We stopped by the World of Wonders Science Museum for their birthday celebration and honestly had…read moresuch a great time. WOW has always been a favorite for our family, but this event really brought the whole community together. The museum was full of energy with kids running from activity to activity, experimenting, building, and just having fun learning without even realizing it. The raffle baskets were fantastic and way bigger than I expected. You could tell local businesses and supporters really showed up for this event. There were vendors set up, tons of hands on activities throughout the museum, and yes, free popcorn which automatically makes any kid event a win. What I love most about WOW is that it never feels overwhelming or overly structured. Kids are encouraged to explore, touch everything, and be curious. You can easily spend a few hours here and still not see it all. It is such an important space for downtown Lodi and a great reminder of how valuable places like this are for families. Fun, educational, and genuinely community-driven. We had a blast celebrating with the WOW museum!

I was taking my cousins to the theatre and decided to have a day in lodi, luckily i found the…read moremuseum on google and we got there about an hour before closing. Upon coming in, the front desk was very kind and helpful. The museum itself isn't too big nor too small, but has a lot of interesting exhibitions and activities for the kids to do along with a gift shop. My little cousins had a lot of fun and learned about frequency wave lengths, electricity, and some brain ticklers, amongst other things. I hope this little museum can one day offer more exhibitions for the littles, but we had an amazing time nonetheless!

Preston Castle Haunt - what a yearly tradition! My wife, my parents, and I have been making the…read morespooky pilgrimage for years now, and it never disappoints. You just can't beat a haunted house that takes place inside an actual haunted prison. The vibe alone gives you goosebumps before you even step inside. Add in the scare actors (who I'm convinced are local kids living their best creepy dreams), the friendly staff, and the affordable merch, and you've got the full package. This year's haunt felt longer with even more scares tucked around the corners--right up my alley! Preston keeps stepping it up, and I'm here for it. Until next year, Castle... we'll be back.

Came here for the haunted house event about a week ago and I'm not sure if I would come back again…read more Tickets were $35 each (purchased online) and you have to park and walk about 10-15 minutes to the castle or you can take the little van that drives you there which also takes the same amount of time. We took the van to the castle but they don't drop you off directly in front of the castle so you still have to walk down through security and then to the castle. Porte potty's are available right before security and once you walk up the hill to wait in line to enter the castle. There were a couple food trucks when we went, we were expecting a few based on what was said online but not sure if it depends on the time. We waited over an hour in line to enter the haunted house and if you do really believe in ghosts this place is pretty haunted. The event itself wasn't scary, the actors aren't able to touch you but there's obviously loud screaming and they may be a bit too close for comfort to get a reaction out of you. You do have to climb up and down quite a few stairs and then there's a second part lead outside and back in the castle (barely any lighting and it's a dirt road so you have to carefully walk). Many strobing lights as well so do avoid if you are triggered by that. The energy throughout the castle was not pleasant or welcoming, I was very excited for it to be over as the haunted house itself was not very good and I was mostly tired from all the walking. There's a merch truck outside at the end of the castle as well. We also decided to walk back instead of waiting for the shuttle but there absolutely no lighting and many ditches with uneven flooring so you have to be very careful. Overall experience was not my favorite and I wouldn't come back again.

Had some time in Stockton so I wandered into the Haggin and was pleasantly surprised with the…read morecollection and displays describing Stockton's past. They had a nice selection of art from America and Europe. Memorable pieces included ones from the Barbizon School and Also the impressionists. The Renoir in the collection was on loan to the Morgan Library but it was nice to see paintings from noted artists like Hassam, Bérard, Lhermitte, and Bierstadt. I enjoyed reading about the industry in Stockton's past and also how the Haggin Museum came about. I spent around 1-1.5 hours there. The neighboring park is a delight too with a pond, pool and basketball courts.

Lived locally for about 20 years, how did I not know this gem existed. Will make a point to revisit…read moreas their exhibitions change.

Had a good visit with grandchildren, seem to be extremely crowded, multiple schools visiting at the…read moresame time.

My experience here was with my daughter's class for a field trip. When we arrived, we had to wait…read morefor our turn to get an orientation with a staffer on behavior, scheduling, & what we would see. Apparently the kids were supposed to get stickers, but that got missed. The museum offers exhibits & activities about biology, nature, climate, water as a resource, space, design, & art. There were a lot of neat hands-on activities & multiple senses are engaged. Some different stage shows happened at posted times. We also enjoyed the Planetarium & getting an interactive, personal presentation on constellations given by a staff member. We had nice interactions with staff who engaged us, answered questions, & were patient & friendly. We ate in an outdoor covered patio area. There is a gift shop & small cafe on the premises. Restrooms are in multiple locations. Wall hand sanitizer dispensers are available through out. As with any museum geared towards kids, your time will be greatly influenced by how many other people are visiting & their ability to take turns & clean up after themselves. There's a lot to see & do in this 2-story museum without it being too big to get around. We learned a lot & had a fun time.

