Chabot Space & Science Center

I went specifically on one of their First Friday events and really enjoyed it! The interactive exhibits widen your brain and are great for families, but my favorite parts were the planetarium shows. I enjoyed the first one so much that I stayed late to see a second one. It's truly a magical experience, and I learned so much too! There were free telescope viewings in the evening, so I got to see Saturn, but the lines were quite long (30 minute waits to peer into the telescope for a few seconds). Overall I spent about 2 hours in total and didn't even partake in every activity since some were geared more toward the little ones.

First Friday at the Space Center was fantastic! This was my first time going to the Chabot Space Center for this event. I have been to the Space Center before and that was quite some time ago. The music was wonderful and the center was very different attending without children. My children are now grown so I am able to appreciate these things without them. Wow, it's crazy how much you miss when you are trying to reel your kids in while going through the center. They were offering spirit tastings, there were many opportunities for photos and hands on with the space sand. Because there were few distractions, I was able to take my time and read through the history and descriptions of each display. So much more to learn. We spent some time outside enjoying beverages and listening to music. What a nice evening and joyful time with friends. Until next time.

Fabulous First Friday!The teen and I headed to the town for some hands on out of this world high in the sky stuff.Got there early because that's how we roll, and were able to enjoy a couple of the exhibits.Started off with the planetarium show, look through a couple of telescopes, made some key chains, spoke to a few robots, and listen to some tunes.It wasn't too crowded, which was great, and all the volunteers and staff are awesome .Of course we'll be back. We love this place.

I brought my toddler here on a cold rainy December day. It was nice to have her leave the home, but the toddler area was closed for the sock skate. We enjoyed running around the museum, but it's definitely not geared for younger toddlers.

Chabot Space & Science Center is an absolute gem for families, science lovers, and anyone curious about the wonders of the universe! I recently visited with my daughter, and from start to finish, it was an incredible experience. The center offers a perfect mix of hands-on STEM exhibits, interactive displays, and fascinating space exploration content that kept us both engaged for hours. The planetarium show was a highlight--beautifully done, immersive, and educational. We also got to look through the giant telescopes, which was an amazing way to connect with the night sky. What I appreciate most is how family-friendly and welcoming the entire experience is. The staff is knowledgeable and passionate, ready to answer any questions. The exhibits are designed to be fun for kids while still being interesting for adults. It's a great spot to spark curiosity and inspire young minds! If you're in the Bay Area and looking for an engaging, educational, and fun outing, Chabot Space & Science Center is a must-visit. Perfect for a weekend adventure, school trips, or just a day of discovery. Highly recommend!

I will be finishing my last posts now on Yelp.com. My name is Denise C. I came to San Francisco at a tender age and waited a long time to go out to Chabot Space center. It says it is a NASA visitor center..the man Chabot lived here and ran the observatory and telescope station..telescope and I watched a show at the planetarium. It was fascinating visit...the building must have had research and today I saw kids and parents..it's good on the weekend but I wish that people would greet people and spend more time together..better communities thrive..it's been a long time and this is a job.

Chabot Space & Science Center didn't quite live up to expectations. Although it is a nice place to go for a few hours. There's a Colab area where the young kids can have more hands on activities. We went to a science experiment performance which was interesting. However, the telescopes were not open and besides that there wasn't much to see in each floor. It's in a beautiful part of the Oakland hills.

Had an unexpected day off and decided to expand my mind so to speak. Where better than something in my own backyard?Did you ever have one of those moments where you think to yourself: "for God's sake, I live in the freakin Bay Area--People come from all over the world to this place to check out it's wonderful gems. So doing a minute or two of research, I decided to go to the Space Center--it is so cool! Pretty low-key, really great information and a fun planetarium show. I went in the daytime and was surprised to find a very good café, serving Mr Espresso coffee drinks and snacks. Super interesting displays about space. I highly recommend bringing the kiddos or just yourself to have a nice relaxing and informative afternoon. Was impressed to find the space suit from the first black woman who went into space And all the displays are bilingual. The planetarium show before the one I went to, was all in Spanish. It's a super inclusive place without being in yo face about it. Good job, Chabot Space & Science Center- I feel smarter having visited you!

The drive up to Chabot is beautiful, great views. Nice parking structure as well. The facility is just beautiful as well. With Planetarium - hourly shows, I like how they specify the age ranges so we could choose the shows appropriate for our 6 year old.Exhibits - some real sized rockets which were cool to me. The Sputnik module was cool and being able to get into a Mercury module was really coolInteractive exhibits -the build your own rocket was really cool, the kids were assisted by volunteers to make a paper rocket and the volunteers helped them launch them. The paper plane wind tunnel was cool but the volunteer was attaching the paper planes at the wrong end, I saw the instructions and clipped it on the nose side and it worked well. The kids had the most fun at the "fashion" area where they dress mannequins/busts in different fabrics based on their properties to protect the astronaut from different conditions. Next to that is an earthquake table where they could build a block structure and shake it as well "rover" building area. Outside of that were the telescopes which were pretty cool to see though we could only look through the smallest one.The cafe was mostly light snacks and stuff but they had some small pre-packaged salads and eggs (stuff you could buy at Costco). They also had like pre-packaged max n cheese and ramen. Not too expensive in my opinion though I was still hungry.Overall it's a really nice facility with not a ton of exhibits but they are still well done. Probably 3+ hours if you're taking your time. A speed run would be 1-2 hrs depending on the planetarium show.

I had high hopes when we walked into the beautiful multi-million dollar building, but despite the nice exterior, Chabot did not deliver the goods. Chabot's planetarium show was a bad-science/sociology movie, that only a second-grader would not be insulted by. I felt embarrassed that it was even considered science worthy. Most exhibits were photos with poorly worded descriptions. I felt sad to see the rotting space suits on display. (Perhaps NASA was cleaning out its storage room.) They had a 3 or 4 foot 3D model of our moon, but no labels to verify that it was our moon. There were only a few hands on exhibits including the cut out of an astronaut suit for us to pose behind for photos. The only redeeming attraction for me was the telescope. (I'd recommend that school groups make an advance appointment for a lab experience, and please preview the planetarium show for quality.)