chabot space & science center

Great place to go visit with your children. Very educational and helpful enthusiastic staff. The location is great, you can go hiking right outside the parking area.

Great to take the kids. Might need to look for a groupon when taking the family - it will add up quickly. My company had a evening gala at this venue - quite impressive.

This is a newer observatory, replacing the previous one. It has great exhibits and programs of the sky. There are educational sessions and during special night events the docents explain the sky and what we can see. Very educational and state of the art.

A great place to spend an afternoon learning for kids and adults. Every corner has something to do, see or learn. I try and bring my kids as often as possible. The views are amazing on a clear day and the staff is friendly and helpful.

Overachievers will love this place. Even the staff is still in "school" mode. Too many kids to come here and appreciate it without those of your own. Bathrooms handy, obligatory overpriced gift shop and some seasonal cool displays and science gizmos.

Intimate science museum great for mid school kids and older.Many nights have available viewing through their telescopes, call ahead.

Great play room, wonderful activities for kids on weekends after about 11am, great movies that expand young minds. Your little one will go away loving space and science. Membership gets you invites to great activities after hours.

This mid-sized science center specializes in space and space explorations with a surprisingly deep set of exhibits.

The sites and lessons learned every visit is special and the nights it is possible they open the telescopes for all and the sites of the universe are so special.. it is hard to sayjust need to come and see for ones self..

Was in the bay area visiting family and made a visit to the center. Overall everyone had a great time, especially the kids.The planetarium was very cool. We watched the cardboard rocket show, which was a nice informative show about the planets. I loved the 360 degree theatre.The interactive exhibits were a hit for the whole family. Even I wanted to try and complete the little activities. The discovery lab was fun, my girls could have spent hours in there building, constructing, and playing on the computer.The historic telescopes were ok. Nothing really exciting as far as telescopes go.The climate lab was fun with more interactive activities. The "touch of Sun" exhibit was nice. I love the recent real time view of the sun, very cool to see.No parking fee which is a plus. it's a short drive off the freeway through the Oakland hills with a nice scenic route.

The children will enjoy the interactive exhibits. The planetarium shows are the best. Plan on spending at least 4 hours there.

Me and my husband wants to introduce science to my kids in their early life and this is the best place to go. They were so excited and we were able to watch two shows within the day. The first show that we watch is "Back to the Moon for good" and the other one is all about the "Mayan life cycle". The Planetarium was extraordinarily shape like a doom it make me dizzy since it is right into every ones face, huge but it is cool and I get over after awhile. Their exhibit are interesting and it is more on Astronomy and some hands on to try based upon their exhibits, they also have Evergreen area on how energy was made from simple tests test. They have 3 huge telescopes which is free for viewing to the public. And games wherein you can gain points.They won't take for granted toddlers as well, there is a space for that close to the cafeteria which is a lot to offer and not to get bored. The building was new and well manage, you can bring your own food and take pictures as much as you want. Another thing I really like is the place was secluded and traveling there is like another new world, a lot of trees and uphill so we see a little view of Bay Area. I like the staff and seems like there are volunteers around whom you can asks questions about this and that. We have a year pass and I'm happy for the first day visit.

Me and my husband wants to introduce science to my kids in their early life and this is the best place to go. They were so excited and we were able to watch two shows within the day. The first show that we watch is "Back to the Moon for good" and the other one is all about the "Mayan life cycle". The Planetarium was extraordinarily shape like a doom it make me dizzy since it is right into every ones face, huge but it is cool and I get over after awhile. Their exhibit are interesting and it is more on Astronomy and some hands on to try based upon their exhibits, they also have Evergreen area on how energy was made from simple tests test. They have 3 huge telescopes which is free for viewing to the public. And games wherein you can gain points.They won't take for granted toddlers as well, there is a space for that close to the cafeteria which is a lot to offer and not to get bored. The building was new and well manage, you can bring your own food and take pictures as much as you want. Another thing I really like is the place was secluded and traveling there is like another new world, a lot of trees and uphill so we see a little view of Bay Area. I like the staff and seems like there are volunteers around whom you can asks questions about this and that. We have a year pass and I'm happy for the first day visit.

