Museums & Educational Attractions in San Jose, CA
Looking for museums & educational attractions in San Jose? Here are 18 of them, with the details parents check first: price, opening hours and the right age range.
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.
San Jose Museum of Art is an art museum located in San Jose, California, offering free admission for youth 17 years and under, college students, and teachers with…
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The Tech Interactive is a museum in San Jose featuring hands-on exhibits, IMAX films, and laser shows in the Bay Area's only IMAX Dome Theater. Families can…
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The first museum in the United States to focus exclusively on quilts and textiles as an art form, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles will celebrate its 45th…
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World's only dedicated quilt museum; colorful family-friendly exhibitions; SOFA district
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The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose houses the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts on exhibit in western North America. Families can explore ancient…
History Park at Kelley Park is a museum in San Jose, California where families can explore exhibitions, festivals, and educational programs focused on the diverse…
A museum on the Santa Clara University campus that is open to the public at no charge. The galleries hold rotating exhibitions of contemporary and historical…
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A museum in Santa Clara dedicated to contemporary art since 1965. The Triton shows work by local artists alongside regional and national exhibitions, and runs art…
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Intel Museum is a 10,000 square foot interactive learning space in Santa Clara, California dedicated to exploring semiconductor technology and innovation. Visitors…
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Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California features exhibits exploring the history of computing and technology innovation. Visitors can explore iconic…
A local history museum in Los Altos that collects and preserves material about the area's past. Families can walk through changing exhibitions designed to engage…
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Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo in Palo Alto, California is a place where children and their caregivers explore, discover, and get curious about science and nature…
A community art center in Palo Alto offering classes, workshops, and exhibitions for artists of all ages and skill levels. Families can join in-person classes…
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A museum of modern and contemporary American art on the Stanford University campus, featuring works by artists including Martin, Nevelson, Pollock, and Rothko…
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Wings of History Air Museum in San Martin displays vintage aircraft, aircraft engines, scale models and aviation memorabilia. A small, single-hangar museum that…
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A botanical garden on the UC Santa Cruz campus showcasing plants adapted to Mediterranean climates and dry conditions, with collections from California and the…
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Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History is a museum located at 1305 E Cliff Dr in Santa Cruz, California, offering exhibits on natural history along with fossil and…
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Oakland Aviation Museum is a non-profit museum in Oakland, CA dedicated to educating the public about the historic role of North Field at Oakland International…
The Museum of the San Ramon Valley is dedicated to preserving and celebrating our rich history and heritage. The collections and exhibits reflect our human…
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Local Tri-Valley history; exhibits blacksmithing pioneer life; free admission
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Oakland Museum of California is a museum, garden, and gathering place in the heart of Oakland that explores the big ideas that shape California lives. Families can…
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USS Potomac — FDR's Floating White House is Franklin D. Roosevelt's historic presidential yacht located at Jack London Square in Oakland, California. Families and…
A museum dedicated to contemporary craft and design, the only one of its kind in San Francisco. Visitors explore exhibitions focused on makers, designers and…
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Bedford Gallery at Lesher Arts Center is a museum located in Walnut Creek, California that operates on a pay-what-you-can admission model, allowing visitors to…
Dean Lesher Lesher Center for the Arts is an arts and entertainment venue in Walnut Creek, CA that presents performances, exhibitions, and educational programming…
A 3.5-acre botanical garden in Walnut Creek displaying succulents, cacti, agaves, aloes, yuccas, and drought-tolerant plants from around the world. Families can…
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1903 farmhouse; local Walnut Creek history; guided tours seasonal events
Walnut Creek Model Railroad Society operates the Diablo Valley Lines, one of the largest exclusively HO scale model railroads in the United States. Visitors can…
Leroy King Carousel is located within Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco, California, where families can ride a historic carousel alongside other attractions…
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States, located in San Francisco, California…
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.
Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo
Best here for under 2, 16 miles out, listed ages 0–12 and admission from $12.
History Park at Kelley Park
Best here for two to five, 2 miles out, listed ages 3–12 and free admission.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Best here for six to nine, 2 miles out, listed ages 6–12 and admission $10.
San Mateo County History Museum
Best here for ten and up, 22 miles out, listed ages 6–16 and admission $4.
Free museums & educational attractions in San Jose
6 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.
San Jose Museum of Art
Free to get in and 1 miles out.
San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art
Free to get in and 1 miles out.
History Park at Kelley Park
Free to get in, 2 miles out and listed ages 3–12.
de Saisset Museum
Free to get in and 3 miles out.
Triton Museum of Art
Free to get in and 4 miles out.
Palo Alto Art Center
Free to get in and 16 miles out.
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.
Museums & Educational Attractions in San Jose
8 of them: San Jose Museum of Art, The Tech Interactive, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles and San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, the closest 1 miles from the middle of San Jose and 6 with a published admission price.
Museums & Educational Attractions in Palo Alto
4 of them: Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto History Museum, Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo and Pacific Art League, the closest 16 miles from the middle of San Jose and 2 with a published admission price.
Museums & Educational Attractions in Santa Clara
3 of them: de Saisset Museum, Triton Museum of Art and Intel Museum, the closest 3 miles from the middle of San Jose and 2 with a published admission price.
Museums & Educational Attractions in Santa Cruz
3 of them: Kenneth S. Norris Center for Natural History, UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, the closest 25 miles from the middle of San Jose and 2 with a published admission price.
Museums & Educational Attractions in Oakland
3 of them: Oakland Aviation Museum, Oakland Museum of California and USS Potomac — FDR’s Floating White House, the closest 33 miles from the middle of San Jose and 2 with a published admission price.
Museums & Educational Attractions in San Francisco
3 of them: Museum of Craft and Design, Leroy King Carousel and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the closest 40 miles from the middle of San Jose and 2 with a published admission price.
Planning a visit
These run from 1 to 42 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
Museums & Educational Attractions in nearby cities
Common questions about museums & educational attractions in San Jose
How many museums & educational attractions are there in San Jose?
We list 18 museums & educational attractions within 59 miles of San Jose, CA. Every one is a published listing with an address we checked.
Which museums & educational attractions in San Jose publish their prices?
21 of the 18 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 San Jose free?
Yes. 5 places get you in free: San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, History Park at Kelley Park, de Saisset Museum and Triton Museum of Art.
Which museums & educational attractions in San Jose suit a toddler?
2 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 museums & educational attractions?
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.