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!!

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.

My little family came here for a first visit on the Saturday of the long Memorial Day weekend, and…read moreit was a delightful and eye-opening experience. TBH, my expectation were kind of high because just the month before, we had visited a planetarium in Arizona that just blew my mind and was so cool (will write a review on that one soon) so I think my review of this Space & Science Center might be a little more serious, ha! To be fair, this is not a planetarium, although there is one here, which is used to show short featured films about different space exploration and nature-based stories which we did watch 3 of and they were really good. However, as a Space & Science Center, the focus is on space exploration by NASA and the science behind it. Specifically, the NASA Ames Research Visitor Center is located here. This place is ok for little kids, but probably better for those about 7-8 or older as they'll actually remember and get something out of this Science Center. When you enter, there's a little gift shop to the right, then you will purchase your tickets (which can be applied towards membership should you decide to buy an annual one) and enter into the exhibit hall on the first floor. From there, the planetarium/theatre is to your right and there's shows to watch every hour on the hour, some of them are a half-hour long, and some are only about 15 minutes or so. Different topics/titles and they do not repeat, so it is best to get to this Space & Science Center by mid-morning and plan to stay the whole day. Next there's a NASA visitor center with exhibits of actual space suits, lots of pictures of historic and current/recent space endeavors and journeys, as well as posters explaining how NASA developed the technology to take us to the moon and different parts of the universe. There are also interesting autobiographical posters written by astronauts and other space scientists on their roles in space exploration. There are a few hands-on activities such as using Kinetic sand, and other low-level simple engineering type of fun experiences for younger kids. Finally, there's also a cafeteria on the first floor towards the back of the building. Prices are a little high, but expectedly so for a museum/science center type of venue. On the second floor, there's several classrooms, and then there are some exhibits from retired space vehicles such as a real module you can climb in and play with that still has all the (non-functioning, obviously) controls. My kids had a great time with that. There were even a dog-space-vehicle/container thing, and lots of smaller spacecrafts and many space suits and miniature replicas of space shuttles on display. Finally, on the top floor, there's the observatory with several huge rooms that contained one telescope each for viewing real stars and planets, although they were all hard to see during daytime and realistically, they're all so far, you can only see like a speck of light when viewing Venus, for example, or the star Betelgeuse. But since it's outdoors, you find yourself surrounding by the redwoods out in nature, and it is just so peaceful and beautiful. I imagine when it gets even warmer later on in the summer, at night, that the night sky would be spectacular here. Overall, we really enjoyed coming to Chabot Space & Science Center. It has something for everyone and my kids, my husband, and I all enjoyed it. It's a cool place to feel the vastness of our universe and the greatness of our Creator, and to appreciate that humans have made some pretty cool strides in exploring and discovering our galaxy and yet we've only just scratch the surface. We'll plan to come back, but may try to visit other similar space centers first.

My wife loves to find educational opportunities for our family outings. We came on a Saturday, and…read moreit was a pretty cool experience. At the entrance, there's a little gift shop to the right, before the ticket counter (pretty steep) and then the exhibit hall is on the first floor. Since this is a Space & Science Center so it's not technically a planetarium, but there is one here where they show short featured films about nature and space exploration. We watched 3 of them, and they were all pretty well done. So this said planetarium/theatre is on the first floor too, and the shows are every hour on the hour, some of them are a half-hour long, and some are only about 15 minutes or so. Different topics/titles and they do not repeat, so it is best to get to this Space & Science Center by mid-morning and plan to stay the whole day. The focus of this Space & Science Center is about space exploration by NASA and the science behind it. In fact, the NASA Ames Research Visitor Center is housed here. My kids are both older now and they definitely got some learning out of this NASA center, which if they were younger, would be too hard for them to understand. There's exhibits of space suits, pictures of historic and current space endeavors, and displays explaining how NASA developed the technology to take us to the moon and other parts of the universe. There are also interesting autobiographical posters written by astronauts and other space scientists on their roles in space exploration. Further back on the first floor, there are a few hands-on activities such as using kinetic sand, and other simple engineering experiences made into fun for younger kids. There's also a cafeteria on this floor towards the back of the building. Prices are a little high, but expectedly so for a museum/science center type of venue. The second floor houses several classrooms, and then there are some exhibits from retired space vehicles such as a real module you can climb in and play with that still has all the (non-functioning, obviously) controls. My kids had a great time with that. There were even a dog-space-vehicle/container thing, and lots of smaller spacecrafts and many space suits and miniature replicas of space shuttles on display. On the top floor, it's basically an open area/observatory with several huge rooms that houses one telescope in each for viewing stars and planets. They were hard to see in daytime and are so far, you can only see like a speck of light when viewing a planet. I "saw" Venus, but it was just a dot, or for example, I "saw" Betelgeuse the star, haha. This beautiful space is surrounding by the redwoods, so it was a nice area and so peaceful. Later on in the summer, when it gets warmer, I think the night sky would be spectacular here and real nice out even when it gets totally dark. We enjoyed our visit to Chabot Space & Science Center. It has interesting things that should provide something for everyone and we all enjoyed it. I felt the vastness of our universe and the greatness of our Creator, appreciated that us humans have made some significant strides learning about and exploring our galaxy, but there's still so much more we don't know and much more we have to go. My attempt at a deep thought, haha.

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.

I can to explore bc I'd never really been over on this side of Oakland and I have to say it was…read morevery nice!! I took public transportation over from SF and it was pretty easy to get here but timing the buses were a bit difficult so we walked for some of it. The bonsai garden is so cute and well maintained. It's a nice feature of lake Merritt. They even have a cute gift shop if you wanted to purchase something in support of the garden. Entrance is free but you can make donations!

