Take your kids, even the older ones will get a kick out of this place. Very hands on, kids can run around inside, and there's a decent café to feed everyone. Parking is across the road, but not free. If you go in the summer and it's hot, the paseo park opposite sometimes has a fountain that the kids can run around under. Wonder if that's going to be on with our drought rationing?
This museum reminded me of one back home in Tampa (MOSI). It has a lot of cool exhibits to look at. If in town with my family I would visit again.
The Tech Museum offers constant change to its visitors. The "design your own roller coaster" provides interactive design/simulate/ride experience. IMAX theater offers both entertainment and well as educational films. Good food at reasonable prices in the Café, or visit many local restaurants for a break in the day. There are lockers for storage of coats and such - although most days San Jose the weather is comfortable so extra cloths can stay in the car or at home.The current display on earthquakes is entertaining, and the HUGE building block display of foam building blocks is an opportunity to share, interact, build and experiment. Kids didn't leave till the doors closed at 530
We have been to the Tech a few times. It was great the first time but sunsequent visits have been lackluster. Some of the exhibits were not functioning (and not for the first time) which is really frustrating for the kids. The planetarium shows are great. It also has a fun gift shop. We have enjoyed special exhibits like the Star Wars and Mythbusters exhibits. Overall, though, there needs to be a bit more attention paid to the permanent exhibits.
Our two kids (Son aged 12 and Daughter aged 10 years) went here during the February School break and had a superb time. There was loads of fantastic interactive exhibits and things to educate and challenge one's mind... Covering all areas of technology and innovation from computing, genetics and robotics to all types of engineering and construction to name a few interests. The food in the Café was reasonable value and of good quality. Loved everything about it and would certainly visit again. Highly recommended especially for kids from about 7 years old and up.
My husband and I were in town for the weekend. We've been to a few museums of this kind and always enjoy them for their interactive displays. This museum was no different. One huge bonus is that active duty military get in for free. Plus, the lady gave a discount on my ticket since I was accompanying him. We started off by seeing an IMAX film. Those are always interesting. Then we walked around the museum to check out all the displays. Everything was very interesting, brightly colored and well-maintained. It would be great for kids, but it's also good for a date (as long as you're both kids at heart). We enjoyed making a mini wind turbine and seeing how fast we could make it go.
Went to check this out with no tips about exhibits. Genetics was great for the layman (me) and had some things for the professional geneticist (my wife). Other exhibits were good on the "gee whiz" side but didn't get the explanations they needed. Still worth the visit.
My daughter visited the museum twice - she loved it so much. This was a great introduction for her on earthquakes - she loved the earthquake simulator. She also learned so much more about genes, water conservation, and tons more. She was thrilled with all of the facts she learned from having fun.
My kids really liked this place. It has lots of different displays and hands on experience. The IMAX was wonderful to watch.
My teen daughter and I enjoy science, but I didn't know what to expect. We were surprised to find it interesting enough to stay almost 4 hours there (with a break in the middle to eat at the cafe). As some other reviews said, a fair amount of the computer science displays are a little dated, but my daughter didn't know that info. We especially enjoyed the Wet Lab, which was like being on CSI. If you like science and are a little bit geeky, you'll enjoy it.