Children's Natural History Museum

There have been MULTIPLE instances where I have passed by this museum every time I visited Fremont and each time I asked I was told, "nah, it's not for you. It's really only just for kids and not really for adults", so I've never had the opportunity to go until recently and I'm glad to say that it's NOT just for kids, but it's definitely a GREAT place for kids to come and learn about the local natural history.The workers there are extremely kind and welcoming. Super helpful and I loved my entire time there. You can tell that this museum has been a staple to the community and that it's well loved by all those who visit. There's a scavenger hunt for little kids and big kids with a prize at the end (we got the big kids one, lol), an arts and crafts room, an electricity show (sad that we missed it!), lots of interactive exhibits that aren't too overwhelming (not a fan of touch screens and tablets everywhere, so a lot of the analog and hands on stuff was really, really nice), and a gift shop. There's also meetings rooms and such, probably for the field trips that visit.First off, the gift shop. I LOVED IT SO MUCH! The fact that there are actual items that are under $1 and that a child can purchase with pocket change is amazing. It's not junk either since you can get various shells, minerals, stones, and toys/items that are tangentially related to what you see going through the museum. Definitely got a bunch of souvenirs here and I really wish that I went during the school year cuz there's lots of small trinkets and knick knacks that would have been great for my middle school class! For all those crystal/gem people, it is definitely and INFINITELY much cheaper to get the crystals here than at any new age healing shop, just a side note haha. They also had a section with some lab items that are sold at a cost that is MUCH, MUCH cheaper than what I've seen on some STEM teacher supplies catalogs. There were even some free Periodic Table mats as well.Amazing! But now onto a review of the actual museum! The exhibits are on the second floor along with the arts and crafts room. If more time permitted I can easily spend hours here as there is a lot to look at, read, and engage in. As mentioned above I really like that this museum isn't like so many of it's more modern counterparts. It was nice to focus on what was in front of me and actually pick it up and interact with it (the ones that you are allowed to touch of course), especially in a matching and sorting sense (great way to get that pattern recognition thinking and learning for kids and adults likewise) without being overwhelmed by touch screen voices/recordings, etc going off at once. There's also something very nostalgic, familiar, and heartwarming about how aged some of the décor and how obviously homemade some of the stations are. Once again showing the love and care that went into everything.Now, I have to say that I am IMMENSELY impressed from the standpoint of a STEM major and from someone whose gone a decent amount of museums by the VAST collection of fossils, specimens, and REAL pieces of history that they have here. ALSO, from the standpoint of someone whose worked with zoomers before, very, very impressed that so much of it is OUT IN THE OPEN for the public to view. I've been to the LA Natural History museum and this children's museum has things that that huge museum does not and that is mind blowing for sure. I have never seen a taxidermy river otter, koala, or bear cub before. They had so many marine fossils and specimens of crustaceans that I have never seen preserved in such a way either. The 2 things that amazed me the most were the pieces of local natural history such as the fossils of prehistoric mammals that were found in Fremont or nearby and what may potentially be two real human skulls on display (how they got there, I REALLY wished I asked but completely forgot).If there's an opportunity to, I would LOVE to go back and learn, interact, and explore some more (and go shopping in their gift shop again).

Such a fun place for kids to see and observe fossils, learn about local paleontology, and do a scavenger hunt with a prize at the end all for $3 per person! What a steal! It's a very small museum in a very old office building. But it's a hidden gem. Probably best for kids at least 4-5 and up. The artifacts are fragile and kids need to be able to follow directions to not touch things that shouldn't be touched. But there are hands on activities as well. Highly recommend!

I was so pleasantly surprised with this museum and my kids loved it!! The quality of experience beats all of the fancy (and pricey) science museums we have been to all over the bay. There are several themed rooms chock full of lovingly curated specimens and intricate activity centers to touch. There was so much content to absorb I wouldn't mind strolling through it again by myself as an amateur rock collector. My 3 and 5 year old had plenty to do even if more play oriented like the Montessori puzzles or fossil sand pits. My favorite activity were the silhouette-object matching exhibits to teach us new names of rocks, minerals, mollusks and more. The most delightful surprise was an electricity demonstration by adult and high school volunteers. It was a private lesson with lots of question time and only a few other families. My kids were in every curiosity sparking and hair raising demo. We blew through 2.5 hours and their brains were activated and just buzzing on how best this day was. I happily bought very reasonably priced souvenirs including the life cycle of a stag beetle set which is pretty disgusting in its realism and sticky feet you throw out like a frog tongue. You will smugly say to yourself on your way home 'I am winning parenting today!'

