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Family Learning Adventure
Couresty of Exploratorium

Family Learning Adventure

With the diversity of experiences on this trip, kids might not even notice that they’ve been learning

Start:Exploratorium, San Francisco
End:Fresno Chaffee Zoo
3 - 6Days,14Stops,352Miles
Exploratorium, San Francisco
Couresty of Exploratorium
Computer History Museum
Alanna Hale
The Tech Interactive
Robert Ford/Getty Images
Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
Courtesy of the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
The Inn at Saratoga, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
Courtesy Hilton
Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
Colouria Media/Alamy
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Yuran Shen/Getty Images
Embassy Suites by Hilton Monterey Bay Seaside
Courtesy Hilton
National Steinbeck Center
Jamie Pham/Alamy
Mission San Juan Bautista
Alan W. Cole/Getty Images
Gilroy Gardens
Gilroy Gardens
Casa de Fruta
Courtesy of Casa de Fruta
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Courtesy of Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Stop 1

Exploratorium, San Francisco

Pier 15, The Embarcadero, San Francisco

Set amid San Francisco’s bustling Pier 15 , the crowd-pleasing Exploratorium invites guests to experience science in action—like standing in a fog cloud or walking into the totally dark Tactile Dome. Check out six unique galleries, like the hands-on Tinkering area, where you can watch museum staffers create wonders but also make your own. In the Living Systems gallery, look at fruit flies and stem cells under a powerful microscope, or let kids “pedal” the bike-powered machine outside that approximates a giant, squirting game of jump rope. Climb the stairs to the Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery for remarkable views of sailboats, freighters, and ferries, as well as the nearby Bay Bridge and Treasure and Yerba Buena Islands. And don’t miss the all-glass observation cube at the very tip of the pier.

Plan your visit

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Stop 2

California Academy of Sciences

55 Music Concourse Dr, San Francisco

Earth meets sky at California Academy of Sciences, a combination of natural history museum, planetarium, and aquarium located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Start at the domed, four-story rainforest exhibit, where you’ll spot free-flying birds, butterflies, amphibians, and even an Amazonian tree boa. Check the schedule at the Morrison Planetarium, which showcases films like Passport to the Universe, featuring footage from the Hubble Space Telescope, on its 75-foot-diameter screen. The CAS is a great place to eat too, from the house-made soups and salads at The Academy Café to the craft beer and locally-sourced dishes at The Terrace.

Stop 3

Computer History Museum

1401 N Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View

Your first impression of Silicon Valley, the Northern California brain trust south of the San Francisco Bay, may ironically be how pretty its landscape is, thanks to its lush green foothills. But the human-made wonders at Mountain View’s Computer History Museum will quickly grab your attention too. Learn about the birth of the computer, driverless cars, and tech heroes such as Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician. Another fascinating exhibit sheds light on the little-known story of Colossus, an electronic code-breaker device developed by British math whizzes and engineers, which helped win World War II.

Stop 4

The Tech Interactive

201 S Market St, San Jose

In Silicon Valley’s San Jose, The Tech Interactive (nicknamed "The Tech") creates a fun laboratory and learning experience for curious people of all ages. Play cyber detective or build your own robot using sensors, actuators, and controllers. Check out the Reboot Reality exhibit and design a digital painting, or climb onto Birdly, the virtual-reality flying simulator. For another kind of thrill, check out the Space Exploration series of installations, where you can explore a human settlement on Mars, navigate a jet-pack chair to repair a satellite, and more.

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Stop 5

Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose

180 Woz Way, San Jose

Look for the distinctive purple building along San Jose’s Wozniak Way (a.k.a. “the Woz”), named after Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Here, at the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, kids get hands-on science lessons from 150 exhibits and an outdoor playground lab. Start by checking out Lupe, the replica of a woolly mammoth whose remains were found in Silicon Valley, then dig in the dirt to see how archeologists search for fossils. In other areas, kids can make art, climb trees, blow giant bubbles, and pump water out of a rain catchment system.

Stop 7

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

1305 E Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz

With its hybrid terrain of coastline, redwood forests, and mountains, the college town of Santa Cruz is a natural magnet for families thanks to an old-fashioned amusement park on the boardwalk. But it’s also home to the century-old Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, set above Seabright Beach. Stop in for the touch pool—with living, local inter-tidal plants and animals—and then visit the live honeybee exhibit or the Ohlone exhibit that shows life in the pre-colonial Central Coast. (Bonus: Admission is free for kids.)

Stop 8

Monterey Bay Aquarium

886 Cannery Row, Monterey

The world-class Monterey Bay Aquarium is an essential stop in the Central Coast town of Monterey—an attraction on the same level as historic Cannery Row. You’ll see brilliantly colored jellyfish that resemble some kind of alien life form as they gracefully glide through the water. Go nose-to-nose with adorable sea otters and catch glimpses of leopard sharks and schools of sardine swimming through the kelp forest exhibit. After all, with 28-foot windows, it’s one of the world’s tallest aquariums. Check out tours, too, like the surface scuba diving or the behind-the-scenes fish feeding.

