It's a small science museum. We drove 2 hours to visit the museum. Kids did scavenger hunt and they loved it. Weekends they had free parking. read more

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This is a relatively new museum. It's right across the parking lot from the Bidwell Mansion. Parking wasn't an issue for us since we got there early on the weekend. But I can imagine it can be a hassle when the college is in session on a weekday or when a school field trip is on site. There are two exhibit rooms, a hands-on science room, the display hall and a small gift shop. The exhibit rooms change every few months. My school age daughter really liked the hands-on room. Wish that room was a little bigger. There weren't many of us there - maybe 3 or 4 families, but it was crowded. Overall its a nice family museum for Chico and the price is decent ($13 for a family of 3). read more

Gateway Science Museum - Gateway Science Museum - Museums Near Me - Chico, California

I know that not everyone is a fan of this museum, but I really feel like it's a great place that is trying hard. The museum doubles as a place for people to bring children to learn about science and as a place that the university trains future teachers (myself included). There have been some really great exhibits here, and they're only getting better. I say give it a chance---it's still a new museum that's getting off the ground. The people that work there and run the place give it their all and try really hard to make it a great experience, and I think they mostly succeed. They can't help the parking issues, and they can't help it if your kids are not "entertained" enough. You bring kids here to learn, not play. This place is highly recommended to teachers for field trip opportunities. read more

We were visiting from out of town and had a hotel in downtown Chico. This place was within easy walking distance and so close to CSU Chico (where hubby was working) and Children's Playground. We loved it! There are only 3 exhibit rooms--Sound, Discovery, and Toy room--but my 5-year old and 2-year old LOVED it here. We literally spent hours there (perhaps a total of 4 hours, including a brief snack break outside in their little amphitheatre area). We read books and played with the toys in the Discovery Room where, incidentally, a very nice docent spent quite a bit of time with us showing us their tarantula and the tarantula's molten skin, walking stick bug and scorpion, and talking with us about just about everything in the room. After our snack break, we tried the Sound Room (very cool sound wave exhibit) and then their Toy room where we learned about common components in toys (cams, circuits, pulleys and linkages). My son wanted to try everything! In the meantime, my 2-year old was fading fast (having skipped nap time), so she cozied up on a couple of chairs in the room with a book. As a mom taking 2 kids solo, it was great that the museum was such a manageable size--I could keep an eye on both kids if they went their separate ways, but I could also corral them to the same activity since the distractions were "minimal. read more

I think Gateway has some room to grow and improve- maybe creating more of a flow, having more volunteers to interact with guests might help to create more of a learn by doing environment. Right now there are a lot of hands on things at the museum but the explanation of the things the children are doing is too long and too detailed- 4 years olds don't pay attention to dates and places, they want to know why... why does this float? why does this fly? Getting to the why with the explanations in the current exhibit was too long and even I lost interest. I think if they gave LESS information the kids would come away with MORE information... writing a huge thing on a hypothesis and testing and how the experiments were handled is great, but all a 4 year old (and most other kids for that matter) want to know is WHY? Other than the lengthy information I think they are going in the right direction- the hands on exhibits were awesome- kept my nephew entertained for WAY longer than many other things do... I actually got bored and pulled him away from the hands on to see the rest of the museum... which wasn't that great, so we went back and he spent another hour running around making things fly and hover. It was pouring down rain so we didn't get to see the outdoor space but from inside looking out it was beautiful- and I will go back sometime in the summer to check it out. My only other complaint was the price... which is $3 for kids and $6 for adults, $1/hour for parking ... I mean it isn't going to break the bank but for a family of four it would cost $20 for a 2 hour visit... more than the price of an all day visit to the Getty! read more

A great start to a museum. It's very small and seems like a work in progress. I wouldn't have enjoyed it if I didn't have kids to bring. They have some cool microscopes and room with a boat and raft for kids to play on. It's worth a visit but I'm not sure how often I plan on returning. I hope they get more funding to build bigger and better exhibits over time. read more

A modest but lovely museum. Great for kids, as there are lots of interactive displays. I went to their moon landing exhibit for the 50th anniversary and was impressed. Quite a small museum so don't expect to spend a whole afternoon here by any means. It can still be fun and interesting for adults if you are into the subject of the exhibit. read more

I've wasted my time and money twice here and I'm not going to do it again. First, the parking. They have the most complicated parking system I've ever seen. (even the staff agreed and said they had argued to have it replaced, but to no avail) It costs you far more (double!) than on the street parking, of which there is none. You're trapped! And since you don't know what's on display and don't know how long it will take to view it, you have to pay for two hours (the max) to be safe. This museum is run by the University and yet you have to pay for parking. Criminal! Now once inside you find that the displays are amateurish and not worthy of your time. Total time at the first trip was one hour. Our grandchildren enjoyed some of it but were quickly bored. The second time was just thirty minutes and our eight year old twins had to be pushed to stay that long. The University should be ashamed... read more

What a great asset to our community. There is something there for all ages all of the time. Their staff are warm and welcoming and were comfortable engaging in questions with both my children and my grandmother. The garden has come a long way and the new Foothills exhibit is great. We will be booking our next birthday party here after seeing one during our last visit. read more

Save your time, aggravation and money. There is very little going on inside that isn't more easily accessible and is better presented via the Web. There is a "Discovery Room" that may be briefly entertaining for preschoolers, but other than that there are only two fairly small exhibition rooms. They are too small to be called "halls" and "gallery" is even stretching the concept. The parking, while nearby, is an incredible and relatively expensive hassle. The parking lot was basically empty, yet you have to walk in, find out that you have to use a parking kiosk out by the parking lot, so walk back out, find out that the machine takes exact change only and does not dispense change. Go back inside, get dollar bills, go back out, feed the meter with the assumption that two hours should be about right. So now my friend are out $16 including entry fees. Not horrible, but much more than the 30 minutes inside and another 10 minutes outside deserve. To add to the disappointment, I can't say that either of us learned anything of note. The architecture is "bold" and modern and since I have eclectic tastes in design I was hoping that this building could redeem itself with innovative features and an interior to make up for the strange roof lines and slabs of stucco. Nope. Perhaps I would have more appreciative in a different setting, but it is placed to Bidwell Mansion, across from Northern Star Mills and is flanked by some of the nicer houses in Chico. This is quintessential "Old Chico" and to plop down something this stark, garish even, just doesn't work, sorry. To add insult the service yard is on full display from the parking lot. I love museums and have been in dozens all over the world. I suggest that you visit any other museum other than this one. read more