Chabot Space & Science Center

So many bad reviews for this place. Really doesn’t deserve it except for the Bean Sprouts Café which could have been better. We went here on a sunday with our 4 year old and 7 month old. We live in San Jose and left around 11 and took about an hour to reach. We were there from 12 – 5.
Once we were there, we had lunch at the Bean Sprouts Café. The service was just okay. We had a small cheese pizza (was very good), mediterranean salad with grilled chicken (never got the chicken and I just remembered that) and my husband had a veggie sandwich (the one with hummus) and he said it was good. We later came back for some coffee and had 2 cappuccino’s which was ok and not too bad. We also ordered two organic ice creams and they forgot to give us 2 and instead just gave 1 and had to ask for it again. So make sure they give you everything you order as they seem lazy/​forgetful. (lesson learnt)
As for the exhibits themselves, there were quite a few of them on two separate floors. I am not going to go into each and every exhibit as the other reviews already mention them, however my 4 year old son had a good time and we also learnt a thing or two. To get the kids more excited, make sure to watch some space related videos on Youtube with your kids before you get here if they are very young.
The best part was the observatory which was open during our afternoon visit. At one of the observatories, we had a chance to see the star ‘Sirius’, brightest star seen from Earth’s sky which is around 8 light years away. My husband now wants us to go back for a night time viewing of all the planets in our solar system (how cool is that!!)
We also went to the show Cosmos 360 — all about mars. It was a little too informational for very young kids (8 and under) and more for adults or teens. My son just kept asking me why they are only talking about Mars and not showing the other planets :-) He was saying ‘not again’, every time they said ‘Mars …‘
I give this place 4 stars since it has the potential to improve the exhibits. The good thing was that it was not crowded at all and we got easy parking and sometimes were the only ones in exhibits so we could spend more time experiencing ‘sand storms on jupiter’, ‘volcanic eruptions’ etc.
The reason it was not crowded could be that this place is not an easy drive and is in Oakland. But that’s a good advantage if you plan to go on a long weekend or any weekend for that matter.

I’m astonished this museum rated at 4 stars. It was one of the worst I have ever been to. Upon entering we were told the planetarium was under construction and there would be no movies playing. Not the end of the world but annoying considered it was not advertised on the website. We were told that another «mega theater» was open and about to show a movie. The mega theater is like a small iMax. When they start the movie it’s only on a small square of the entire dome theater. It was pitiful. The exhibits are old, dirty, and uninteresting. We did the entire place in about 30 minutes. The only reason I wasn’t steaming mad was bc we got in for free thanks to the Bank of America «free day». Had we paid 18 $ a person to get in I would have been really upset. Such a rip off of your paying. Save your money. Terrible place.

Can;t imagine going here and paying full price. We got the groupon and even that’s a stretch to justify. I’ll repeat what others have said. The place is tired and has been neglected for probably the last 10 years. (for example, exhibits with no new data updates since 2007.) also inexcusable are the exhibits which don’t have any supplies — basic stuff like paper. the best thing is the movies which are included with admission. also the young people with their tables set up for science demos were a highlight. i guess this place is all about the telescopes, and management doesn’t really care to keep the rest of it up to date.

Great place to take the kids but there should be separate times for the public n students. I didn’t like that they let the students in for the show at the dome when I was first in line n was waiting way before anyone. A must experience for anyone to check out

I was honestly a little disappointed by this museum. Some of the «not recommended» reviews have said this but I think they’re right – a lot of the exhibits were either uninteresting or not functioning. And there weren’t that many to begin with. I was really looking forward to the planetarium show but it ended up being more of a history/​folklore lesson than one about stars or planets. The center is definitely geared more towards kids (especially those under 7) and provide little to no value to adults or even teens. That’s why I think an $ 18 admission is a rip off.
To give them credit, the authentic pieces of spacecraft were really cool, but those few pieces are not enough to support an entire museum.