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SPOTLIGHT

Embassy Suites by Hilton Monterey Bay Seaside

1441 Canyon Del Rey, Seaside

Cozy up for the night at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Monterey Bay Seaside, an all-suites hotel two blocks from Seaside Beach at Monterey State Beach. Hop on the paved bike trail and pedal along the coastline, or soak in the outdoor pool.

Stop 10

National Steinbeck Center

1 Main St, Salinas

With a rich agricultural and literary history, the town of Salinas makes a fascinating stop. Start by exploring the world of author John Steinbeck: You can visit his boyhood home as well as the National Steinbeck Center. Even if the kids aren’t old enough yet to have read The Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men, this engaging museum will give them a vivid introduction to the author by way of films, artifacts, sound clips, and hands-on activities that illustrate how the people and landscape of the Salinas Valley informed Steinbeck’s classic American books. If you're a true Steinbeck superfan (or just like hanging out with the literary-minded) come during August for the annual Steinbeck Festival.

Stop 11

Mission San Juan Bautista

406 2nd St5, San Juan Bautista

The town of San Juan Bautista, located off Highway 101, makes for an excellent time capsule thanks to its downtown lined with Old West storefronts. The centerpiece of town, though, is Mission San Juan Bautista, a classic among the 21 Spanish missions built in California between 1769 and 1834. Learn about the Spanish era and note the interesting features of the mission, like the animal paw prints depicted in the floor tiles.Two fun facts: The mission sits next to the San Andreas Fault and it was featured in the Hitchcock thriller Vertigo.

Stop 12

Gilroy Gardens

3050 Hecker Pass Hwy, Gilroy

The Santa Clara County town of Gilroy boasts of being the Garlic Capital of the World. That’s a title kids might not appreciate until you take them to them to Gilroy Gardens theme park, which celebrates the herb along with the other crops growing in the Central Coast farm country. Zoom and twirl on agriculturally-themed rides like the Artichoke Dip, the Mushroom Swing, and, of course, the Garlic Twirl. Be sure to check out the 25 incredible Circus Trees, grown in nature-defying shapes. For more garlic, even in ice cream, come to town in July for the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

SPOTLIGHT

Casa de Fruta

10021 Pacheco Pass Hwy, Hollister

What started as a humble cherry stand in 1908 is now a massive roadside attraction, welcoming more than 3 million visitors each year. Located 40 miles northeast of Monterey, Casa de Fruta in Hollister features a 10,000-square-foot market, 24-hour restaurant, sweetshop, RV park, 14-room inn, and playground. The market sells road-trip-friendly dried fruit, nuts, wine, and fresh produce from all over the state—visitors can try strawberries from Watsonville, pistachios from Fresno, garlic from Gilroy, and more. The family’s wine is offered in the traditional white, red, and blush, but visitors most often leave with a bottle of Casa de Fruta’s signature pomegranate wine.

Stop 14

Fresno Chaffee Zoo

894 W Belmont Ave, Fresno

Set along Highway 99, Fresno is the agricultural heart of the Central Valley—but it also offers gorgeous gardens, parks, and the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. The zoo has unique naturalistic enclosures such as the 13-acre, savannah-like African Adventure, and is home to almost 200 species of animals from around the globe, from red kangaroos and wildebeests to cheetahs and king cobras. Don’t miss the chance for the kids to feed giraffes and check out the behind-the-scenes experiences, like Breakfast with the Rhinos or sea lion training sessions.

Plan your visit

Road Trip Snapshot

Learn more about the amazing locations featured in this road trip. Ready to plan your trip? Print the itinerary or map your adventure to get started.

Stop 1Exploratorium, San Francisco
Pier 15, The Embarcadero, San Francisco
Stop 2California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Dr, San Francisco
Stop 3Computer History Museum
1401 N Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View
Stop 4The Tech Interactive
201 S Market St, San Jose
Stop 5Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
180 Woz Way, San Jose
SPOTLIGHTThe Inn at Saratoga, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
20645 Fourth Street , Saratoga
    Stop 7Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
    1305 E Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz
    Stop 8Monterey Bay Aquarium
    886 Cannery Row, Monterey
    SPOTLIGHTEmbassy Suites by Hilton Monterey Bay Seaside
    1441 Canyon Del Rey, Seaside
      Stop 10National Steinbeck Center
      1 Main St, Salinas
      Stop 11Mission San Juan Bautista
      406 2nd St5, San Juan Bautista
      Stop 12Gilroy Gardens
      3050 Hecker Pass Hwy, Gilroy
      Stop 14Fresno Chaffee Zoo
      894 W Belmont Ave, Fresno

      Car & RV Rentals

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