Back again for another visit today. I feel like my toddler is finally understanding the difference…read morebetween pets and wild animals and it was really nice to walk around. She was looking at the different exhibits and for the first time seemed really aware and wanted to learn more about them. We are so lucky to have this asset in our backyard and will be back again.

This is a nice little wildlife museum. It's very small. Maybe get through it in 45 min to an hour…read more They have wildlife greet and meet scheduled at different times throughout the day outside in the Grove area in front of museum. We enjoyed the bird display and all the other animals. It's seems throughout the day they are constantly cleaning or feeding the animals that allows you to watch. The staff is very friendly. If you coming from more than an hour away to this place save yourself. Moreover, It's best for toddlers to elementary kids. The parking lot is small and you can park on the street or the parking lot behind the couch. Also, there is a park playground behind the museum for play and maybe a brought home sit down lunch.

Fantastic hidden gem! The downstairs nature exhibit was worth the price of admission alone!…read more Each sub-section was displayed beautifully so that the pieces of art, be it Western, Asian, African, Nature or Automobile, could be appreciated.

I visited this museum on Mother's Day with my family while 21 weeks pregnant. I had been here once…read morebefore and previously had a wonderful experience, which made this visit especially disappointing. Shortly after arriving, I noticed a water bottle refill station inside the museum and refilled my water bottle there. While quietly viewing an exhibit with my family, we were suddenly approached in a very loud and confrontational manner by a female staff member who stated, "Ma'am, ma'am! There is no food or drink allowed in the museum. You either need to leave or throw your water bottle away." I was surprised by both the tone and the interaction, especially considering the museum itself provided the refill station inside the building. I explained that I had filled the bottle there, but was told that people are apparently expected to "refill their bottles and then leave the museum to drink from them," which honestly made very little sense. Because I am pregnant, I asked if I could simply keep the bottle closed while inside, rather than repeatedly separating from my family whenever I became thirsty. She reluctantly agreed, but after that interaction, staff members continuously followed my family throughout the museum for the remainder of our visit, seemingly monitoring whether I drank water. What should have been an enjoyable family outing became extremely uncomfortable and unenjoyable. Being closely followed from exhibit to exhibit over a closed water bottle felt excessive and unnecessary, especially under the circumstances. Unfortunately, the experience left my family and I not wanting to return. I truly hope future guests are treated with more kindness, professionalism, common sense, and dignity.

This place was great! Tons of machines, a lot of really awesome ones! (Beatlejuice is my…read morefavorite).. not super expensive. Super mellow vibes. Not a bar which I actually enjoy, just a shitload of machines and a sleepy cat. Will be going there regularly.

My dad found this place while searching for something else and what a find this was. I haven't…read moreplayed pinball for years and the last time I was around a pinball game I just watched. So I can't remember the last time I had my hands on a pinball machine. Located in an industrial area, down the Street from Costco and less then a mile from park and shop. It's really just around the corner from Costco. You can easily walk here from Costco while you family shops you can be having so much more fun and not rush them. There was plenty of free parking right out front. The front is liked with live plants that mesmerized my mom. She loves plants. Soon as you walk inside you enter a framing shop. This is in the back rooms of a framing shop. It all started with the owner and his love of pinball machines and his love of sharing his hobby with others. And we are so thankful that he has shared. What a fun time and bring lots of quarters if you have them. We should have brought more from our coin jar. My dad had them all pulled out, then mom said we didn't need that many, we really needed that many. They also have a change machine. If you put $20 in you get $20 of quarters. It doesn't give change back if you only want a portions of quarters. We only spent around an hour there, but I could have stayed longer. I was having so much fun, but we ran out of quarters. Too bad, there were so many games to play. The front room were the oldest games and gave you the most plays for your 50 cents. I believe all those games gave you 5 balls. For beginners like us we need all the balls we could get. The cost of the machines are not on the coin slots it's on the bottom left corner of the pinball machine. These machines take quarters only, no game card that you have to refill with money. I really dislike those cards as if you put too much on there is no getting your money back. So yea! For the use of quarters. I love this feature of The Flipper Room. They have my vote. Other pinball places also have a feature that I'm not sure about, they have it where they charge you by the hours. There is one in Reno like this and Downtown Sacramento. Those have those pluses too, but I really am a fan of the quarters. We have so many saved up in our piggy banks so it's like it's' free to play as we aren't going to the ATM, it's just free change. I had fun playing the pinball machines and also playing the PAC-Man Game. It was just a regular arcade game that cost 25 cents. It was. A mini game that they t up on a riser so you didn't have to bend down. I have fond memories of PAC-Man. We used to have a mini handheld version that was lots of fun. My mom is one of those annoying players that keeps hitting the flippers when the ball is no where near the flippers. We tried to explain to her that's not how to operate the pin ball machine, but she got really mad at us. We're sorry Flipper owner. We tried. I highly suggest you check this place out. Even if you aren't in the area it's worth the trip. They have both new and old school machines. There are 3 rooms of machines so if you bring a group you won't be cramped. Come play and have fun!!!