This place is awesome and is great for families with children. There is so much to do, see and learn. Even if your kids aren’t into space and science, bring them here and maybe this place will change their minds. The drive is absolutely beautiful, especially at night because you see the bay bridge and the lights of the bay area. It’s very scenic and beautiful. It can be difficult to find if it’s your first time driving here, especially at night but the signs are large and well lit that you cannot miss it once you approach the driveway to the center. The roads wind a lot so it makes you question if you arrived or lost, but keep following the directions of your GPS (if you have one) or map etc. and you will find it.
There’s a ton of cool gifts and other goodies at the gift shop. I ended up browsing for 30 minutes or more in there alone. The people are very friendly and happy to answer any questions or guide you to the restroom if you need it. I’m very pleased with this place indeed and thinking about getting a membership!
Pros: Location, free parking, awesome gift shop and TONS to do!
Cons: Drive, although it’s scenic the center itself can be hard to find if you aren’t familiar with the area. You can easily get lost.

In a beautiful location. Small museum, but still cool. Planetarium shows are fun to watch. The telescopes are huge and amazing, never get to see them being used since I always come when it’s foggy and raining :(Telescope staff are informative and helpful.

PROS:
— Decent hours
— Lots of activities for kids (now my geared for above 6 years old)
— Interactive activities to stimulate young minds
— Space theater is AWESOME
— Observation deck is great for nice days/​evenings
— Great and healthy chooses for food (vegetarian options available)
— Free parking and lots of it too
— Staff are very interactive and helpful
— The place is clean and well maintained
— Lots of cool things to take photos of and with
CONS:
— Up in the hills of Oakland so it takes awhile to get to and sometimes hard to find if you don’t have directions
— Semi overpriced and don’t think kids under 5 should be charged
— Can get really busy on the weekends
— Lots of schools take field trips here during the week
— Overpriced gifts at the gift shops
— Observation deck is closed on days where there is bad weather

Hello Chabot staff,
Your center & museum used to be a very cool place for kids to visit & learn from which we enjoyed a lot. However, over the past months we’ve found more & more of your exhibits, learning centers & equipment becoming increasingly dysfunctional, especially those in the «Bill Nye’s Climate Lab Exhibit».
Thus, I write you here to urge you to keep up your good work & the maintenance of the quality of your center & museum. We have great interest in seeing you being successful & popular among kids & schools. Thanks for your attention!

I’m with a 5 y.o. kid.
First attempt to visit failed, they were closed due to power outage with website having no info on that. Kid was very disappointed, but they were kind enough to refund and to give vouchers for a free visit next time.
Next time was better.
1. Cardboard rocket show was amazing, kid loved it
2. Back to the moon show was terrible, a boring story about how cool it would be to get $ 12M from Google if you win their contest
3. There were plenty of activities to spend rest of the day there, but Lego lab sold out
Overall it can be a nice experience if you plan ahead and get Lego tickets at the front desk upon arrival.

Pretty good. They dedicate a disproportionate amount of square footage and effort with «Bill Nye the Science Guy» and environmental issues… especially since this is a SPACE (not Earth) center.
Also, the projectors in the theater (as noted by others) are just not bright enough to really see the movie they played.
But overall, the place is enjoyable and we plan to make this a regular place to visit.