TIM! TIM! TIM! The…read morelifeblood & soul of this museum is a docent named Tim. A polite yet confident, friendly yet proud personality, Tim gave my girlfriend and I the museum experience of a century. Arriving at the museum, we were greeted by a docent at the entry who was quite kind to us and we enjoyed the initial room and science/medicine rooms - however, if you're the type who reads every line at a museum, you will enjoy it more than we did because the information was IMMENSE. Too much for my adhd brain, but perfect for an avid reader. But it was the carriage house that floored us. Tim greeted us nearly the moment we stepped through the doors to introduce himself as a volunteer at the museum. I figured he may give us a little intro and then let us parouse the 10,000sf facility but boy was I wrong. Tim proceeded to give us a guided private tour for what was easily the good part of an hour. Carriage by carriage, phonograph by phonograph, Tim passionately spoke on the most interesting history, anecdotes, untold tales, and intriguing facts about every item in front of us. It was as if he had plugged himself into the knowledge of the universe and was translating its binary into English for us to understand. I loved every moment and most importantly, I could see that HE loved every moment. We walked out having to look at our tickets to see if we had accidentally purchased VIP guided tour tickets. But no - that is just the character of Tim and of the people who run the museum. We finished at the mining building where we got a chance to see incredible historical items/devices/tools, as well as some BEAUTIFUL specimens of stones - including the 2 most gorgeous pieces of petrified wood I have EVER seen. The docent as this building raved about Tim as well but was no stolid volunteer herself - she was ALSO extremely friendly in her own right, offering us cold water on the hot day we toured. I cannot wait to go back and recommend this museum to any and all in the Angels Camp / Murphys area!

This museum has Gold County History- so much to see!! Wagon…read more& Carriage, Mining & Artisan exhibition and a Water Wheel Power Stamp Mill. In the same building is the Calaveras Visitor's Bureau! If you walk past the Visitors Bureau there is an interesting film on the Frog Jumping Contest and many Frog Facts!!

First visit to the GVM. Docent Cody gave us a tour, and he was excellent. He was very…read moreinformative, answered all of my questions. Cody took us through almost all of the exhibits and explained each one in detail. I do wish the museum were a little more interactive and kid-friendly. There were very few buttons for kids to push, and few things they could actually touch. I wanted to see a planetarium show. But the only available show looked to be for very young kids. I was hoping for a show for teens/adults. To make things worse, this is the only planetarium show this month. Maybe they can rotate shows in the future.

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.

After all these years, I am so happy The Western Railway Museum is still here and looking great as…read moreever! My son has been an avid fan or trains since birth! I cannot even count how many train museums we have visited. This past visit was for the Spring Wine Trains with my husband. Suggested to us by none other than our son. He now volunteers here!! YAY! We loved being in the parlor car- you get a charcuterie board and 3 tastings. The group was lively, the hosts were great. It was such a nice time and the weather was perfect that day. They explain the various wines (we had Caymus served to us) and you get a nice little tour of the land/area. We got to chat with our son who was the Operations Brakeman that day and what a treat...on the return ride back, we were offered the rear seats. It was the perfect way to end the ride. We took advantage that your ticket includes entrance to the museum, spring fair and the grounds. We walked around, checked out the trains, the fair and the gift shop. Parking is free and plenty of it is available.

I came here for the Holiday Lights train ride and light display…read more The train ride was not worth the money or time. The train had a string of lights strung around inside with a small speaker playing holiday music at the front of the train. There was nothing to look at during the 15-20 minute ride except some cows and a few wind turbines. The train basically went down the tracks 10 mins and then went back to station in the opposite direction. There were also many loud parents and uncontrolled kids on the train which did not make the experience enjoyable. The light display was okay. You got to see some cool old trains with holiday lights on them. But you could not enter any of the trains in the light display area. The lit up trains were simply a route to go see Santa. The Santa area was really dark which was not great for pictures. The staff promote a cafe with hot chocolate and cider after the train ride and light display. I got a spice cider for $6. It was not good. It was full of pulp and the spices were floating on top. It seemed like the staff did not stir up the cider before serving it. The museum and gift shop are really small and catered more towards kids. The gift shop had some adult clothes and souvenirs (magnets, small figures, etc.) but nothing extraordinary. Overall, I would not recommend this place for the Holiday Lights event. There are better holiday train rides and events in Old Town Sacramento.

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.

We visited the children's museum recently. The space is decent and quite spacious, but overall, we…read moredidn't find it particularly engaging. My son did enjoy the train area and spent most of his time there, which was a nice part of the visit. The ticket price is affordable, but for us, it wasn't quite worth the trip, especially since it's not close to our home. We were hoping for more interactive or creative exhibits. It would be great if they could add more decorations or make the space feel more lively and engaging. It's an okay spot if you're nearby or have a train-loving child, but we probably won't be returning.

The Sacramento Children's Museum is a fun kids museum for littles age 2-8. They have a big area for…read moreimaginative play, including a little grocery store and campsite. There's a little craft spot. The back area has a cool new building block section and the craft kits. The museum is small and on rainy days and weekends, they reach capacity and limit entry. It can be very chaotic inside when packed, so we don't stay for too long. The staff try their best to keep things organized and are always really kind to the kids. Look out for when it's free museum weekend because they are one of options!