Museums & Educational Attractions in Sacramento, CA
Looking for museums & educational attractions in Sacramento? Here are 16 of them, with the details parents check first: price, opening hours and the right age range.
Sorted by distance from the middle of Sacramento, nearest first. Those are straight-line miles, so every drive is longer than the number on the card.
The California State Capitol Museum in Sacramento offers free tours of the historic Capitol building and Capitol Park led by expert guides, as well as the option…
Uncover the lesser told stories of the Golden State at the California Museum—home of the California Hall of Fame located one block south of the State Capitol in…
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California Museum is home to the Official California Hall of Fame and engages visitors through interactive experiences exploring California's rich history…
A museum dedicated to Sacramento's past, located in the city center. Visitors explore exhibits about the Gold Rush era, including a recreated 1850s newspaper…
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A museum in Sacramento's Old Sacramento district with one of North America's largest collections of historic locomotives and railroad equipment. Families can…
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21 restored locomotives; steam engine train excursions April–Dec; Old Sacramento; Polar Express seasonal
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The Crocker Art Museum was founded in 1885 and continues as the leading art institution for the Sacramento Region and Central Valley. The Museum offers a wide…
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Crocker Art Museum in downtown Sacramento is home to the world's foremost display of California art from the Gold Rush to the present, along with renowned European…
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A contemporary art center in Sacramento's Southside Park neighborhood showing recent work by emerging artists. Exhibitions focus on experimental and…
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The SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity (MOSAC) is a science museum located at 400 Jibboom Street in Sacramento, California. Families can explore hands-on…
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On May 1, 1987 the Towe Ford Museum opened to the public, displaying the personal collection of Edward Towe, which included one of almost every car Ford ever made…
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The Play Museum and Maker's Lab in Sacramento is a creative space where kids and adults explore hands-on exhibits, musical instruments, and maker activities…
Explore one of aviation’s greatest showcases at our spacious Aerospace Museum at McClellan Business Park in Sacramento. Learn about aviation’s past, present, and…
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Aerospace Museum of California in McClellan Park displays commercial, private, and military aircraft from all branches of the Armed Forces across a large exhibit…
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The Roseville Utility Exploration Center is a learning museum in Roseville, CA that offers an inside look at the utility systems that keep the city safe, healthy…
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.
California State Railroad Museum^
Best here for two to five, 1 miles out, listed ages 3–12 and admission from $5.
The Play Museum
Best here for six to nine, 1 miles out, listed ages 3–12 and admission from $60.
California Museum*^
Best here for ten and up, 1 miles out, listed ages 6–16 and admission $8.
Free museums & educational attractions in Sacramento
2 places on this page get you in free. That makes a short trip easy to justify on a day when nobody is sure how long they will last.
California State Capitol Museum
Free to get in, 1 miles out and listed ages 6–16.
Aerospace Museum of California
Free to get in, 9 miles out and listed ages 6–16.
By town
Most of these are not in Sacramento proper, and the town is usually what decides whether a place is worth the trip.
Museums & Educational Attractions in Sacramento
12 of them: California State Capitol Museum, California Museum*^, California Museum, Sacramento History Museum^ and California State Railroad Museum^, the closest 1 miles from the middle of Sacramento and 6 with a published admission price.
Museums & Educational Attractions in McClellan Park
2 of them: Aerospace Museum of California and Aerospace Museum of California, the closest 9 miles from the middle of Sacramento and 1 with a published admission price.
Planning a visit
These run from 1 to 16 miles out from the middle of Sacramento. 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 Sacramento.
Other things to do in Sacramento
Museums & Educational Attractions in nearby cities
Common questions about museums & educational attractions in Sacramento
How many museums & educational attractions are there in Sacramento?
We list 16 museums & educational attractions within 22 miles of Sacramento, CA. Every one is a published listing with an address we checked.
Which museums & educational attractions in Sacramento publish their prices?
7 of the 16 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.
Are any museums & educational attractions in Sacramento free?
Yes. 2 places get you in free: California State Capitol Museum and Aerospace Museum of California.
Which museums & educational attractions in Sacramento suit a toddler?
One of them lists 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 museums & educational attractions?
We list every one we have within 22 miles of the center of Sacramento. 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 Sacramento?
Sacramento has 8 categories of kid-friendly places on Mini Navigators, from playgrounds and museums to splash pads and zoos. The Sacramento hub lists all of them.
Listings last checked August 21, 2026.