These museums were voted the Bay Area’s 2021 Best of the Best by Bay Area Parent readers. Read the full list of winners here.
San Francisco & Marin
Gold: Bay Area Discovery Museum. Features indoor and outdoor interactive exhibits, events, camps and celebrations. 557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito. 415-339-3900. bayareadiscoverymuseum.org.
Silver: California Academy of Sciences. 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco. 415-379-8000. calacademy.org.
Bronze: de Young Museum. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco. 415-750-3600. deyoung.famsf.org.
Silicon Valley
Gold: Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. It features dozens of interactive exhibits, storytimes, cultural celebrations, crafts, infant activities and more. 180 Woz Way, San Jose. 408-298-5437. cdm.org.
Silver: The Tech Interactive 201 S. Market St., San Jose. 408-294-8324. thetech.org.
Bronze: Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. 1660 Park Ave., San Jose. 408-947-3635. egyptianmuseum.org.
East Bay
Gold: Chabot Space & Science Center. This popular science center is slated to reopen in November with new exhibitions, events and programs in partnership with NASA’s Ames Research Center. 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland. 510-336-7300. chabotspace.org.
Silver: Oakland Museum of California. 1000 Oak St. 510-318-8400. museumca.org.
Bronze: Lawrence Hall of Science. 1 Centennial Drive, Berkeley. 510-642-5132. lawrencehallofscience.org.
Peninsula
Gold: CuriOdyssey. This science museum and zoo allows families to see wild animals up close and enjoy hands-on exhibits. 1651 Coyote Point Drive, San Mateo. 650-342-7755. curiodyssey.org.
Silver: Hiller Aviation Museum. 601 Skyway Road, San Carlos. 650-654-0200. hiller.org.
Bronze: San Mateo County History Museum. 2200 Broadway St., Redwood City. 650-299-0104. historysmc.org.