How to Visit Chabot Space and Science Center with your Toddlers and Preschoolers

Our trip was sponsored by VisitOakland.com

The Chabot Space and Science Center is located in the Oakland hills and full of fun, STEM-focused activities for kids to enjoy. Some activities seem more geared towards older kids, but many exhibits offer STEM-related and hands-on activities for little ones, too.

We ventured up to the Chabot Space and Science Center one weekday to see if it would be a good place to take kids ages 2-5. Maybe it was the fact that our visit inspired my preschooler to have a space-themed birthday party, but our visit convinced me that the Chabot Space and Science Center is a great place to spend a half-day with your kiddos.

We hope these tips will help you plan a trip with your littles to Chabot Space & Science Center. Indoor activities like this are great, especially in the winter and the rainy California weather. Click below to jump to:

Oakland is in Huchiun, stolen and occupied Lisjan Ohlone land.

Before you go:

The Chabot Space and Science Center is located high in the Oakland hills within Oakland Redwood Regional Park. Plan for a windy drive up to the hills.
Open hours are Wednesday-Sunday from 10am-5pm.
Buy your tickets in advance here.
Dress your kids in layers – it can sometimes be chilly in the redwoods even when it is warmer in town.
At the time of this writing, masks were encouraged but not required.

What we packed:

Snacks
Bagged lunch or lunch money
Baby carrier
Layers for cool and warmer weather

BASE COST

Tickets cost $24 for adults 12+, $19 for children 2-12 and seniors 65+, and are free for kids under 2.
Membership may be an option if you’re planning on visiting more than twice.

ADD-ONS

Snacks or lunch

Tips to get the most out of your trip:

1. Plan your day around attending a planetarium show.

A line forms about 15 minutes before showtime. Although we ran to join the queue only a few minutes before showtime, there were plenty of seats!

Depending on your child, the dark room may be scary. Talk to them before you go in and feel free to leave early if it isn’t a good fit.

Check the schedule here.

2. Decide which exhibit to visit first. There are three exhibits:

Studio One:

“The Nasa Experience” is full of hands-on activities that my preschooler fully enjoyed. You can make your own paper airplane and your own robot, and you can even see real space suits.

Studio Two:

The “Going the Distance” studio featured a life-size mission control station, model satellites, and an authentic 7K-OK Russian Soyuz Descent Module that made me claustrophobic to even look at.

My preschooler liked the videos on display showing real astronauts talking about their lives and how they got their jobs.

Studio Three:

The “Other Worlds” studio is located across the courtyard in the second building. Take the cool bridge connecting this building from the first on the second floor to reach Studio Three.

When you enter you’ll see a few exhibits that are designed to teach you about living in another world, including a space dome for kids to crawl through (a favorite of my toddler), and an exhibit focused on how to design your own space suit with fabric, mannequins, and pins.

My preschooler spent an hour there, adding sparkly fabric to her design. I was glad that the “A” for “Art” was included in this “STEAM” museum!

3. Venture outside.

There are two outdoor areas to walk through. Walk past Studio One and the café to explore the outdoors, where you will find picnic tables, umbrellas, a sandpit, and walking paths.

4. Find the Observation Deck.

From Studio Three you’ll find entrance to the Observation Deck, featuring twelve exhibits that help visitors experience the world around them in different ways.

There is a Big Dipper exhibit that my daughter loved, a sun observatory that allows you to learn more about our sun, and a sound observatory where you can listen to samples of different things like birds and earthquakes. It was nice to be outside while visiting the Observation Deck and to be so close to the Observatories.

If you have kids with later bedtimes, there are free telescope viewings on Fridays and Saturdays from 7:30-10:30pm, weather permitting.

5. Bring a picnic or stop at the cafe.

After exploring the exhibits, my kiddos started to get hungry. We bought cheese sticks and yogurt pouches at the café.

You can enjoy your snacks or a packed picnic lunch on clean and spacious picnic tables on the patio. The outdoor seating area is surrounded by redwoods and beautiful.

Overall, visiting the Chabot Space and Science Center was a great way for us to spend our day. We were sponsored by Visit Oakland and {510} Families to review the center and came away with a desire to go back.

Although we arrived at the time the center opened at 10am, visited all three exhibits, saw a show at the planetarium, and ate a snack outdoors, my kids were wiped out by 1pm. When we return, we will probably spend most of our time in the exhibit my preschooler and toddler both loved the most – Studio Three – and then hike in the neighboring Redwood Regional Park.

What I loved most about the Chabot Space and Science Center was seeing the wonder in my daughter’s eyes. She had so much fun, she immediately asked to go to the library to check out books about space, to make a solar system out of paper, and to have a “star, moon, and sun space party” for her fifth birthday.

This is a big deal because my daughter is a princess-playing, tutu-wearing, pink-only kind of girl, so to see her excitement peak around something other than Disney means that Chabot Space and Science Center knows how to make science exciting, fun, and accessible.

Thanks Chabot Space and Science Center!

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Angel

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Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.

How to Visit Chabot Space and Science Center with your Toddlers and Preschoolers