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    Los Altos History Museum

    4.8 (97 reviews)
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    Joyce W.

    A small, but meaningful museum about the history of Los Altos. It's got an exhibit on Sarah Winchester and her sister Isabel Merriman who both settled in this area although they're from the East Coast. Quite interesting lives they led. Upstairs, there's a permanent exhibit on the history of this city, which has about 40,000 people, but still feels like a town. Overall, it's a great little museum (with free (!) admission) and about 20-30 minutes is plenty of time to explore and get an idea of the exhibits and the staff are friendly and helpful to give an overview. There's also a little gift shop by the front desk with cute trinkets and toys, as well as books and other souvenirs. You can even rent this museum for a private event such as a party or a wedding!

    Entry to the courtyard
    Jaysie Y.

    We had such a great experience hosting our corporate team-building event for ~60 people at the Los Altos History Museum! The venue is beautiful -- we used both the full courtyard and the galleries, and it worked perfectly for our day. Our event had a few moving parts, including a scavenger hunt, full catering for breakfast and lunch, and even a magician/mentalist -- and the space handled it all seamlessly. The amenities were super convenient too. We had a shuttle drop off team members, and those who drove had no issues finding parking. Lisa was amazing to work with. She was responsive, helpful, and incredibly accommodating -- from the early setup to coordinating all the logistics. Our team had a great time, and the smooth transition between indoor and outdoor spaces made the whole experience feel effortless. We also selected Heirloom from their approved vendor list, and the combination was smoother than I could have even dreamed! Would definitely recommend for events -- both personal and corporate!

    Sunil R.

    This is a tiny, local, and delightful museum. The volunteers here were great, very knowledgeable and eager to share. Expect to spend 30 minutes in the main museum to learn about the history of the town and 30 minutes at the Smith House, which is a guided tour with a volunteer.

    Inside museum
    Annabelle R.

    Free admission. Videos and exhibits about the Spanish missions in California, how streets got their names, and the El Camino Real bells. They're really proud of their bells here! And apricots! The indoor museum is small, but informative, with some fun facts about the history of the city and surrounding area. The outdoor space and garden are lovely (they actually sometimes do events out there). The Smith House is something similar to the Museum of American Heritage, with items of the past set up in different rooms, including a unique square grand Steinway piano from the 1800's at the corner of one of the rooms. There was a staff member/docent giving a tour of this house this past Sunday afternoon too. We listened in a bit, but preferred self-guided exploration of all the different spaces on site. The main museum has two levels, but it's small, even with the outdoor area, so it's easy to see it all in less than an hour. On a rainy day if you don't want to spend time outside, 30 minutes would probably be sufficient. Keep in mind, they have rotating special exhibits, so check the website to see what's currently on displqy. Also, plenty of parking available right in front of the museum.

    Reception table outside
    Bentley S.

    The Los Altos History Museum was the perfect venue for our wedding. From the moment we first reached out, Lisa was friendly, empathetic and incredibly responsive, making us feel special throughout the planning process. The space itself is beautifully decorated and landscaped with a warm, welcoming feel that set the perfect scene for our ceremony and reception. Lisa ensured everything ran smoothly so we could fully enjoy our special day. We couldn't recommend this hidden gem enough - not only is the venue stunning, but we knew our money was going towards a wonderful community organization that puts on great programming. Our guests are still talking about how beautiful and unforgettable the museum was!

    Entrance to Los Altos History Museum
    Kelly M.

    This is a lovely, little museum that shows how Los Altos's origin, and features the people who were prominent in the town. (There is a library building in front, and the museum entrance is further down.) The museum has a gift shop and several interactive exhibits. It includes a model of the downtown recreating how it looked in the 1930's and features Hidden Villa, and the family who donated it to the town. We received a tour of the Smith house by two informative docents. The house is filled with furniture, equipment, and decor from the Depression Era. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had an interesting backstory that included a mother who prevented the Smith's marriage for many years; thus, they never had children. This museum is definitely worth a visit!

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    A little gem of a museum for a quick 30 - 45 minute visit. Lots of interesting local history.

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    Ask the Community - Los Altos History Museum

    Review Highlights - Los Altos History Museum

    “My wife and I were married at LAHM in early July and Mark Perry was an absolute pleasure to work with.”

    Mentioned in 8 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    I have visited other computer history collections, including the National Museum of American…read moreHistory in Washington, D.C. I also went to school learning to program on some of the types of computers displayed here and later worked in software engineering. So I came into the Computer History Museum with a bit of a "seen it, done it, why do it again?" attitude. My husband and I ended up spending five hours here. Does that make us nerds? Probably. One of the highlights for me was the live IBM 1401 demonstration. When we visited, demonstrations were offered Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. and Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. I even got to create my own punch card and have it used during the demonstration. I'd learned about punched cards, but watching cards physically being fed into the IBM 1401 to program the computer was something I had never actually seen before. It made an important piece of computing history suddenly tangible. There are also live demonstrations of the PDP-1 on the first and third Saturdays at 2:30 and 3:15 p.m., and a Spacewar! Tournament every fifth Saturday at noon. You may even get the chance to play Spacewar!, one of the earliest video games. If you can attend a guided tour, I highly recommend it. Rather than simply walking past rows of old machines, the guide helped bring the history alive, including the ENIAC and the enormous changes in computer technology and chips over the decades. There is a replica of a World War II Enigma cipher machine on display, along with early census machines. The collection progresses through vintage computers such as UNIVAC, the IBM System/360, minicomputers and desktop computers, as well as the technology surrounding them: hard drives, mice, printers, computer chips and much more. Eventually, you arrive in the age of artificial intelligence and Ameca, the AI-powered robotic head and shoulders. You're supposed to be able to speak with her using a microphone, although during our visit she didn't seem to be able to hear what anyone was saying into it. There is also a café with coffee, other drinks, and grab-and-go food including sandwiches, hummus and pizza. There is seating both indoors and outside, which made it easy for us to take a break before continuing through the museum. One parking warning: we visited on a Saturday when a Vintage Computer Festival was also taking place. By the time we arrived around 10:40 a.m., the museum parking was full. Parking attendants redirected us to a Microsoft visitor parking lot about 0.45 miles away, and there was no shuttle, so we had to walk between the lot and museum. I expected this to be a relatively quick visit because I had already seen plenty of historic computers over the years. Five hours later, I had created a punch card, watched an IBM 1401 come alive, revisited computers and technology from my own past, and discovered quite a few things I had never seen before. Apparently, even for a couple of computer nerds, there was still plenty left to learn.

    I absolutely loved visiting the Computer History Museum! There is so much to offer here for both…read morekids and adults alike. If you have any interest in learning how computers were invented and how they've evolved over the last century, this is the perfect place to explore. It's incredibly well-curated and engaging. A few tips for your visit: Time: Personally, I would recommend setting aside at least 2 hours to fully explore the exhibits and really soak it all in. Food & Drink: They have a wonderful cafe on-site that serves great hot chocolate, coffee, and light snacks--perfect for a quick energy boost mid-tour. Parking: No need to stress about parking. They have a massive lot that looks more than capable of handling even the busiest weekend crowds. Highly recommend checking this place out if you're in the area!

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    This turned out to be one of my favorite stops, especially when I'm in between appointments in Palo…read moreAlto. I knew in advance that on Thursdays (2nd & 4th weeks only), the public street parking in front of the building was off limits for street sweeping/no parking between 7am-11am, so I got very lucky pulling up in front at 11am sharp. Nice. Easy walk. The Foster Museum was very simple, decent, positive, and relaxing environment filled with gorgeous nature views/sketches/watercolor artworks by the U.K. artist, Tony Foster. Good feeling here. Free admissions and good customer service staffs. You can just walk in or register online. There's a tiny gift area not far from the public restrooms. I signed the guestbook at the end of my walk. Good place to hang around/includes unlimited paper, paper/pencils/samples/etc. If you like to sketch and get some creative inspirations, all the nature artworks in the gallery is definitely a good place to start. Not huge, but perfectly quite and calm for art lovers. You can request for an orientation and/or tour as desired. Great first impression during first visit. It's the positive feeling I get from observing the energy and various colorful artworks. Simple and stress-free. Good value/free admissions is totally worth the 1-2 hours here. They also host art classes too, but I will need to take time to browse around online. Good vibes. Staffs are friendly inside. Hidden place. Love it.

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    1 of only 3 Public Frank Lloyd Wright sites in CA and they only allow visitors twice a year so…read morecount yourself an architecture nerd and a lucky-one if you do get a spot on the tour. Older review from before Covid, you can email hannahouse@stanford.edu for next tour dates. You can take as many pictures as you want outside but no pictures of the interior so I added some I found online. This is what makes this design unique compared to other FLW works: -Hexagons/honeycomb, back in 1936 imagine the precision that had to be done by hand to make the huge structure a honeycomb as well as small details like the stone tiles. One cut slightly wrong would have snowballed into huge misalignments. -First FLW work in non-rectangular structures -First FLW work in the Bay Area It's not as epic and grand as Fallingwater or as contemplative as Taliesin West and it is smaller than some of the US public FLW sites but it's only 1 of 3 in Cali you can see the interior of and you get a more complete picture if you can see inside/out and hear the docents anecdotes about the design and house.

    Hanna House is one of the few northern California buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Located…read morein a residential neighborhood within the boundaries of the sprawling Stanford University campus, the home is currently occupied by a private party and is not open to the public. However, it once served as the official residence for the Provost where the university regularly held alumni and fundraising events and one might reasonably assume the home may someday return to it's previous semi-public stature. Although visitors are discouraged from trespassing on the property, the house has been magnificently maintained and is visible from the street below. A relatively new arrangement with the Stanford Historical Society will enable the public to tour the house twice each year. Interested parties should contact hannahouse@stanford.edu to receive information about future tour dates and booking arrangements.

    Los Altos History Museum - museums - Updated September 2026

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