Children's Museums in San Jose, CA
There are 6 children's museums in and around San Jose. Each card below shows what it costs, when it opens and which ages it suits.
Sorted by distance from the middle of San Jose, nearest first. Those are straight-line miles, so every drive is longer than the number on the card.
Tech Interactive is a children's museum in San Jose, CA that features hands-on exhibits, IMAX films, and laser shows in the Bay Area's only IMAX Dome Theater…
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Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose is a children's museum located in San Jose, California, where families can explore interactive exhibits designed for young…
Colorful flagship; water play bubble Works construction zone; adjacent to SAP Center
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The Santa Cruz Children's Museum of Discovery in Capitola features 5,000+ square feet of handcrafted interactive exhibits designed for families to explore, play…
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The mission of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) is to build a stronger, more connected Santa Cruz County by igniting shared experiences and unexpected…
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Museum of Children's Art (MOCHA) in Oakland, California is an arts education museum where families can explore hands-on art studios and participate in creative…
Museum of Children's Art (MOCHA) in Oakland, California is an arts education museum where families can explore hands-on art studios and participate in creative…
Children's Creativity Museum is a museum in San Francisco, California that offers hands-on art, design, and innovation experiences for kids of all ages. The museum…
Children's Creativity Museum in San Francisco offers hands-on art, design, and innovation experiences for kids of all ages. The museum builds creative confidence…
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Habitot Children's Museum is a hands-on discovery museum in Berkeley designed for children ages 0-5 years old, where the youngest learners explore through play and…
Free weekly baby and toddler storytimes; all branches; welcoming of all ages
Nearby family resource center; parent and child programming
Arts Benicia’s mission is to stimulate, educate, and nurture cultural life in Benicia primarily through the visual arts. This community based non-profit…
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Modesto Children's Museum is an interactive museum in Modesto, California, where children can engage in hands-on activities including operating a train exhibit…
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Children's Museum of Stockton is an interactive museum in Stockton, California, where children engage in hands-on exhibits designed to foster imagination and…
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The Stars & Moon Art Park is operated by the San Francisco Institute of Possibility, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, which also operates an Innovation Dock for floating…
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MarinMOCA showcases renowned local, regional, and national artists who offer fresh visions of place, person, and planet. As a community anchor and an integrated…
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Where a card says no price or no hours listed, the venue does not publish it. We would rather leave the gap than fill it with a guess. Prices come from each venue's own website, and we publish one only when the figure appears on the page we took it from. Tell us if we are missing one you know.
Which one, by age
Two children three years apart do not have to be a compromise. The age line on every card shows what that venue serves.
The Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery
Best here for under 2, 25 miles out, listed ages 0–9 and admission $12.
Modesto Children’s Museum
Best here for two to five, 53 miles out, listed ages 0–9 and admission $15.
Children’s Creativity Museum
Best here for six to nine, 42 miles out, listed ages 3–12 and admission $20.
Tech Interactive
Best here for ten and up, 1 miles out, listed ages 3–12 and admission $28.
By town
Most of these are not in San Jose proper, and the town is usually what decides whether a place is worth the trip. 2 more towns are represented in the list above.
Children's Museums in San Jose
3 of them: Tech Interactive, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose and Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, the closest 1 miles from the middle of San Jose and 1 with a published admission price.
Children's Museums in San Francisco
3 of them: Children’s Creativity Museum, Children’s Creativity Museum and Stars & Moon Art Park | San Francisco Institute of Possibility, the closest 42 miles from the middle of San Jose and 2 with a published admission price.
Children's Museums in Santa Cruz
2 of them: The Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery and Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, the closest 25 miles from the middle of San Jose and 2 with a published admission price.
Planning a visit
These run from 1 to 56 miles out from the middle of San Jose. Hours move with the season and with school holidays, so check the listing before you set off. If you run one of the places on this page, you can claim it for free and keep its hours and prices right.
Before you go
Grip socks. Almost every venue requires them for children and several require them for adults. Most sell them at the door for a few dollars. Bringing your own is cheaper and means you are not buying a fourth pair.
Check whether adults pay. It runs from free to full price and it changes the cost of a visit by a lot when there are two of you.
Weekday mornings are the toddler rush. If you want space, aim for after two on a school day. Weekend mornings are the busiest hours of the week almost everywhere.
Ninety minutes is the realistic ceiling for most children under five. There is rarely a gradual wind down. Leaving with time left on the clock is not wasted money, it is a better afternoon.
Call ahead in school holidays. Several of these venues run camps and private events that close open play with no notice on the website.
Looking somewhere else in the metro? Browse every kid-friendly place in San Jose.
Other things to do in San Jose
Children's Museums in nearby cities
Common questions about children's museums in San Jose
How many children's museums are there in San Jose?
We list 6 children's museums within 59 miles of San Jose, CA. Every one is a published listing with an address we checked.
Which children's museums in San Jose publish their prices?
7 of the 6 here do, and each price was checked word for word against the venue's own page before we published it. The rest do not publish one, so their card says no price listed rather than carrying a guess.
Which children's museums in San Jose suit a toddler?
9 of them list an age range starting at two or under. Check the age line on each card, because a place that suits a six-year-old does not always suit a two-year-old.
How did Mini Navigators choose these children's museums?
We list every one we have within 59 miles of the center of San Jose. Each is a published place with an address we geocoded and checked, and the business can claim its listing to keep the hours and prices current.
Do adults have to pay?
It varies more than you would expect, from free to full price, and it changes the cost of a visit by a lot when there are two of you. The price on each card is what it costs to get a child in. Where a venue publishes an adult price it is on the listing, and where it does not we have left it out rather than assume.
Do I need to book ahead?
Usually not for open play, but several venues cap capacity at weekends and during school holidays, and some close open play entirely for private events. Where a venue has its own booking page, the listing links straight to it.
What should I bring?
Grip socks, a water bottle, a change of clothes for anyone under four, and a plan for leaving before the meltdown rather than after it.
What else is there to do with kids in San Jose?
San Jose has 8 categories of kid-friendly places on Mini Navigators, from playgrounds and museums to splash pads and zoos. The San Jose hub lists all of them.
Listings last checked August 21, 2026.