The rain has been practically relentless the past month. If your kids are going stir-crazy, here are some places to take them for their enjoyment and education, and your sanity!
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We LOVE this place! It’s great for all ages as they have various science experiments for kids to participate in from wind tunnels to water power and green energy. Outside houses a beautiful, albeit small, zoo with mountain lions, bats, peacocks, raccoons, various reptiles, and more. They also have two aquariums with a diverse array of sea life such as sharks and sea anemones.
The museum is free, but does suggest a donation of $5 per person. Quite reasonable considering everything you get to experience, and being that the museum is a non-profit center. Check them out!
Heads up: There is a “No Food Allowed” inside rule, but there is a lovely park right next door that is perfect for a picnic if the rain holds off.
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Childrens Discovery Museum of San Jose
At $10 per child & adult it can be kind of pricey, but may be worth it if you have a curious kiddo. There are many hands on things for kids to climb on, play with, and explore. They have a great toddler only room upstairs called “The Wonder Cabinet” (for ages 0-4).
On the main floor you will find a fire truck and ambulance, a stagecoach, a great water play room, and lots of other fun activities. (We suggest saving the water play for last and possibly bringing a change of clothes.) The small bottom floor is dedicated to bubbles. Kids can make teeny tiny bubbles or even big giant ones. It can be kind of messy, but they do provide paper towels.
There are also different exhibits every few months to check out. You can find more info on membership rates and discounts here: http://www.cdm.org/viewPage.asp?mlid=281#explorer
Bay Area Discovery Museum
This museum, located in Sausalito, is definitely worth the drive! Although, a lot of it is outside, it can be braved on a cold day. It’s $11 for adults and children (under 6 months free) which can make it a little pricey but what they have available is worth it.
They have several buildings that make up the museum, each with a different theme (trains, under the sea, art, and much more!). They also have a large outdoor playground and small kid friendly hiking trails around the museum. A great place to spend the day!
SwaRay
You can find SwaRay in an office park in North Sunnyvale at 1233 Reamwood Ave. Sunnyvale, CA 94089. They have many options for active kids “bounce houses”, a climbing wall, balls of all sizes, a play kitchen, toy trains and cars, and more.
They are set up to host parties, but also offer a drop-in play on Tuesdays from 10am - 1pm, Wednesdays from 10am - 5pm, and Thursdays from 10am - 1pm for $5 per child. If you come with a group of 10 or more, you can get a group discount of $1 off per child.
U-Me
U-Me is an indoor play space located in Menlo Park. It is quite pricey, $20 per child ($10 per sibling after the initial $20), children under 8 months are free as well as adults but offers tons of activities.
There is a tumbling room, an indoor playground, imaginative toys (a market, a stage, etc), as well as a cafe for grown ups.
Pump It Up (& Pump It Up Jr)
This is a great place in Sunnyvale for active kids. It is a large room filled with inflatable slides, bounce houses, obstacle courses and more.
They are set up to host parties, but also offer drop in play times a few days per week. (Times and prices are listed on their website.)
Hiller Aviation Museum
This is a great museum on a rainy day, although we would have to say it’s geared toward older kids (6 and up). There is a small airport attached which can be really fun for kids to watch the planes take off and land.
Located in San Carlos, they also offer special events for kids and adults. Admission for adults 18 years and over is $11, ages 5-17 are $8 and children 4 and under are free!
California Sports Center For Kids
Located in Willow Glen at Malone Road, San Jose, 95125, this is a great place for active kids. It is a kid-friendly gymnastics gym that offers classes for different age groups and skill levels as well as daily “open play” drop in days during the week.
The drop in days are Monday - Friday at 11am - Noon for $5 per child (over 1). The drop in play times are unstructured, but supervised by gym staff who are happy to help.
My Gym
This kids’ fitness center is a great means of meeting other parents and giving your kids a great workout! While there is no “drop in” option, classes are offered for children ranging in ages from 6 weeks to 7+ years and feature free play, gymnastics, dancing and puppet shows.
They also sponsor “parent’s night out” now and then where you can drop off your child for a few hours (for a nominal fee) while Mom and Dad get some alone time.
Play Cafe
Located in Oakland, the Play Cafe is an amazing place to take your kids on a rainy day! It’s a complete indoor place space with toys, kitchen, dramatic play and more!
They also offer healthy and nutritious meals for your kids. It’s not a huge space, but it’s enough for your kids not to get bored. Admission is $8 per child and free to adults.
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences offers a tremendous amount of activities! There is the a beautiful aquarium, a natural history museum, a complete indoor rainforest, a planetarium and much much more! They also offer a lot of special events during the year, right now you can get up close and personal with reindeer and a sleepover with the penguins at the museum! Located in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, it is across the way from the DeYoung Museum as well as the Botanical Gardens.
The admissions are $29 for adults, $19 for youth 4-11, 4 and under are free and several Sundays a year they offer free admission. If you do go, we suggest getting there early to get the most of your time there!
Hop n Play
Located in the Tanforan Mall in San Bruno, this is a great place to spend the day! We know it’s a hike but it’s worth it if you’re looking to get your kids energy out during a rainy day. It is a complete indoor playground and is spectacularly clean which we have found not to be the case at a lot of other indoor playspaces.
It’s $10 for the first child and $9 for siblings and it’s valid for the whole day! So you can let the kids play, go get some shopping done or get lunch in the food court and come back after.
Ice Rinks (Sharks Ice, Ice Center at Cupertino and Ice Center in San Mateo)
Sharks Ice is open several times a week for public skating and on the weekends they close off one of the ends and offer buckets so little ones just learning to skate can push around a bucket and not have to worry about people flying by them! They also offer lessons, hockey, and occasional skating with Sharkie!
Ice Center at Cupertino is located at Vallco and Ice Center in San Mateo located in the Bridgepointe Shopping Center, are other great indoor ice skating options. They are open year-round and have public (open) skate, lessons, discount nights, and hockey available. Please see website for more info and pricing.
Bouncy Land
Bouncy Land is an indoor bouncy castle playland! Located at Westfield Oakridge Mall, kids ages 2 to 12 can get all that crazy energy out in a safe and clean environment. It’s fairly inexpensive with a few pricing options, $6 for 30 mins of bouncing, $8 for unlimited bouncing with no in and out, and $14 for unlimited bouncing with in and out.
Outside food is not allowed but they do have a cafe to buy food and if you get the in and out privilege, you can have lunch and come back for more!
Monterey Bay Aquarium
They offer everything you would expect at a world class aquarium, plus some great special exhibits and even play areas for the little ones. At $21.95 and up it can be a little pricey, but if you keep an eye out you can usually find a good deal or coupon.
Where do you like to go when winter rolls around? We’d love to hear from you all! Please share with us in the comments below.
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