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December 2023 by Jordan J.
Terrible. Dirty and run down. Broken exhibits. Overpriced. There is little to no explanation on many of the interactive exhibits. Any exhibit that may be worth visiting has a wait. Parking is ridiculous. ($30.99)
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October 2023 by Charae P.
Being a San Jose Native, I'm happy to announce that I've finally taken my kids to the Tech Interactive today to attend the Tech or Treat event to celebrate upcoming Halloween. This year on Halloween marks 35 years of existence and I can say what a great way to highlight the Silicon Valley! My kids enjoyed the day stopping at stations to get Halloween themed toys, Halloween crafts, and exploring technology!Such a great time! And don't forget about the really nice IMAX theater!
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October 2023 by Steve W.
The Tech Interactive is a super cool and fun activity in Downtown San Jose! As described in the name, the exhibits are all very interactive and engaging, and they have a great variety of activity types and topics. Right now they have exhibits covering topics like city and civil planning, food production, the human body, computer science and robotics, space exploration, biology, and much more! Great for all ages, from young kids to proudly-nerdy adults!They are also a fantastic and unique venue for large events - we recently hosted our wedding reception there and it was super fun for us and our guests. We rented out the lower level after hours and they kept the exhibits open for our guests to play with throughout the night. I highly recommend them as an event space!
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September 2023 by Eleni M.
A great place for kids and adults! Lots to learn, see, and experience. We have visited with our toddler a few times and he enjoys his time there as well but I do believe it is mostly designed for older kids. Multiple floors, lots to think about, explore, and learn from. IMAX theater is also something to see! They have great films full of information. Looking forward to our next visit!
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September 2023 by Henry Wang
Fun and educational for both kids and adults. The IMAX movie is awesome and worth revisiting.
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July 2023 by A. Smith
The "Museums For All" program gives free tickets to this museum. There was a mix up beforehand because it says online that you'll receive an email with the tickets which we never did, even after a week, so I called and was told that the tickets are available at will call only.Visit: 07/21/23. This is my streamlined review:Pros:-close by parking in a lot, not a garage, across the street near the rail.-Great customer service all around, except for the fellas in the anatomy department. There's a lot of young people working the exhibits and most of them are very professional but the ones in anatomy were just very disinterested and sitting around and not acknowledging anyone.-The museum for all program admission also came with IMAX tickets.-Immaculate facilities (the restrooms though heavily visited smelled amazing and were amazing and I used it twice which I never use public restrooms)-Summer hours of 10am-5pm allow you to see all the exhibits and your movie.-The ambiance of the IMAX theatre was really nice.Cons:-Elevator was down, so were some of the escalators but since we had a stroller they let us use the freight elevator which was fine but you couldn't just leave but had to get someone to get the person who could bring you up and down, this was a minor inconvenience. they were very expeditious.-The museum is a beautiful facility filled with lots of things, lots of things and yet a lot of nothing, underwhelming. I know it is called a museum of innovation and when I visited as a child in the 90s, it was great! I remember the place being packed and just so many things for kids to do and see. Things have changed and not in a good way, I saw no innovation nor innovating things it's pretty much informational only (like most science as of late) and geared toward informing you about climate change and your part in it (literally there were things with screens you could watch that told you about such things and games where you can make "alternative" food). We saw every inch of the museums and interacted with most everything, we had a nice time, lots of unwanted exercise as the place is massive but I was disappointed. Some reviews said this place was meant for children and not adults and I disagree, though the labs that they do (areas where a child can perform an experiment or make something) are for children, this museum is for a super specific age range and I would say it is for 12 years old and up, They have some play areas, one where you can connect tubes and send a ball through but you could accomplish the same with bath toys from Target for much cheaper. and environmental stuff which to me is more of an adult thing.-Unclear instructions on how to interact with the exhibits. You have to swipe your ticket to interact with the exhibits and no one tells you that beforehand though we were told we would need to show them, I didn't fully understand what it meant and was confused until I asked another person at some later time.-Parking issues. Where we parked was the closest you could park to the museum and I don't believe it was mentioned at all on the site but some garages were and that was a problem for us because of the large size of our van. This space is still two streets away from the museum and I found it nerve wrecking with children.-The IMAX dome screen is great in theory, like it sounds good, but it is the most uncomfortable I have ever been at a theatre. I will never watch another movie there again. They also have an odd exiting system where you have to go all the way up the stairs to leave the theatre. We brought our stroller and were allowed to exit the way we came in. I know it sounds good but you literally have to crane neck to see and it feels like you are moving which is a pro and a con. Overall, if the kids wanted to come back I would consider it but it wasn't for us. The most impressive thing was the restroom and the kindness and helpfulness of the workers. Thanks everyone!