It Isn't The Griffith Observatory, But Doesn't Pretend To Be. The Staff Were Friendly, The Exhibits Ok, If You Want A Real Experience And See 'Ton' Of Space Memorabilia, Hit The Evergreen Center In McMinnville Oregon...But Was OK For a Couple Of Hours....:)

In 1883, the original observatory was built in Downtown Oakland, California, at Jefferson and 11th Street. The institution back then, was simply known as the “Oakland Observatory,” and was a gift from Anthony Chabot to the City of Oakland.The original telescope provided the public and the community free viewing of the night skies. For decades, the observatory also served as the official timekeeping station for the entire Bay Area, measuring time with its transit telescope.In 1915, the observatory moved to its Mountain Boulevard location as a result of the increasing light pollution and urban congestion. A commemoration marker was placed at the original site in downtown Oakland for the Center's 125th anniversary celebration. Mid 1960s, the facility was renamed the “Chabot Science Center” and expanded considerably. The center was staffed mainly by Oakland Unified School District personnel and volunteers. In 1977, public school student’s access was terminated because of seismic safety concerns to the original observatory facility. The observatory building remained open to the general public, but school activities were limited to outlying classroom buildings and the planetarium.In 1989, the center recognized the need to restore full access of the facility, either by repair or relocation, formed a Joint Powers Agency with the City of Oakland, the Oakland Unified School District, East Bay Regional Park District, and in collaboration with the Eastbay Astronomical Society.In 1992, the center was recognized as a nonprofit organization and the project was led by Chabot's Executive Director and CEO, Dr. Michael D. ReynoldsIn 2000, the opening of the new facility, the organization changed its name from Chabot Observatory & Science Center to “Chabot Space & Science Center.” The new name was chosen to better convey the organization's focus on astronomy and the space sciences, while communicating both the broad range and the technologically advanced nature of programs available in the new Science Center.• The center is named after the father of hydraulic mining and benefactor of the original Oakland Observatory, Anthony Chabot.The new Chabot Space & Science Center is an 86,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art science and technology education facility on a 13 acre site in the hills of Oakland, California. The museum is an affiliate in the Smithsonian Affiliations program.The original telescopes, “Leah,” along with her companion, “Rachel,” were moved to the Skyline Boulevard site in 2000. An additional telescope and third largest was added and goes by the name of “Nellie.”• In 1883, the telescope "Leah" was built and is an 8" refractor telescope. The telescope was built by Alvan Clark and donated by Anthony Chabot.• In 1914, the telescope "Rachel" was built and is a 20" refractor telescope. The telescope was commissioned from Warner & Swasey with optics coming from John Brashear. This is the largest refractor telescope in the Western United States and is regularly opened to the public. • In 2003, the telescope "Nellie" was built and put on line and is a 36" reflecting telescope. This telescope is housed in a rolling roof observatory.Chabot Space & Science Center has served San Francisco Bay Area schools and citizens with astronomy and science education programs since 1883. The center was designed as a hands-on center featuring interactive exhibits, a digital planetarium, a large screen theater, hands-on activities and three powerful telescopes.Our visit:Our son was researching the stars for his school project and this center was one of the places we decided to visit because of its telescopes and its studies on astrophysics (stars, planets, our own planet, etc.). The day we traveled to this center, traffic wasn’t bad and driving through the hills and seeing the trees made it a pleasant trip up. Parking also wasn’t an issue because we arrived just as the center was opening and the crowds hadn’t arrived, which wasn’t the case a couple hours later.The center itself has a myriad of activities and exhibits to see and do. As you work your way upstairs which has the three large telescopes your constantly stopping to see the exhibits’ they have on display to the hands on stuff for the kids.Our kids had the most fun, I think in the center’s “Climate lab” where everything is hands on and challenged you to accomplish different tasks.We were able to see the “Tales of the Maya Skies” in their Planetarium.The culmination of this trip was to see the telescopes out on the Observatory Deck, which were impressive to see and hear about. Of course there were many questions from our children regarding the telescopes and how they were built which was answered by the center’s friendly staff. We also didn’t get a chance to view the stars because it was the afternoon by the time we left.The kids had a good time and my son was able to obtain the necessary information for his research paper.