A true gem to have in Fremont. I love the interactive learning at this cute little museums, Focused on teaching kids about various science topics. They offer geology and life on Earth, with details connecting details about the local area. I've visited for the third time with a school field trip. Schools should take advantage of arranging field trip to such museums that offer a local insight into science and history. Kids leave learning new fun facts and details. Today adventure was based on dinosaur fossil and local history of Fremont and union city. I found it intriguing that after the field trip kids wanted to go home and see if they could find fossil in their backyard. The kids loved the story time that connected them to fossil finding. They explored various fossils and minerals. Every learning session was connected to a fun activity that didn't leave kids bored. They also offer learning experience of planetarium and the high voltage exhibit and marine world. I haven't engaged in such learning activities but saw they had learning rooms which would be good for teenagers and elders.It amazing to see dedicate volunteers and educators who put in a lot of effort to keep kids engaged. The highlight of the trip was the gift shop. I loved that it was price friendly. For $5.00 a child can Leave happy with something. My daughter bough various stones and gems, This was a highlight. For $20.00 she was able to buy gifts for her siblings. Hour vary but do visit with your little ones.

I've driven by this place forever (it feels like) and have never thought twice about what it was. Recently I was looking for somewhere to take my son, who's currently into dinosaurs and fossils, and this place was recommended by a few other local moms. What a hidden gem this was! I came with minimal expectations, just something to check out, and was pleasantly surprised with our experience. The employees were super nice, the museum itself is on the second floor of the building and is self guided. There are stations throughout each room that have little activities for the kids which I thought were perfect activities for my kiddos. There's definitely a lot of "do not touch" signs on several displays like other reviews mentioned so I just tried to keep steering my kids away from those displays and let them play with the more interactive stations. We spent the most time in the dinosaur room. We spent about 1-1.5 hrs there and then also hung out in the little "prehistoric garden" outside for a bit while my kids played with rocks and their new toys from the gift shop. The gift shop, by the way, had a lot of neat fun stuff, too! Great visit and for $5 and being so close to home for us, it's a steal!

Trying to find things to do on a rainy day with my 4-year-old, this place came to my mind. I passed this place many, many times, but never thought of visiting - and I am very glad we finally did!Some of the highlights of this place:* Friendly and knowledgeable staffs* Educational exhibitions - great for both kids and adults* Affordable admission ($3 per person as of Dec '19)* Cute little museum storeWe also had a pleasure of meeting Mr. Phil Gordon, one of the "Boy Paleontologists" who unearthed about 20,000 fossils from 58 different animal species in the '40s.We all had a great time. Thank you CNHM!

This is an ok place to take your kids. Yes it's small and barely ever open, but it's cheap and local! It's not as engaging and interactive as big name museums we have in the Bay Area, like the Exploratorium or Academy of Science, but I think it's good for kids to experience different types of museums where they have to read, pay attention to details, and use their imagination. I was nervous about bringing my 2-year-old because many of the exhibits have signs that say "Do not touch," but she definitely touched....and rearranged some signs (which I am not positive I replaced correctly because I don't know the scientific names of all those sea shells....) I feel like a kids museum shouldn't just use signs as a deterrent because she can't read....and she's a lot faster than she looks.... Let's not judge my parenting here...But I figure if they really didn't want kids to touch something, it would be in a glass case to protect it because really....Anywho...there were enough interactive things to keep her occupied for the afternoon and at $3/adult and $0/under age 3, you really can't beat it! It's air conditioned and not crowded. There are lots of cool STEM toys in the gift shop. I would go back just to go shopping!

My kids (ages 7 and 11) *loved* it here. While it was small/cozy and open fairly limited hours, the exhibits were very thoughtfully put together and super fun for the kids! My kids enjoyed the scavenger hunt, all the activities (they wanted to do every single activity!), the electricity demonstration, and interacting with the staff/volunteers, who were incredibly friendly and helpful. We are so happy we found this little gem - highly recommended!

Super fun place. Perfect for the littles. I highly recommend it. The staff is knowledgeable and accommodating.

We've passed this place several times meaning to come in, we finally managed to do it! You can see the place is small from the outside, so I wasn't sure what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised. The rooms are jam packed with so many things. I thought it would be overwhelming, instead the museum does a good job balancing this by giving kids a scavanger hunt (given according to their age) and providing lots of interactive activities to do. We were lucky enough to be there at a slow moment and Ken treated us to a virtual trip through the galaxy. And then later we got to play around with static electricity. Who knew it would be anything but static!And of course, as others have mentioned, discovering all the 'local' dino fossils was pretty cool and the store has a plethora of STEM things to go crazy on. So overall, the museum is small, but the cost is just $3 - and you get a lot of bang for your buck.