Bay Area Discovery Museum

I remember coming here as a kid, and really loving it. Fastforward 30 years, now I have taken my daughter here, and she loves it!This museum is so great because it's geared towards many ages of youth - from zero to 8 years old. There are different buildings focusing on different age groups. I can't say I have visited the older areas yet, since my daughter is a toddler, but in years to come! For the toddler area, she really enjoyed the Ball Room, which had an elaborate trains and tracks that had a cute Golden Gate Bridge. She also really enjoyed the Imagination Playground, which was basically a bunch of giant foam tinker toys, which she loved carrying, throwing, pushing, building, etc. They also had an indoor playground-type area, where you take your shoes off, so it did feel a bit more sanitary. I enjoyed that the exhibits were very hands-on, interactive, and stimulating for my daughter. All were play-based activities, which she had so much fun playing with. This was quite a different experience from the California Academy of Sciences (which I also love!), where I felt I was reading her the educational points at each exhibit. Just different - great in different ways. I was able to find parking on a weekday, although I had arrived a little before 11am, and it seemed almost full?! So weird. The cashier at the front desk said it was a "quiet" day too - I can't imagine coming here on the weekend. The views here are spectacular. It's located right at Murray Circle, so you are parking right on the lawn which overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge. Many of the buildings overlook the Golden Gate Bridge, too! Nice. I am really looking forward to spending more time here. I ended up buying a membership, and if you aren't sure, you can wait until your day is up to decide, and your ticket from the day can be applied to the membership. Also, if you buy in January, you can get one month free! Nice. Can't wait to return!

Kiddo loved this museum and the adults enjoyed it too. So many activities to do indoors and outdoors, she had so much fun and really occupied her for 4 hours straight. Great views of Golden Gate bridge and delicious food from the cafe. $20 per person (adult and kids) is actually pretty reasonable. We came on a day after the rains. The main parking areas were full and had to drive through a lot of mud to get to the side lots. There were some pretty huge potholes.

The Bay Area Discovery Museum is a paradise for young kids! We love taking our kids here and they always ask to come back. We love the focus on STEAM and the variety of rooms to play. This past visit, there was the art print shop, the "how stuff works" room, and iceless skating. The iceless skating was definitely fun for us parents! We also love the many outdoor activities to offer, like the different climbing structures, water play, sand and mud area. It's really a chance for a kids to climb, play, learn and explore. There are plenty of bathrooms around the area. For food, you can bring your own snacks/lunch or buy from snack shop. There some tables but they get filled during lunch time. There's also a little gift shop to buy some goodies. Tickets are pricey as they include parents and kids, but there is a chance to use the amount you paid towards a membership if bought on the same day. And that alone felt worth it!

The Bay Area discovery museum is a hidden gem in the Bay Area. It's the perfect place from toddlers (and older kids). The variety of activities, friendly staff, stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge and overall cleanliness of the facilities will keep us coming back.It's expensive for a 1 day use but the membership is totally worth it!! It's crazy how long you can spend in each room. 5/5 experience!

We adore this museum :) seriously can spend hours here and it's such a pretty setting. A must do if in the north bay.

Tot spot is the way to go for babies at crawling stage and beyond. The other studio rooms and play area is catered more for toddlers and up.Creative aspects going on and great utilization of space in this area. It's superbly convenient if one is looking for a spa day outing and have the babies/toddlers/kids be here to play a bit. There's a spa, restaurant & resort in this remote vicinity. Nice atmosphere. I would come here again for my kid to be entertained.

We came here in a weekday afternoon around 1pm. There was a good amounts of summer camps everywhere inside the museum with small kids. Be sure to bring a jacket as it's right of the water, so it was very windy despite it was a sunny warm afternoon. It was a nice day to enjoy the view of the bay and Golden Gate Bridge. Luckily, we brought food for picnic at the smaller little grass area just right outside of the museum parking lot. The museum didn't have a restaurant, but they have a small little shop with snacks and drinks. The museum is pretty small but very open and close to nature with outdoor activities and has a nice view due to location. Kids spent good amount of time playing outside at the sand box and playing at the slide it was pretty clean and restrooms available. Admission is about $20 pp children and adult (same price)

Mixture of indoor and outdoor learning/play activities. Play structures are geared more towards kids.The bathroom has a complimentary diaper bag with diapers and wipes for people to use, which is a nice touch.Small cafe that took frustratingly forever to order and get food (~40min total). Would recommend bringing your own food.Overall, 3/5 * for children 2 years and under. Was ready to leave after about 2 hours.Pro Tip: You can a free adult and child ticket through your library card via Discover and Go!

This is so grossly overpriced for what it is, I'm still mad about it despite having a coupon that allows 2 free guests. We paid $40 for 2 additional people, $20 per adult and kid.It was crowded the day we went so that definitely didn't help.Like another review said, most things were outside which is annoying if it's wet or cold.The stations inside were dirty and things were missing. Some stations were dangerous and could take a kids finger off if you weren't careful or watching closely.There was nothing to "discover". They had a room with things that were cut in half with 0 explanation into how it actually worked. A sink was cut in half... so what?There was a clay room where you can play with clay but it was so messy and crowded.There were other indoor stations but they were closed.They had 1 tiny little cafeteria.And there was a playground in the back.I'm not sure what I paid for. It was basically access to a playground. Really?I know folks recommend this place for their kids but I wouldn't bother driving all the way here for this place, it's not that special!

The Bay Area Discovery Museum (BADM) is a large campus with plenty of outdoor and indoor activities for the kiddos. There's something here to keep children busy for hours. Multiple outdoor play areas and buildings with activities for the athletic, artistic, inquisitive, and rambunctious. Favorite areas so far for our 3yo son:1. How Things Work - A building with lots of hands-on props like kitchen tools and food, musical instruments, and even a car. 2. There's another room that simulates the SF Fisherman's Wharf with a rocking boat and fishing/crabbing nets. Plus a gigantic toy train set.3. A decent onsite cafe serving healthy pizzas and chicken quesadillas, along with crispy baked tater tots. Decent organic coffee for the parents too.4. Brave and athletic kids may like the various climbing structures and slides scattered about.5. Plenty of restrooms and sanitizer stations My only gripe, and is worth -1 star is the parking lot. Sure its free and huge, but if you arrive before like 12pm you'll need to park on the gravel lot or muddy areas. Tons and tons of potholes throughout. The paved lot is often full right when they open.