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 :)

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!

I have been here multiple times throughout the years, and have only had good experiences. However,…read moremy last visit stood out to me the most. A few weeks ago was my senior prom, which was at the Exploratorium. The exhibits and environment were very fun and made for a super engaging night! As a trans person, I have a lot of anxiety in public bathrooms. Although they were unable to open up the general neutral bathroom (I mean, it's high schoolers, you can't trust them). However, the staff was extremely accommodating and kind, and escorted me to a separate bathroom. They made sure I got to pick the bathroom I was most comfortable in, as well as apologized for the inconvenience. Not only is this place fun, entertaining, and family friendly, they are welcoming, kind, and caring. I will never forget the kindness that I was shown.

Exploratorium San Francisco, CA…read more Date went 4/25/26 Time went around 1:15pm on a Saturday It was very busy to say the least Bonus the entry fee is $5 for food stamp recipients Atmosphere It was so great to see a mixture of young children with parents, teenagers, and even older people in this establishments. I saw lots of laughter, play, and wonder and despite it being packed everyone was respectful and I didn't see any hogging of the different activities. You could easily spend at least 3 or 4 hours in there. Food Court I ordered a chicken avocado bacon burger and it was surprisingly delicious! Also, not too expensive. Overall I highly recommend coming her with your kids, on a date, or just for some fun scientific exploring! I didn't get to see what the regular entrance fee was, but I'd say this would be worth it for about $25-$30 per person. I wish I would've taken more pictures of the different activities Recommendations - More hand sanitizing stations, I only recall seeing one throughout the entire place

LHS: -New cafe! Even has coffee…read more -room to run and play -two outside areas to explore -now has bathrooms on upper level -rotating exhibits -animatronic dinosaurs

Well when I came in to pay. This young lady was very I tentative! She explained everything to us…read more So on our merry way. We are the first floor so many activities to do. My cousin and daughter loved the . And outside where they were was an amazing view of Berkeley. We were sitting on top of the world. A little girl came over and talked to us. Her father said it was ok to film her. She was five years old! A very bright, intelligent, fun loving girl! Her favorite pass time was golf. She knew the stands to when u putt! She was amazing. She came and brought us flowers. My daughter n I put them in our hair. Ok down to the exhibits down stairs. Well we walked in no one spoke. Parents kept asking the young lady so what do we do! Horrible horrible horrible! Customer service! Young ladies you should say hellli when someone walks in the door! You should come and explain what to do. Not just stand in the lockers. So, went to the souvenir shop! We all couldn't wait to spend some money. The gentleman never said hello! He kept flipping his hair looking off into space! Wow! Very easily for people to steal items! Tighten up! Greet people pay attention! Speak to the customers! Terrible customer service March 21,2026 3pm-5pm! Do better! I didn't get a chance to give anything I. The suggestion box! Next time I will! Thanks we guess!

I came for the Halloween After Dark where my friend presented. All of the talks were funny and…read moreinformative and well delivered. Very imaginative and fun! The drinks are crazy expensive but thats to be expected. The festivities around Halloween were fun - costume contest, pumpkin carving (though not enough for everyone), etc.

Been always wanting to go here and we finally did it! Came into this thinking we didn't need the…read moreentire 3+ hrs but we did! There is SO much to see, with about over 5 different sections and all being interactive it's a place your inner child can run free. Our favorite part were the many games you could play with a partner or group such as a snake video game, 1:1 table games, and much more. Such an eventful night with music playing and chances to buy a drink. Highly recommend to visit with some friends or for a fun date night!

Huge 7 floor Museum with lots of see. There were plenty of people and students. They have their…read morecafé and the fifth floor and then they also have a smaller café on the second floor before you enter. Each floor has both stairs and an elevator. Sometimes the stairs were hard to find. I only stopped by quickly for the special exhibitions. And they were pretty interesting and fun. There was lots to see, so I only stopped by very quickly by each exhibit. My favorite exhibition would probably be the yarn art exhibition as I was one of the few items that were very unique and different from everything else

San Francisco has always been a plain canvas and a city full of artist. You can see art on the…read morestreets with the architecture and buildings and you can also see it at a restaurant and especially at a Michelin guide restaurant on a plate of food. You can listen and watch San Francisco art on your analog and digital devices. The art of the deal is happening all over the city. The art of rebellion is part of the fabric of San Francisco. Even one of San Francisco's past Mayors is name Art ( Agnos). There is one place where you can see over five floors of modern art exhibits in San Francisco in the SOMA. It's called the SF MOMA. On a SOMA stroll I entered the SF Museum of Modern Arts building. Inside I went to many floors of different art exhibits and there was plenty to explore. I also was able to see the KAWS exhibition which had very animated art and is only available until May 3rd. You will also see visual art and also photography art. This place has a little bit of everything with the human touch and not totally made by a robot or AI ( time will tell). A good human experience of the human experience in San Francisco. Plan a visit when in SOMA. San Francisco art is everywhere and even in the restaurant food's "aroma"especially in the neighborhood of "SOMA" and to appreciate art you don't need to have an art "diploma" you can just go and appreciate the art inside of the "SF MOMA" Art is more than when someone paints or when someone "draws "some art can be digital as long it has a message and some have a "cause" some art museums are therapeutic like mental "spas"there is a few days left to watch the art exhibit at SF MOMA for "KAWS"