Museums & More

The Bay Area is filled with some of the world’s best science museums. On the map below, you’ll find a wealth of information about these museums (hours, location, current exhibits, etc.)

Map of Bay Area Museums

Science Cafes

Picture it…

The fog rolls over the hills one evening in San Francisco, an outspoken group of revelers gathers in a hip coffeehouse to chat. They’re gathering to discuss nanotechnology with one of the leading experts in the country. There’s no jargon, no over-reaching technical data….just easy to understand science with a side of stimulating conversation.

Science cafes like these have popped up throughout the Bay Area. Each meeting is organized around an interesting topic of conversation. A scientist gives a brief presentation and sometimes shows a short video clip to kick off the discussion. You can leave a café meeting when you want, but you’ll miss out if you show up late. A science café’s casual meeting place, plain language, and inclusive conversation create a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere for anyone, even if you don’t have a science background.

There are 7 to choose from in the Bay Area. Check out their website for more info.

Local Cafes Near You!

Down to a Science San Francisco, CA		East Bay Science Cafe Oakland, CA		Science Buzz Cafe Sebastopol, CA		Café Scientifique Stanford Blood Bank Palo Alto, CA
Sounds of Science Napa, CA		Café Scientifique Silicon Valley Menlo Park, CA		Ask a Scientist San Francisco, CA

Science Tours

Science Museums & Cafes aren’t the only option to connect with science here in the Bay Area. As a leader in scientific research, many laboratories offer free public tours and programs. In addition, you’ll find some non-traditional organizations offer science-themed tours…just goes to show how science is part of your everyday life!

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) offers tours of both its Main Site in Livermore and of Site 300, the Laboratory’s experimental test facility just south of Tracy. Tour participants must be at least 18 years old. U.S. citizens need to register two weeks in advance. Non-U.S. citizens must register 60 days in advance. Tours by foreign nationals are subject to approval of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Tours of the Main Site offer visitors a view into some of our exciting state-of-the-art research programs and facilties. Tour stops may include:

National Ignition Facility: the world’s largest and most energetic laser
National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center: used for a national and international emergency response
Terascale Simulation Facility: home of the world’s fastest supercomputer

Site 300 is a 7,000 acre compound used by the Laboratory for non-nuclear explosives testing.Tour stops may include:

Western vantage points for observation of the site and surrounding properties
External view of the Contained Firing Facility
Environmental remediation facilities and wetlands

LLNL Main Site tours are conducted on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and last 2-1/2 hours, excluding holidays. The maximum number of visitors per tour is 14.
You may call Community & Education Programs office at (925) 422-4599 to submit your tour request.
Site 300 tours are held the first and third Friday of the month from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m, excluding holidays. A minimum of six visitors is normally required to conduct a tour, and the participants meet in the Site 300 main parking lot, off Corral Hollow Road. The tour involves a significant amount of travel by van through rolling hills on windy roads. Once the driving tour starts, there are no restroom facilities. For your comfort and safety, please wear flat-sole, closed-toe and closed-heel shoes. The maximum number of visitors per tour is 13.

Cost: FREE
Location:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
7000 East Avenue
Livermore, CA 94550
More Info:
https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/com/tours.html

Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve Tour

Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (JRBP) is located near Stanford University’s campus in the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Preserve encompasses remarkable geologic, topographic, and biotic diversity within its 481 hectares (1,189 acres) and provides a natural laboratory for researchers from all over the world, educational experiences to students and docent-led visitors, and refuge to native plants and animals.

The careful management of the Preserve’s ecosystems in as natural a state as possible allows scientists to quantify changes observed in similar ecosystems affected by a range of human impacts.

Tours can be requested from October 1 through May 31 and are conducted on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. During the spring wildflower season (March and April) tours will be scheduled Thursday through Sunday at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. Tours must be scheduled well in advance. Children under 14 are not permitted. Tours typically involve 2 to 2.5 hours of walking on hilly terrain.

For general information or to request a public tour, please contact:
Carolyn Taylor
(650) 851-6813

Cost: FREE
Location:
Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-5020
More Info:
http://jrbp.stanford.edu/tours.php

San Francisco Recycling Center

During the tour you will spend 45 minutes in the classroom watching a video, talking about recycling and environmental topics and the Artist in Residence Program. Then we will go to the studio to meet the current artist, then visit the Hazardous Waste Facility, the Transfer Station, the Sculpture Garden and finally walk through the Public Disposal Area. This part of the tour takes about one hour. To make a reservation for a Saturday tour, please call Deborah Munk at (415) 330-1415. Tours take about two hours and involve stairs, hills and walking on uneven surfaces. Please let us know ahead of time to make arrangements for someone in a wheelchair or someone who cannot walk up stairs and hills. All tours are cancelled if it is raining and require closed toe comfortable walking shoes (no sandals).

Cost: FREE
Location:
SF Recycling & Disposal, Inc.
501 Tunnel Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94134
More Info:
http://www.sfrecycling.com/AIR/sculpturegarden.php?t=d

Kunde Sustainable Wine Making Hike

Join Sonoma Valley Docent Bill Myers on a fun, casual and up-close hike through the 1,850 acre volcanic and vertical Kunde Estate. This is a great opportunity to see sustainable winegrowing practices at work while taking in some of wine country’s most spectacular scenery. Bill’s tours wind through the estate’s distinct eco-systems, each one uniquely contributing to the process of sustainable winegrowing. This moderately strenuous hike lasts approximately four hours.

Cost: $15/person
Location:
Kunde Winery
P.O. BOX 639,
9825 Sonoma Hwy.
Kenwood, CA
More Info:
http://www.kunde.com/sustainable_winegrowing/winegrowing_hikes.asp