Science & Discovery Centers in San Francisco, CA
We list 3 science & discovery centers across the San Francisco area. Compare prices, hours and age ranges in one place, then pick the one that fits your day.
Sorted by distance from the middle of San Francisco, nearest first. Those are straight-line miles, so every drive is longer than the number on the card.
The Exploratorium is a public learning laboratory located at Pier 15 in San Francisco where families can explore the world through science, art, and human…
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Morrison Planetarium at Cal Academy is a science museum located in San Francisco, California that features a planetarium, aquarium, rainforest, and interactive…
Bay Area Discovery Museum is a hands-on learning museum in Sausalito, California, located at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. The museum offers creative…
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The Lawrence Hall of Science is the public science center of the University of California, Berkeley, located in Berkeley, California. Families can explore hands-on…
UC Berkeley hilltop science museum; hands-on experiments; outdoor math & science trail
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Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California offers families a NASA Ames Visitor Center with exhibits, telescopes, a planetarium, and an observatory…
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Diablo Valley College Planetarium in Pleasant Hill, California is a state-of-the-art facility for astronomy education and celestial observation. The planetarium…
Family planetarium shows Saturdays; $8 admission; nearby San Jose/Sunnyvale
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.
Bay Area Discovery Museum
Best here for under 2, 5 miles out, listed ages 0–9 and admission from $23.
Morrison Planetarium at Cal Academy
Best here for two to five, 3 miles out, listed ages 3–16 and admission from $5.
Exploratorium
Best here for six to nine, 2 miles out, listed ages 6–16 and free admission.
Chabot Space & Science Center
Best here for ten and up, 13 miles out, listed ages 3–16 and admission from $1.
Free science & discovery centers in San Francisco
One place on this page gets you in free. That makes a short trip easy to justify on a day when nobody is sure how long they will last.
Exploratorium
Free to get in, 2 miles out and listed ages 6–16.
By town
Most of these are not in San Francisco proper, and the town is usually what decides whether a place is worth the trip.
Science & Discovery Centers in San Francisco
2 of them: Exploratorium and Morrison Planetarium at Cal Academy, the closest 2 miles from the middle of San Francisco and 2 with a published admission price.
Science & Discovery Centers in Berkeley
2 of them: The Lawrence Hall of Science and Lawrence Hall of Science, the closest 12 miles from the middle of San Francisco and 1 with a published admission price.
Planning a visit
These run from 2 to 38 miles out from the middle of San Francisco. 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 Francisco.
Other things to do in San Francisco
Science & Discovery Centers in nearby cities
Common questions about science & discovery centers in San Francisco
How many science & discovery centers are there in San Francisco?
We list 3 science & discovery centers within 56 miles of San Francisco, CA. Every one is a published listing with an address we checked.
Which science & discovery centers in San Francisco publish their prices?
5 of the 3 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 science & discovery centers in San Francisco free?
Yes. One place gets you in free: Exploratorium.
Which science & discovery centers in San Francisco 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 science & discovery centers?
We list every one we have within 56 miles of the center of San Francisco. 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 Francisco?
San Francisco has 9 categories of kid-friendly places on Mini Navigators, from playgrounds and museums to splash pads and zoos. The San Francisco hub lists all of them.
Listings last checked August 21, 2026.