Went with my child’s class here on a fieldtrip today and left feeling so disappointed. With the look of things, I’m surprised this place hasn’t closed down.
SORRY
#1 we were highly warned beforehand to not leave any valuables in our cars in the parking garage area, which makes sense when going to any touristy type place… but their signage on this and communication to our leaders seemed a little over the top obviously indicating they have had issues with this.
#2 all the exhibits inside seemed a bit out of date, non-​functional and/​or not so interesting. the floorplan of the building itself was just wierd, twist, broken up & hard to navigate
#3 we hardly saw any staffing all day. i kept looking to find a staff member «outside of the café’ ladies» just to ask a question and couldn’t find anyone to assist
#4 their exterior of the building & outdoor area was totally unkept. There was trash piled up everywhere and the retention pond had yucky brown water (poor fish inside, not sure how they’re surviving) — even their flower beds that should’ve been landscaped had weeds everywhere
#5 we gathered as a class to watch a show in their planetarium and the movie/​video itself kept having technical difficulties multiple times throughout the viewing. The operator had to keep coming on explaining that he was sorry for the glitches and that he’d try to get them fixed. The video/​film seemed very old as well. A bit shocking that they couldn’t show something a little more current /​it was just o.k. Honestly, every kid I spoke with said, that was soooo boring. :(
PERKS
#1 About the only thing «going» for them was their café’ (which featured lots of organic/​healthy menu options) and their gift shop — sad to say… as these 2 items should NOT be the main attractions of this place
RECOMMENDATION
Highly recommend checking out the Exploratorium in SF on the pier if you really want to be amazed not only as a child but also as an adult. Lots of fun to be had there and science to discover.

I went here on a class trip with my kidlet, and it was a BLAST. At mimimum it is one fantastic photo op after another. At beast it is a very approachable way to let children understand the basics of some very high level science by a variety of means– tactile workshops, and interactive displays in addtion to a planitarium (fell asleep immediately).
I took thousands of pictures, and really enjoyed the workshop «Moon Mania!» now I know how to tell if the moon is waxing or waning and learned what a gibbous moon is. I also got schooled by some amazing second graders who were regulars there– they knew all sorts of scientific facts that I didn’t.
One gripe is that some of the displays/​interactive exhibits are broken– missing pieces, or don’t work exactly as expected.
Once a long time ago, I went here to look at a comet through their big telescope in the middle of the night, and there were all these amateurs with their own telescopes hanging out. It was happy geek city.

My son loves space and science so we had to check this place out. Since I didn’t know what to expect we went on a $ 5 Friday. It was not overly crowded and there were some neat and insightful exhibits. Some info. provided was over my head, but I am no Einstein. I think this is a place worth visiting; however not a place I would visit more than once other than to view space from their ginormous 100 year old telescope. Check the weather, as best time for viewing are clear nights in spring or fall.