I had the honor of escorting one very excited astrophotographer and his girlfriend (my Goddaughter)…read moreto experience a talk by Dr. Filipenko on the 150th anniversary of the James Lick Act of Congress. The talk started at 7:45 pm in the evening, and went well into 9 pm after the speaker allowed for a short Q&A session. I learned more about James Lick and how generational wealth was built than I'd ever imagined possible on a Sunday. Unfortunately for us, humidity was at an all time high, so we only had the opportunity to look at these massive telescopes, instead of gazing at the far away stars they were built to study. I did get to walk through The Chabot science center and see how fun it would be to come back with you get kids. Can you believe, you can even decorate a postcard that they will send to space. I would now like to design a piece of mail destined for space. Also, you can come out on Friday and Saturday nights and get the opportunity to look into the heavens with these giant creatures. I guess, this just means I have a rain check to visit Oakland in the near future.

I hadn't been to Chabot in a very long time. I took Empress and we had a pretty good time. Seems…read morelike there were more interactive exhibits back in the day but we still had fun. The exhibits are very educational and enlightening. I'd like to go back in the evening and experience the telescope views. There's plenty for the kids to experience! #GoSee

If you're expecting an immersive, interactive experience where you'll feel like you won't have…read moreenough time to do everything, then you'll be sorely, sorely, sorely disappointed. The first problem is that it's called a museum--I know, where else do you keep T-rex fossil casts other than a museum? you've got me there, but I want to let your hopes down so that you'll have a properly amazing experience here. The first thing to know is that it's housed in the Valley Life Sciences Building, or VLSB for those of us in the know who use University of California campus building-name acronyms on the regular. It's a living, breathing, working building on campus, which means there are offices and a library, in addition to "museums," which again is a disappointing misnomer. When it was built in 1930, not only was it the largest building in the City of Berkeley, but it was also the largest concrete building in the US west of the Mississippi. It's still the largest building on campus, I believe. When I worked on campus, my classes were often (and my office hours were always) in Wheeler Hall, whose bathrooms leave a lot to desired, to understate it quite ridiculously. So I was always on the lookout for better, less traveled bathroom options. Not just near Wheeler, but everywhere on campus and especially between Wheeler and the western edge of campus, because I often worked part time at my current job while also working as a reader at UC, so I was always walking back and forth between campus and our office in Downtown Berkeley. Anyway, I thought i had found a perfect candidate in a particular men's room on a particular side of a particular floor of VLSB. Who would enter this random, imposing building looking for a restroom, and even if they did, who would go anywhere but the bathrooms on the first floor? Happy with myself, after my second visit to the secret bathroom, I was about halfway back to my office when I realized I didn't have my wallet. I remembered taking it out of my pocket in the stall, so I rushed back up there. And what did I find? My wallet was sitting there on the toilet-paper dispenser, my ID, debit card, and credit cards still there. Whew! But I was also aghast, because the $36 I had in cash was missing. I'm still conflicted to this day--replacing my license and credit cards would have been a huge pain, and if someone had returned my wallet to me, I probably would have rewarded him with at least $20. So should I be angry for this person for stealing from me but not making it as bad as it could have been? I don't really know, and I haven't been back to that benighted bathroom since. So here's the best way to experience the Museum of Paleontology: By total surprise. The first time I came in here, I had no idea I'd find these Pteranodons floating around or this Tyrannosaurus rex hanging out near the staircase. Yes, take the elevator to the fourth floor and then take the stairs down. You'll be so wowed. It's amazing. And that's how you have a four-star experience. Just don't give kind thieves the opportunity to steal some of your valuables.

