This is a really cool place to spend the day with kids. The staff was very kind and helpful. They…read moreplayed a short film for us that explained how the fossils were found in the area. There are many fossils and replica of fossils. You guide yourself on a tour, they give you a booklet to use to guide yourself. Each station has information on the fossils, history,etc. There is an outdoor area with replicas of the homes of the native Yokuts tribe that was originally in the area. There is also an outdoor pond with plaques in front of each different plant that surrounds the pond. It was a really cool learning experience. You can pay a bit extra for fossil digging. There are 19 fossils to dig up, that can take about an hour. We spent about 3 hours there. They also have a cool little gifts shop area.

We've taken our dinosaur loving grandson there a couple of times and he is always delighted. They…read morecontinue to add sights and experiences as the exhibit grows and the excavation continues in the back 40. Go there and measure yourself next to the Wooly Mammoth and you'll be glad you didn't live when they roamed the Central Valley!

Very cool spot. This place is probably best for school-aged children. They do have one wall with…read moreconnector toys for the toddlers but that's about it. It's small but a nice spot to spend under an hour. Also finding the entrance was hard because google maps takes you to the wrong main gate.

I almost got into the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory! Yes, the Lawrence Livermore National…read moreLaboratory is self-described as "a premier research and development institution for science and technology applied to national security." Because they are working with important stuff pertaining to national security, nuclear materials and other top secret stuff, they won't let the average Yelper in there. But, right outside their front gate is the Discovery Center. The Discovery Center is a small museum that gives you a brief introduction to the lab and what they do. They have hands on and interactive exhibits for children to play with. Most of the exhibits were well maintained. It is an interesting way to spend an hour. The staff, at least on the day were there, was fantastic. Since we were the only ones there, she almost gave us a personalized tour to explain some of the exhibits and talk about the lab and what they do. They have an easy scavenger hunt for children with a nice t-shirt as a prize. They are pretty generous with the scavenger hunt and let children of all ages play. The museum is priced just right for most Yelpers. It is free! It's a nice place, with not a lot of visitors.

This is another Valley gem that modernized but still maintains a relatively low-screen & low…read morefluorescent aesthetic. Medium sized but unparalleled exhibits on the local flora and fauna. Play area with magna-tiles etc. for the kids. Bring food, there are only vending machines. There is an inside eating area that can be loud sometimes but no different than the cavernous sounds of the Lawrence Hall of Science eating area etc. Prepare for a potential parking hassle. Since it's on the MJC campus either the lot is packed with student/staff cars or not. Not much to be done just be aware. Kiosk pay parking. Also- planetarium and First Friday's activities. I wish they were open Sundays.

Great experience! Kids will definitely love coming to see the museum and shows. For $5 per show,…read morethat's a great deal. I'm not sure if the actual museum is free because we just walked in after the show. They show tons of animals in their habitat and a gift shop. I can't wait to bring my little guy.

If you are passing by Los Banos, you can check out this small history museum. It's got some…read moreartifacts and other items on display. It is a pretty modest place, but for some reason I like it.

Yesterday the McHenry Mansion had free entry as well as cradts at the museum, carroage rides and…read moremore! While visiting the museum, my family and I had a wonderful time getting info on the Stanislaus Libraries in the area, looking at Modedto artifacts and making crafts! The staff were very kind and helpful! Overall, we had a wonderful time!

I had always wanted to stop in at the McHenry Museum, but I never took the opportunity to go, until…read morerecently. The museum hosted an event right before Graffiti Night to kind of kick it off. It was a free event to go inside the museum, and outside were lots of classic cars, trucks, and a few bicycles!! I included lots of photos inside and out!! Well, they had another event last Saturday night! "A night at the McHenry Museum!" What a cute and fun idea!! It was great for all ages. We received a night guard evidence log when we checked in at the front desk! Right before that, we were welcomed by a greeter who opened the door for us. They had nine exhibits with stamps from the people dressed in period or historical costumes. They each gave a little demo or speech about the exhibit they were in. They were all so friendly, and interactive. It really made the scenes come to life! One exhibit was trying to get gold out of the clay rocks, to turn into the cashier for play money, which in turn one could "buy" real candy. I had such a wonderful time. I hope they do this activity again, sometime soon. It would be fun to know about it way in advance, so I could dress up too. That would be really fun! I did not find out about it until a few days before. However, I am so glad I went!

