Tech Innovation Museum, San Jose

San Francisco, California Print   Leave a comment

Description

The Tech Innovation Museum in downtown San Jose is everything a museum should be. It is interactive, colorful, and in each huge room there is something for all ages. It's a great place to take your family because everyone will be happy at the same time! My 2 1/2 year old thought the rollercoaster simulator was wonderful and didn't want to leave. Meanwhile, my 12 year old son got to design his own rollercoaster ride. Then we all sat and took the ride, watching the screen in front. Next we saw how robots work, and watched as a wild robot wrote our names with blocks. Another robot took our photo and then with pen in hand made a sketch of us. We got to keep the printout. In another area we danced in front of a huge screen, watching what we looked in thermal radar. We made music touching huge lit-up buttons on the wall. We sat in a bobsled and watched a screen in front as we "rode" down the track.
Downstairs, we stood in front of a huge screen as colored things fell down and gathered on our arms, changing shape as we moved. We experimented with how to catch space junk. My toddler played with see-through colored lego blocks on a backlit table. Nearby, magnets on a similar table made for some fun building.
The Tech Innovation Museum is in a gorgeous modern building. Outside there are gears that turn in a large glass case. Your kids can watch balls being lifted to the top and falling down.
We all loved this museum. We were busy for two hours and could have stayed longer if it weren't lunchtime. I highly recommend this museum for a morning with family and friends.
Afterward, walk around downtown San Jose. It's kind of stark with lots of cement and few trees but there are some interesting sights- architectural treasures such Joseph's Basilica and the San Jose Museum of Art, and the fountain at Cesar Chavez Park- all just steps from the museum.
A great playground nearby with huge rope climbies and a carousel is Arena Green.
While you're in San Jose, don't miss out on the nicest area, Santana Row, a European-style development with sunny outdoor cafes, flower baskets galore, and pretty architecture.

Photo Gallery

Colorful decorations at the ticket booth.	Blue dome and golden pillar.	Robot that makes a name you type into a computer.
The robot writes "LotsaFunMaps" for me!	Green displays.	Exhibit about genes.
The awesome music exhibit.	People on the screen in front of you tell you how to do each project in this hall.	Back-lit lego!
You move and the pieces fall differently on the screen version of you.

Directions

The Tech Innovation Museum is located on the corner of Park Avenue and Market Street in downtown San Jose. Find a paid parking lot wherever you can. We found one that cost $6 for the day.

This is an interactive map, you can zoom and move it.

Visitor Ratings

Overall Visitor Rating:

gem 07/30/2010 10:50	nice for kids!
TM 07/12/2010 20:57	phenomenal!