Stanford Art Museums

Stanford University has a terrific collection (and free!) spread over several museums. We’ve visited the Cantor a couple different times. It’s open during the day, of course, but also stays open late on Thursday evenings, so it’s great for a … Read More

Asian Art Museum & Main library

We were all surprised by just how much we loved the Asian Art Museum. While my family is Indian, I tend to prefer science-y and hands-on museums in addition to those with Western religious art. Still, we all found this … Read More

Seward Street Slides

We were excited to check out some long concrete slides in a tiny park not far from Twin Peaks. Sadly, we didn’t check the hours beforehand…because it never occurred to me that they would have hours. Rookie mistake – city … Read More

Cable Car Museum

We loved checking out the (free!) Cable Car Museum a few days after our arrival in SF. It was a great introduction to what is, in my opinion (and certainly that of my children), the most fun form of public … Read More

Bookstores in SF

We stopped into several bookstores during our time in SF.  We lived just a couple of blocks from the infamous City Lights bookstore. City Lights wasn’t the most kid-friendly bookstore in the world (a fairly small children’s section, and, at the … Read More

Thin Mint Chocolate Tart

How was your Pi Day?  We had a party and there was much pie and good friends.  What more could one want?  Nothing, there is nothing more anyone could want.  My mom has her master’s in math, so Pi Day … Read More

I kind of have a thing for science museums. What can I say, I’m a sucker for hands-on educational outlets that are simultaneously super fun for my kids. 😉
The Tech Museum in San Jose is the perfect spot for all those things. When we went about a year ago, they had a great exhibit where you could build your own roller coaster and “ride” it in a simulator. They also have the Tech Studio, which has rotating STEAM projects, such as building various flying contraptions and sending them through wind tunnels. They’re constantly changing up the temporary exhibits, but they’re always terrific. There’s also a biology exhibit, a robot-building area, and a section on Internet security.
One of the best parts of the museum is a recent addition – the Body Worlds Decoded exhibit. It’s completely immersive and awesome for kids. The explanations are simply but accurately worded, and give kids (and adults!) a great overview of what the major organs do. Plus, it’s fascinating seeing examples of various plastinated human organs – my kids were especially taken by the blood system.
In addition to the physical organs and great explanations, The Tech has a great augmented reality system to travel “inside” different organs. It’s wonderful for helping kids who may be a little more reticent really get involved and interested in how the body works.
Entry is included with Tech Museum admission.
Finally, take a little break by watching one of the excellent IMAX films available. We saw the National Parks one, and it was so fun seeing the beauty of the country displayed on a huge screen.
The Tech offers reciprocity with a good number of other science and children’s museums around the country, so be sure to check if you have a membership elsewhere!
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