Explorit Science Center

Explorit Science Center in Davis, California is a hands-on science museum that serves the UC Davis community and surrounding region with a genuinely engaging science education experience for kids. While it's geographically outside the core San Francisco Bay Area (Davis is about 70 miles northeast on I-80, near Sacramento), it appears in the San Francisco listings for families making the I-80 corridor run.

The museum's appeal is its scale and approach: smaller than major urban science centers, Explorit focuses on deep engagement over breadth of exhibits. Kids actually get to spend meaningful time with each interactive rather than being shuffled past displays in a crowded institution. The hands-on philosophy extends outdoors to the Discovery Garden, where children interact with living science — plants, insects, soil ecology, and natural phenomena — in a way that classroom science rarely delivers.

For families driving through Davis between Sacramento and the Bay Area, or families based in Davis/Sacramento making a dedicated museum trip, Explorit is a genuinely good stop. The pricing is notably more affordable than Bay Area science museums — a family of 4 might spend $30-50 versus $100+ at comparable Bay Area institutions.

UC Davis's world-class agricultural and natural science research gives the town an intellectual energy that comes through in Explorit's programming — the museum benefits from its proximity to one of the top research universities in the country. Check explorit.org for current hours and programming before visiting.