Fantastic exhibit- open to the public for free during museum hours. Great for toddlers- you can…read moretell because all of the glass for cases below 3-4 feet is stained with hand prints. Amazing nearly complete T-Rex skeleton on display with a pterodactyl in flight above it. They are arranged beautifully in the atrium, ringed by a spiral staircase. I also loved the entomological displays- especially the beetles. Park in the lower Sproul garage and walk less than 5 min. Pack a lunch to eat in the courtyard or under the canopy in the eucalyptus grove by the creek outside.

I visited this museum on a whim and didn't have much time, but it is definitely on my list to…read morerevisit before summer ends! General admission is $25, but they participate in Museums for All, which is a great perk. I brought my 20-month-old and was thrilled to find so many age-appropriate activities for him to explore. The absolute highlight was the moving dinosaurs outside, set against a beautiful backdrop of the bay, a view that adults will definitely appreciate even if the toddlers don't notice! Definitely a great place to snap some photos. The bottom floor features animals and exhibits, and I noticed a cafe that I'd love to try for lunch next time. My only critique is the customer service. Some staff members, including those at the front desk, weren't very welcoming or acknowledging. Since this is such a family-oriented space, a simple smile would go a long way! It didn't ruin my experience, but better service would prevent it from taking away from anyone else's visit. Highly recommend overall!

$5 on a Sunday? I think, yes! I may have gone to the Lawrence Hall of Science for a field trip when…read moreI was younger, but coming back as an adult and now a mom, how fun! The views while parking are incredible and if ya know, ya know. While they do have a new cafe located on the bottom level ('ammatka Cafe; Ohlone-forward food), we did notice a lot of families and people bringing their lunches and sitting outside enjoying the sunshine and Bay Area picturesque stunning views. Speaking of parking, you do have to pay to park. Pro tip for those with a stroller: drop off one parent/group with stroller at the entrance and have the other park/pay. There is a distance/stairs pending where you park. Remember your license plate number to pay-by-machine. There's a parking app you can download too. I wish we checked out the website ahead of time to know all the hands-on exhibits and fun that we could embark on, but we were there on a spontaneous whim, and explored so many things! From electronic dinosaurs outside, to exhibits currently about making music, the future of food, and an animal discovery zone, there is so much ground to cover and truly a little something for everyone to enjoy. We will definitely be back! For littles, the downstair floor (there's elevators) has a super cool room that provokes shadow play, dance, and magna-tiles. This floor also has the animals!

This was a wonderful venue to host our daughter's Sweet 16 Birthday Party! The indoor hall was nice…read moreand air conditioned on a hot August day, and the outdoor Gardens area was perfect for all of the games we set up for our guests to play. We also paid a small additional fee to have two museum tours added onto our party package. The museum tours were a hit with our guests of all ages and was so cool to get private tours of the Galindo house and upstairs museum in the hall. There are also elevators for our guests who struggled with stairs. Gerry Ellen was a wonderful coordinator and helped walk us through all of the details from beginning to end. I highly recommend this venue for your party rental location!

We had a wonderful afternoon visit. The docents shared so much information. It was interesting and…read morefun. I have driven by for years and finally went in. So glad I did. Parking lot behind the house was so convenient too.