This was definitely a fun stop on our road trip! The first floor is the shop, where you can sample…read morea few cheeses or get something like cheese pie at the cafe. But definitely go upstairs, especially if you have kids, to look at the exhibits on dairy farms. We honestly would have missed the stairs if we didn't ask somebody how to get to the exhibits. It's not obvious! There's also a little movie about cheese making that you can ask the staff members to start for you. We also paid $4 each to do the ice cream making at 11:00 a.m. My only real complaint about the whole thing is that the kids weren't able to see what ingredients were in their can before they started the shaking process. The staff led them through all these different shaking exercises, and then they got to open their cans at the end and see some ice cream. But it really didn't mean anything to them because they had no idea what was in there in the beginning! I said something about it to the staff, just asking them why they didn't have the kids look in it at the beginning, and they said it's because they usually do field trips with hundreds of kids..... But our tour was just around 10 people! If I could do it all over, I would have had my kids unscrew the lids to see what was inside. But besides that little pet peeve, I appreciated the staff giving information and a little tour of the exhibits, and the movie is also included at the beginning of the event.

A very solid 4 1/2 stars I haven't been here in years. Since I was in the area, I decided to…read moreswing by. Their cheese is very good, having won awards from the California State fair, to nine medals, including gold, at the 2026 World cheese championships. Yes, it's good. you've probably had it, but never knew it. they sell their cheese in bulk to food service providers, restaurants, and other retail brands that package and sell the cheese under their own names It's a great place. Everything from souvenirs, to snacks, wines, jams, Peet's coffee, they have a small café, and of course, cheese, cheese, and even more cheese. They do offer tours, but they are limited. However, you can ask somebody from the register, to come over and turn on the "Moo-vie." hosted by a cartoon cow, it covers the cheese, making process from farm, forward. Yes, it's a little "cheesy", (pun intended) but it's cute, and it's interesting. There are pictures throughout the visitor center, and they also have a small area upstairs, that also talks about the cheese making process, and you can look down into the factory. As I mentioned, there are lots of cheeses for sale. They also have samples. They have "squeakers" which is what they call their cheese, curds, many different varieties of their cheeses, and other gourmet cheeses from other companies. I bought a small apple, walnut, smoked cheddar, which was very flavorful, and then I also decided to take a gamble, and got a 1 pound block of Hilmar habanero pepper jack cheese. The 1 pound block of cheese cost under seven bucks. Extremely reasonable for such a good quality cheese. Yes, it definitely packs a punch, (hey, it's habanero....) but the creaminess of the cheese helps, mellow out the habanero a bit. You can also cook with it, like a cheeseburger, or scrambled eggs, etc.... And that also helps mellow out the habanero. it is definitely toward the higher end of what I like for in spicy, but it is definitely good. At the café, they actually sell a cheese chowder, which is supposed to be excellent. I don't think my poor system could've handled it, so instead, I got one of their grilled cheese sandwiches, the zesty tomato, which was Monterey Jack, sun-dried, tomato, tomato, basil pesto, on sourdough bread. Yes, still rich, but the tomato help helped cut the richness. The only reason I'm taking off a half star, was because the bread was a bit overdone on the sandwich. Not enough that I had them redo it, but I could definitely taste it a little bit. The amazing taste of the sandwich. Helped take away the overdone taste of the bread. A great place to visit, I will be back. Thanks.

Very nice Staff, the tour inside of Air Force ONE it was amazing…read more All the airplanes in very good conditions, my favorite Black Bird

It was pretty nostalgic coming here with my kids. I lived in Merced for a few years as a kid during…read morethe first Desert Storm War back when this was Castle Air Force Base and they were flying b-52 bombers over Merced everyday that would shake the windows of my house. We were driving up the 99 from Fresno to Manteca and I thought it would be a fun detour for my kids to see. They were pretty pumped to see the SR-71 Blackbird and one of the old old Air Force Ones. I wish there would have been more planes available on public display without having to pay to get into the museum since we were there after hours and couldn't see any of the other ones except for through a chain link fence. Still a pretty cool experience though and worth the short detour.

If you have never been to Oakdale, it's the "cowboy capital of the world". Don't worry the city is…read morevery modernized. Be sure to check out the the_cowboy museum when you're in town! FREE admission to this awesome tiny museum!

Small museum with free admission, and an even smaller gift shop selling quirky stuff like…read moreleather-scented candles. Two rooms filled with interesting cowboy attire, antiques, posters, photos, books, old school tin lunch boxes, saddles, and lots of informative signs about rodeo practices and rules. We visited on a "Sip and Stroll" event day, so there was also live music out front. We didn't have much interaction with staff and just roamed around and explored at our own pace, which didn't take long due to the size of the museum.