Address: 10000 Skyline Blvd, Oakland, CA 94619, United States
The Chabot Space and Science Center, located in Oakland, California, is a science learning center featuring interactive exhibits, planetaries, a large screen theater, hands-on activities, and three powerful telescopes.
The Center is the continuation and expansion of a public observatory that has served schools and citizens of the San Francisco Bay Area with astronomy and science education programs since 1883. It was named after the father of hydraulic mining and benefactor of the original Oakland Observatory, Anthony Chabot. The Center has been located on the western border of Redwoods Regional Park since 2000.
The institution began as the Oakland Observatory in 1883 with a donation from Anthony Chabot to the City of Oakland. The original Oakland Observatory was located near downtown Oakland and provided a public viewing telescope for the community. It has also served as an official timekeeping station for the entire Bay Area for decades, measuring time with its transit telescope.
In January 2000, anticipating the opening of the new facility, the organization changed its name from Chabot Observatory & Science Center to Chabot Space & Science Center. The new name was chosen to better convey the organization’s focus on astronomy and the space sciences, while communicating both the broad range and the technologically advanced nature of programs available in the new Science Center.
Opened August 19, 2000, the Chabot Space & Science Center is an 86,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art science and technology education facility on a 13-acre site in the hills of Oakland, California. The museum was formerly an affiliate in the Smithsonian Affiliations program but is currently no longer an affiliate.
The Galaxy Explorers program for high school students at Chabot Space & Science Center offers hands-on, fun, community service work. Explorers are performing live public science demonstrations and explaining interactive exhibits. The assignments take place on weekends, holidays, and holidays. Galaxy Explorers also delivers exciting outreach programs at schools, community centers, and festivals.
The Champions of Science after-school program for middle school students serves underserved young people from OUSD. Students study different science topics both inside and outside the classroom.
Chabot has a completely new way to go with an overnight experience. They offer two overnight programs: the Odyssey Overnight for Scouts and Youth Groups and the Sleeping Stars for Family and Adult audiences. You’ll enjoy fun hands-on educational programs, interactive exhibits, planetary shows, and stargazing through our historic telescopes. Your overnight stay includes dinner, breakfast,t, and indoor and outdoor sleeping options. They have programs for scouts, youth groups, schools, private corporate and public families, and adult audiences.
Besides its telescopes, it contains two planetariums. One is a “full-dome digital projection system” with various shows running every day and a Zeiss Universarium fiber optic projector with weekly shows. The Tien MegaDome Theater is a 70-foot (21 m) dome-screen auditorium featuring various IMAX-like shows. The Challenger Learning Center is a hands-on simulated space mission environment in which 8 teams work together to complete a mission. Many changing exhibitions are full of hands-on displays that highlight space and science themes. As of August 18, 2006, there are nine exhibitions open.
This amazing landmark is perfect for kids and is located near the following must-see sights in Lafayette, California:
- Tilden Regional Park
- Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park
- Joaquin Miller Park
- Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
- Briones Regional Park
- Regional Parks Botanic Garden
- Las Trampas Regional Wilderness Park
- Roberts Regional Recreation Area
All of these wonderful attractions are located just a short drive from our location near Downtown Walnut Creek, California on Locust Street. Stop by for a visit anytime!