This is one of the coolest car-related things I've ever done…read more The Cobra Experience (which is a non-profit) periodically has an event called "What's That Third Pedal For?" This event which happens bi-monthly provides an eclectic group of cars with a variety of transmissions to learn on. I had not driven a manual transmission car for at least 9 years (when I had parked a vintage Porsche 911 during a previous job - BOY that had a heavy clutch) and for $30.50 ($15.50 if you're between 15-20), this was an absolute no brainer! The cars provided today were a Nissan Pathfinder Northwest Edition, 2005 Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z51 package, 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 289 HiPo, and a Superformance Shelby Cobra reproduction - not just any reproduction but the one that was used on-screen in Ford Vs. Ferrari(!!!). The course is designed to have participants get the chance to drive each car around a designated area surrounding the museum for 2 laps after receiving an initial ride-along lap with the instructor beforehand and parking in the designated 'pit' area to swap seats. This included multiple stop/starts to practice clutch release, upshifting and downshifting. All the cars appeared to be well-cared for and the instructors were super patient and helpful. My goal for this was to see if I could get through it without stalling. Not only did I manage this goal even with the GT350 and Cobra having no power brakes/power steering and super-heavy clutches, but all 4 instructors gave me high marks. What an absolute treat, and on top of that they gave each participant schwag bags filled to the brim and even a poster! WOW! I highly recommend this event alone as if you are looking to practice stick-shift. It's a fantastic way to do so in a safe, controlled environment as well as potentially drive special cars as a bonus for a very reasonable price. I'll definitely go back to the museum soon for a visit. Thank you to everyone the Cobra Experience, this was AWESOME!

Really amazing place, amazing cars, and truly amazing staff. Don't miss out on this place…read moreseriously. Don't listen to that guy Grigor with the bad review he sounds like a real loser. I will be back to the Cobra Experience forsure!

Fantastic interactive train exhibit going on currently. It's so cool with even ceiling things going…read morearound.

This is a cute little museum. We came here specifically for the train exhibit, which is only on…read moredisplay for a few weeks in the summer. The train exhibit was really impressive. There's the main display, with several trains continuously running. The details were incredible. There's also a small table with wooden train tracks and little train cars for young kids to play with. Then there's a smaller running train display with several motorized scenes, like log cutting and a moving crane. Our little guy (2 years old) didn't want to leave. And of course, there's a small gift shop you pass through upon entering and leaving. Overall, lots of fun for little kids. The place is pretty small though, so it does get a little cramped on weekends.

We visited here for the first time today to check out the current exhibit "Reclaimed: the art of…read moreRecology". If Recology sounds familiar, that's probably because you've seen the name emblazoned on the recycling containers that you put out at the curb every week. Get this - the recycling company has had an artist-in-residence program for over thirty years, in which they sponsor artists with studio space, a stipend, and access to the unwanted detritus of the city with which they create art. The Bedford Gallery has curated an excellent exhibit of a small sampling of the works of over 200 artists and students. The art works are an impressive transformation of things like coaxial cable, plywood scraps, broom handles, Ikea shopping bags, 16mm film, and innumerable other discoveries that others have purged from their lives. To call this mixed media is an understatement. The gallery staff were very friendly today and were pleased that someone had actually showed up. We walked in about an hour after opening and they said we were first; no one else entered during our longer-than-expected visit. Such a shame, really, because this place is just a block from the downtown shops and restaurants. If the other exhibits throughout the year are this good, then Walnut Creek has an underappreciated jewel here. We'll be keeping an eye on their future exhibits. We were able to visit this place free of charge using our local library's Discover and Go program. This is also available to users of the Contra Costa County Library system. The regular price of admission is a nominal $5 for persons 13 and older - not bad at all for a little cultural interlude.

I went to their "multi-sensory experience" Rock N roll Friday because they stated "you're invited…read moreto take in this extraordinary collection while reveling in the soundtrack of the psychedelic generation." And guess what that consisted of?: Someone's Spotify barely audible in the background. Completely misleading. Not sure what the point of the show was : there was no overarching show description anywhere , mostly B side prints and a few prints that weren't abstract at all thrown in.