I read through Chabot’s web page and have to wonder what on earth I’ve just read.
Never before have I seen such a self-​serving, pandering statement of contempt for visitors. Treating us as morons just doesn’t work…
It is very obvious to me that CSSC’s web page designer or authors have compiled a list of keywords (or buzzwords) which are machine-​scored by those assessing the content of websites for points, thrown these buzzwords out onto the Internet solely for the sake of getting a high score from another computer that they can use for their personal self-​promotion. A number of statements made in CSSC’s webpage don’t even make sense, let alone convey a coherent and well thought-​out plan to present either SPACE or SCIENCE to the general public. Chabot’s webpage screams of incompetence; a general lack of understanding of science itself; and utter contempt for the intelligence of the average visitor. Maybe CSSC should drop all pretense and obfuscation and just call itself «The Bill Nye Rubbish Heap of Self-​Aggrandizement.»
What a horrible wasteland of a museum — which, save for the telescopes, is all that it is. It smells of decay, mildew, and a staff far-​too self-​concerned with bolstering their own salaries and protecting their rice bowl than serving the interests of the public.
The very fact that in 2016, the most recent financial statement available online is from 2011. As an analyst who picked apart the financial statements of commercial airlines for a Fortune 50 aerospace company, I can assure you that their statement doesn’t ring true: to my professional nose, it smells of graft and corruption — which explains why so many politicians who don’t give a damn about space, astronomy, or science are on Chabot’s boards. The fact that Chabot looks and smells dirty, that the planetarium amphitheater smells of mildew, that their planetarium machine (or whatever it’s called) hasn’t operated for 8+ years — but that CSSC’s staff has chosen to pour the general fund, public funds, and donated estates into the Bill Nye Monument of Excess and Narcissism tells me that one or two dominant personalities have ruined not only the facility, but its future viability. When you look past the website buzzwords, you see what Carl Sagan once termed as «…the dreams of the provincial schoolteacher…» — devoid of substance: empty, and corrupt.
The parking garage at CSSC Is a feeding ground for thieves and vandals. Security? Non-​existent! Hopefully, this won’t become a hangout for rapists and robbers (over and above the staff, who seem to be leaving CSSC like rats deserting a sinking ship). At night, young toughs drive around in their low-​riders, rap music blaring, not worried about being seen breaking into the vehicles of visitors to avail themselves of stereos, airbags, and the odd possession left foolishly in the vehicle.
More than half of the hands-​on exhibits don’t work. There’s no one there to explain the science to anyone, and after I saw a CSSC staff member loudly dressing-​down a volunteer in public, it’s little wonder! Several rooms that were once classrooms and laboratories sit empty, collecting dust — like most exhibits. Yet this same group of scientific derelicts want to cut down Sequoias to put up some ugly monstrosity of an environmental center. I am forced to wonder whose pockets that project lines.
I also have to wonder if the new Executive Director of Chabot Space and Science Center is going to be given a new BMW like his predecessor (s).
Is Chabot going to rise above the din of the politically-​correct mavens who maintain the CSSC’s primary reason for existing is promotion of the latest questionable science fad while allowing the planetarium and telescopes to decay, unmaintained and not refurbished?
This past week, a new window was opened on the universe; it was a remarkable week for science, and a grand accomplishment for astrophysics, astronomy, and science in general. The staff member whose job it is to garner, cultivate, and foster the public’s interest in CSSC didn’t have a clue as to the momentous events of the week, precisely what I’d expect of a bureaucratic functionary.
This is what happens when CSSC staff members write their own glowing Unilocal reviews.
This is also what happens when science is abandoned in favor of politically-​correct fads.
Chabot Space and Science Center is in deep financial trouble: little wonder! Friends of mine stopped by the Griffith Observatory midweek (first week in February 2016): there was a line outside of people who didn’t get into the first or second planetarium show — a real show, one using an actual planetarium. I called some friends of mine whom I asked to drive by the Gates Planetarium in Denver, which had lines outside in the snow awaiting the next show. Friends of mine in New York City, Tampa and Miami, Florida all tell me that business is booming at those planetariums — especially at the Hayden Planetarium.
And Chabot

The Chabot Space & Science Center is a must-​do for families. We went for the first time today and fell head over heels in love, like astronauts in space. Here are the Top Ten Things We Fell in Love With at The Chabot:
(1) The drive — through the beautiful Oakland Hills and along Skyline Drive, with breathtaking hairpin curves and gorgeous views of the bay every time the dense trees opened up a bit.
(2) The Staff and Volunteers — friendly folk, every one of them. I want to give a special shout out to the young gentleman who helped our older daughter build her first Lego Robot car (she was so proud when it worked!) and the young lady who helped her at the Mars booth, patiently helping her identify the various Rover landing sites.
(3) The IMAX shows — we saw two short documentaries (~25 minutes each) — one about Landing on the Moon, the other about Astronauts. Our two-​year old sat through both of them — scared but fascinated, clutching my hand the whole time.
(4) The onsite café — I’ve written a separate review for the Bean Sprouts café. Long story short — it’s an excellent place to stop by for a bite, just get your coffee someplace else!
(5) The robots — besides the aforementioned Lego Robot car, the girls also played with Anki Overdrive iPhone controlled cars and navigated a moon rover on the lunar surface. They also conversed with a robot who was gliding around the main lobby. Our six year-​old asked him what time it was and he had no idea — after a few Ums and Ahhs he said it was 11:30. Our daughter was not too impressed.
(6) The Plasma Globe — this is in the lower (basement) level. Great fun for kids and grown ups, and a wonderful photo opportunity.
(7) The Scream Booth — this was our two year-​olds favorite. We are always asking her to stop screaming, so she looked at me suspiciously when I told her to scream at the top of her lungs. Keeping one wary eye on me, she let a small scream out and when I applauded, unleashed her entire repertoire. We gave the scream booth a workout this afternoon, and my ears were ringing for a while afterwards.
(8) The Gravity Well — we could not get enough of this. We played for over half an hour, throwing small spheres of steel, plastic, wood and other materials around the well and watching them orbit in interesting ways before plummeting down the hole in the middle. The only reason we left was we started getting the evil eye from other families who wanted a turn (yes, we are THOSE people!).
(9) The Discovery Lab — Ahh, leather sofas and recliners for Papa Bear to rest his weary self on while the Cubs run around playing by themselves. Anytime you need a break at The Chabot, head straight here.
(10) The Value — the $ 59 annual pass for two adults and up to four kids is an absolute steal. Regular price is $ 18 for adults and $ 14 for kids 3 – 12.
So thats my top ten. There are many other things at The Chabot that we didn’t even get to see in the 6 hours we were there. But that’s for another time. Can’t wait to head back!