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July 2023 by Perlie P.
We were near by on a weekday and decided to check it out. There was so many things to do and look at. My kids ( 12 and 9) loved it! Unfortunately there were several schools there at the same time we were and there were a lot of rude teens there that kept cutting in line. But we still enjoyed ourselves and realize that the museum can not control this.
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July 2023 by sagoral
PLEASE READ!This museum used to be very cool, but they've made everything digital. There used to be an underwater arm, design a rollercoaster (now its preset) and much more mechanical stuff.Now, this isn't really good even for young kids. A lot of reviews say "Wow, great time!" but the families' kids just press random buttons and dont actually COMPREHEND what they're pressing.They had a space machine but when I tried to get on it broke and service took too long to get it working again. There was also a fire emergency because some random kid pulled the fire alarm.I give this place 2 stars because of the body exhibit. It was actually interesting looking at preserved bodies, but it wasnt anything super special. Exhibits just aren't captivating.Price for entry: $20
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July 2023 by Christopher Divens
Had a great day! Lots of cool exhibits for the kids to inspire them to enjoy science. Our 8 year old grandson said that it was the best day! Parking is an adventure. There are a couple of lots that are $5 with validated with admission. The restaurant is reasonable and decent mix of food. Adults can get in free admission on the 1st weekend of the month with a Bank of America card. There are Groupon and Veteran discounts.
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July 2023 by Darl
It was ok. It was about a 40 min drive from my house. I got $1 tickets from the library. Paid $20 for parking nearby which is a 5 min walk. I liked some of the exhibits and found them interesting. Same with my son. He just said it was ok. He got to tinker with some stuff and some exhibits he skipped. Plus that there’s a cafe. We actually grabbed lunch before we went in. The elevator wasn’t working that day and it was kind of a pain to take the baby out of the stroller and use the escalator but we made it work. I liked the Mamava pod where I was able to breastfeed. Bathrooms were clean. The staff were friendly and helpful. I saw a lot of them and they were pretty interactive esp with young kids and answering their questions. All in all, a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon with the family.
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June 2023 by Danny A.
THIS PLACE IS HIGH TECH ........if we were in 2012. Busted machines and none of the exhibits were that cool. Workers were kind though.
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June 2023 by Carann K.
To begin with, it doesnt have a designated parking and the parking close it is closed, like the whole toad is closed. The attendants are mostly just on their phones, not helpful at all even if you look like a d*** tourist trying to figure out what. I wish they had something that tells u the must do, then which ones are timed activities etc. honestly i like the Exploratorium so much more so dont waste ur time and money here.
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June 2023 by Robert E
It’s a pretty good museum, but it’s definitely geared more towards children than adults. Kids that we saw were having a blast. Adults (ourselves included) less so; the exhibits cover kind of basic scientific concepts. Didn’t see any teens around but they’re probably too old for most of these concepts too.
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May 2023 by Moni P.
This place is amazing. Great learning experience and activities for kids. There is so much to do here. We had a great visit
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May 2023 by Alana Watson
Do not go unless you have a kid! The ‘interactive’ part refers to Lego’s for kids and the ‘tech’ part refers to projector streaming content on the walls.I went with my boyfriend to see the Body exhibit because I love science. We were not greeted and we had to fight to be helped. The staff was roaming around, not working the booths, conversing with each other but not us. They were continually turning lights down or off throughout our experience. Though the museum closes at 3:00, all the interactive exhibits run by staff were closed by the time we arrived at 1:30. The down escalator was broken and we had to walk around looking for stairs as several employees watched.Finally, when we got to the ground floor, I tried to make one of those flat specialty pennies which requires two quarters as payment. I collect them. But I was not able to get one this time because the staff had already closed down the cash register by 2:40. They were unapologetic.Overall, the environment was dim, boring, and I felt invisible. The exhibitions were minimally informative and relatively lackluster… the ones that still had the lights on that is… In the end, it was a complete waste of money and an emotional low point in my week. People with kids were treated much better.
