Chabot Space & Science Center551

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best Museum for Teens in San Francisco, Chabot Space & Science Center is a state-of-art planetarium, theater, and space center. The center has miles of interactive hands-on exhibits, a full-dome digital planetarium, a huge screen theater with sensurround sound, a Discovery Room for children ages four-to-seven and three powerful telescopes. (Note: the Discovery Room is open on weekends only.

A high point is the digital planetarium's star shows, that entertainingly takes you on a trip across the heavens.

Planetarium & Theater: Open on Friday and Saturday nights until 9pm.

Observatory: Open for free access to the powerful refractor telescope from 7pm-10pm between November and March; from dusk until 11pm between April and October.

Classes: A broad selection of science workshops and classes are available through schools. Teachers can go online to read about and register for them.

Parties: You can host a star-studded birthday with a space or astronomy theme party. The birthday party program is suitable for children ages 6-14, with party bags available through Chabot's birthday coordinator. A basic package includes: exclusive use of a party room for one hour; free admission to the Center's exhibits, Planetarium or Theater show; and if you schedule an evening event, telescopes. Call 510.336.7311.

Summer Camps: The Center offers a number of half day and full day camps for young people. Campers explore space and earth science, astronomy, technology, and robotics. All camps include a show in the state-of-the-art Ask Jeeves Planetarium and the Tien MegaDome Theater. Call 510.336.7426 or visit www.chabotspace.org for details.