dramaturge. Again, the Opera Comique is not open to the public for such tours, but Celine arranged it all. Celine also booked me private guides to take me other places just for fun, such as Chantilly, which has the biggest collection of French paintings after the Louvre, and Malmaison, the home of Josephine and Napoleon Bonaparte. I could go on and on, but that would make this review too long. I'll close by saying that I would recommend Celine to anyone, including my closest family and friends. I trust her totally to come up with customized trips that will fit any needs. I highly recommend her. She has a million connections and I can see she is an expert in the art of making people's dreams come true in Paris and all over France.

We had a great tour of Versailles , its park , and the " Petit Trianon , of Marie Antoinette" with…read moreEt voilà Paris in June 2017. We highly recommend Celine and her guides for anyone wishing an amazing journey in France and through time!!

I have come here for the Halloween special and their regular guided tours…read more For their Halloween event, I highly enjoyed it! They make a lot of effort to decorate and set up a spoooky ambiance. The cast were really into character and it was really fun. I also enjoyed their Halloween styled drinks - it truly set the mood! For the regular tours, I was pretty disappointed. For the following reasons: - tour was WAY too big (could not hear and it was hard to follow along) - tour content was a bit lacking. I came in with a rough idea of who Sarah Winchester was and didn't learn much beyond that. Might be different if you don't know anything about the area though - tour guides were kind of cranky. Our tour guide seemed pretty annoyed throughout the whole thing and I saw multiple other tour guides (ours included) yell at guests which was super awkward Nonetheless it is amazing to have such a historic landmark nearby. The staff do an amazing job of preserving it and it is very well maintained. You can tell they all take pride in working their and in conservation of the house, which was nice to see

I was here for an event and we were able to explore the house on our own. There were people around…read moreand you could ask questions about various rooms and things in the house. It was neat, but I think a guided tour would be the way to go. Some highlights were the door to nowhere, the gardens, and the great hospitality. It would also be awesome to visit at night too to really get the essence of the spiritual aspect. I hadn't heard of this place until the car ride over from the hotel, so I wasn't prepared for what was in store. I'd assume most people going here have some idea of why they're here. Overall, I enjoyed it and appreciated the beauty of the building as well as some of the stories told.

If 4-6 people are going, might as well get a family membership for a year, it's the same price or…read moreless. Great collection. Takes a few hours to see everything. Recommend downloading the app ahead of time, the audio tour was pretty neat. Gardens are nice too, and open to the public. There's a small parking lot if no street parking's available.

Great museum with friendly staff and interactive exhibits! They do a great job of making each…read moresection super interactive. For example, they have a place where you can play ancient Egyptian games with friends, exhibits that require guests to push buttons / ask questions, and even a passport book where people can collect stamps and write notes! It doesn't just have to be for kids - I was entertained as an adult doing these activities They have a lot of artifacts, model replicas, and even a mock tomb area. It was great for being able to 'visualize' what everything would have looked like back then. It did seem like quite a few artifacts were casts of the real thing though. There was plenty to see and we spent a few hours there. The staff are also very friendly and passionate about the subject. Even when we were just looking at exhibits, they told us about different facts / activities that the museum was hosting. Outside, there was plenty of parking and even a garden you could visit. I really enjoyed coming here and highly recommend visiting if you get the chance!

ICA is a large cool funky art space that also hosts events…read more Among the many cool restaurants and bars along south First Street are the cool artsy venues. The Institute of Contemporary Arts (i.e. ICA) is fantastic. It showcases local Bay Area artists' works among others. Super friendly staff are on hand and have the latest scoop on upcoming happenings. Go online to see upcoming events at the ICA. You may discover some cool-funky talks and art shows. Happy adventures!

Feeling arty-farty, I decided to go check out the Institute of Contemporary Art. It's located in a…read morereally cool area of First St. Admission is free which is always nice. I wanted to donate and the friendly guy asked if I wanted to sign up to get information, but I declined. I was the only one in there. The exhibit was called "Allegedly the Worst is Behind Us" which featured 12 artists and their work expressing intergenerational trauma. The work was very personal and moving and inspiring too. The work was much more interesting than the San Jose Art Museum. I felt the work would definitely resonate with others who may have experienced the same thing. Since I saved $20 on the last museum, I put it in the donation box in the front. Great place to come to!

We had an amazing time with my two kids and husband. This place had super interactive activities…read morefor my 4yr old and 18m old. They enjoyed dressing up in fireman gear, playing with water, doing crafts, playing in the pretend food area, building with blocks, making bubbles, and playing outside. This place has a lot to do and we wished we could have stayed longer. Only part that is annoying is the stroller rule. If your child CAN walk, you can't take your stroller in. Weird rule for a place that caters to kids, including younger ones in that in between stage. Even cmy 4 year old gets tired more than average. And sure, my youngest can technically walk but he can't last the whole time walking. Anyway, we had fun but I felt like I couldn't fully relax.

Pretty freaking amazing children's museum, kids loved it (and the adults had fun hanging out too)…read more Kinda a no-brainer if you have kids -- we have a 4yo but there were bigger kids and even teens here bustlin' around.

5 stars because it's free and I enjoyed my time…read more Pretty chill art museum I liked all the variations of soccer balls and one painting really caught my attention. I appreciate that it is free. They close early so go before 5pm. I was late and only had 30 minutes to end it that was enough time. I ended up sitting outside and just journaled about my day. Such a relaxing evening.

I love this museum. I actually went here before as a field trip for Girl Scouts. I love they gave…read morethe football memorabilia. They even do events here too: I went here for a wedding. They have beautiful walls to take a photo ops.