These museums are the winners of the 2025 Best of Bay Area Parent reader poll. Read the full list of winners here.
East Bay
Gold: Oakland Museum of California. Its mission is to inspire understanding and empathy with stories and experiences of California’s art, history and natural environment to build more equitable and connected communities. Oakland. museumca.org.
Silver: Chabot Space & Science Center. Oakland. chabotspace.org.
Peninsula
Gold: CuriOdyssey. You will find kid-friendly science exhibits and animal habitats at this science museum and zoo. San Mateo. curiodyssey.org.
Silver: Hiller Aviation Museum. San Carlos. hiller.org.
San Francisco/Marin
Gold: Exploratorium. Tinker, test and play with more than 600 interactive exhibits. San Francisco. exploratorium.edu.
Silver: California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco. calacademy.org.
Bronze: Bay Area Discovery Museum. Sausalito. bayareadiscoverymuseum.org.
Silicon Valley
Gold: Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. With the motto “Inspiring creativity, curiosity and lifelong learning,” this children’s museum features hands-on exhibits and activities for kids as well as cultural events. San Jose. cdm.org.
Silver: The Tech Interactive. San Jose. thetech.org.