Chabot Space & Science Center is one of the reciprocal museums I get into for free due to my membership at my local discovery museum. Although better for older children, Chabot is extremely nice with many fun and interesting exhibits. We had an opportunity to see the planetarium show, which was just the right length for our 10 month old son.
My one negative is the discovery room for younger children. It was NOT a safe zone for young children! In actuality, it was one huge mess with hazards everywhere.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. So when, on our first visit to Chabot Space & Science Center, our car was broken into, along with 6 others, and the staff tells us this is on an ongoing problem, we were not impressed. You know this is a problem and you haven’t installed cameras or hired anyone to patrol the SMALL garage!!! We wanted to love this place because we love the stars and planets; we love the wonder & mystery of the universe. But it’s a little hard to lose yourself in the beauty of the stars when your not-​even-​6-​month-​old car has a broken window and your purse has been stolen. Not sure if we’ll be back.

Came to Chabot Space & Science Center to watch a laser show. The show was about 30 minutes long and then we explored the science center at night. Really enjoyed the show and the layout of the place. Good place to bring your kids. Family fun day. Cheers!

This review is for adults without kids thinking about going to Chabot. If you have kids, move on to another review.
This place is really expensive for what you get. It didn’t make us feel any better to know it was free if you were a holder of a certain bank card that day. So there’s a $ 16/​person difference right there. Somehow knowing that many of the people are there for free but you’re not kinda taints the experience.
Almost all of the exhibits are geared for kids. There really isn’t a section that is geared for adults, so you have to dumb down your expectations to that level. Some of the more interesting labs and things seem to be only open if you’re in a group or school event. All the telescopes were closed the day we went (raining).
Didn’t get a chance to see a planetarium show, as the one that was showing when we got there was geared for kids (and we were warned to this when we bought our admission) and we couldn’t see ourselves staying the 2 hours until the next showing. We were there for ~45 minutes and pretty much absorbed it all. Really big letdown overall.
Would have been one-​star for me, but the people that work here are really friendly. One guy could tell that we were there without kids and spent some time going into more detail about one of the spacesuits, which was nice.

Chabot Space & Science Center is a miraculous gem hidden among the hills and forestry bordering Oakland! The drive up the hills along the slithering roads was a treat — an adventure as you journey from the city into the wilderness. The houses slowly disappear, and you’re left with a small road that leads to Chabot.
Lots of displays to look at and to study what it takes to be an astronaut and live in space. A number of shows to view from their 360 degree theater. A fun little Bill Nye science demo/​gaming area for the kids to dip their feet and mind into science!
Three large telescopes to gander at the space above us. During our visit, the smallest diameter telescope was pointed at the moon. The middle diameter telescope was pointed at the stars. The largest diameter telescope… was unfortunately closed. No harm! I would love to return here to visit again!
Walking out onto the outdoor paths to the telescopes was really refreshing. The center is surrounded by trees, and the whole area is just peaceful and relaxing.
Chabot is fun for people of all ages! There were tons of kids when we went, which can get a little hectic when they’re running around and screaming out of excitement. Just take your time and enjoy the center. The perfect getaway from the hectic nature of the city and work.