🔬Science Center🏠 Homeschool ProgramsPaid admission

The Tech Interactive

201 S. Market St.

About

The Tech Interactive is a 132,000-square-foot science and technology center in the heart of downtown San Jose, situated in the middle of Silicon Valley. Founded in 1990 as The Tech Museum of Innovation, it serves more than 400,000 visitors annually and has earned recognition as one of the top science museums in the country. The museum's galleries feature over 100 hands-on experiences organized around themes of technology and human innovation. Visitors can design and test prosthetic hands, build and race solar cars, explore genetic engineering concepts through interactive biology labs, and experience life-size simulations of earthquakes and other natural phenomena. A dedicated BioTinkering Lab invites visitors to work with living organisms as part of genuine scientific inquiry. The Tech's IMAX Dome Theater is one of the largest in Northern California, featuring a 70-foot domed screen and spatial audio. Educational IMAX films on science, nature, and technology play throughout the day, and admission includes one educational IMAX film. The Tech Interactive operates an active education program serving thousands of Bay Area students annually. School programs and field trips are available for PreK through 12th grade, aligned to California Science Standards and NGSS. Summer camps for elementary-age students launched in 2026, emphasizing making, building, and creative problem-solving. The museum also offers resources for homeschooling families through its educator programs.

🏠 Homeschool Programs

This institution offers dedicated programming for homeschooling families. Visit the website for details.

Subject Areas

🔬 Science💻 Technology⚙️ Engineering🔧 Making & Tinkering

Best For

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 All Ages🎒 Elementary (6–10)🧑 Tweens & Teens (11–17)👨‍👩‍👧 Families🏫 School Groups

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Hours of Operation

Hours vary seasonally; see thetech.org/visit for daily schedule

Hours change seasonally — verify before visiting.

Admission

Paid admission

Adult $38; Children (3–17), students, and seniors (65+) $28. Includes admission and one Educational IMAX film. Members free.

ASTC

ASTC Travel Passport Program

Members of the Association of Science and Technology Centers' Travel Passport Program offer free or discounted admission to members of other participating institutions. Over 300 science centers worldwide participate.

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47 other places in our directory accept this membership: