I came here after my kiddo had already visited because he talked so much about it…read more I've driven by so many times but this was the first time I stopped in to check it out. We walked in and we paid our entrance fee at the front and were told if we were interested in a membership we could use our entrance fee to pay towards that cost. My kiddo led our visit around the entire museum. I loved how interactive the areas were specially the cockpit area. The volunteers and staff were friendly and my kiddos enjoyment of the space solidified my interest in a membership which I ultimately got. Since then we have been back multiple times. We've enjoyed all our visits and check in goes smoothly since we already have a barcode. At our last visit I ended up setting the 5 minute timer for the cockpit area since we waited so long to get in. Probably the most popular space in this entire museum. While my kiddo and I played and several other families waited their turn patiently a parent walked up and asked how much longer we'd be there since her kid had been waiting a long time. Wild to me because we had been waiting in line that's not really a line but some seats in the back and not once did I see this parent waiting. She must of waited a whole minute before speaking to me. I told her we just got in and that I had set my 5 minute timer. She said she didn't see the sign and others pointed her right to it. Right in front of her face. She asked if I worked here. I said no but that the 3 volunteers out there did to redirect her and enjoy my 5 minutes. As one of the most popular attractions here it would be beneficial for volunteers to monitor the line and timers per group. It's insane to me that grown people can act like this or just oversee other waiting groups and act more impatient than a toddler. The space is way too small to be insufferable in a place to enjoy, explore and take turns. Front staff is great. Most volunteers are great. The volunteers in the cockpit benefit from helping maneuver cockpit time and potential lines. This is a well cared for museum and an enjoyable way to spend the day. Our family enjoys it and will continue to be members till my kids want to be.

Hiller Aviation Museum is one of the more unusual aviation museums I've ever visited. It is just…read moreabout 11 miles south of SFO off Hwy 101 adjacent to the San Carlos airport. The aircraft & artifacts are mainly from the collection of Stanley Hiller of the Hiller Aircraft Corp that has been developing helicopters and other experimental flying machines since the late 40's. So many of these unusual copters, gyros & flying platforms are on display, plus anything else Stanley had collected over the decades. There aren't a lot of more recognizable aircraft, but you learn a lot by reading about these rare, one-of-a-kind flying machines. On slow days, you buy your entry ticket in the gift shop and go through the entry hall that is dominated by a full scale replica of the X-Prize winning SpaceShipOne hanging from the ceiling. As you enter the main gallery, you have turn of the century wood & fabric biplane replicas of the Wright brothers & Glenn Curtiss along with early not-so-successful flying machines. Moving onto the middle 20th century, the Hiller Aviation Corp. designed some offbeat personal aircraft with personal vertical takeoff craft 70 years before their time. There are also more conventional winged aircraft like the Grumman Albatross (propeller seaplane) and Aero L-39 Albatros (Czech jet trainer), 2 totally different planes with similar names sitting right next to each other. Above them all is the mother of all remotely piloted drones, the Boeing Condor from 1988 with a huge wingspan of 200 ft! If you go out the back, you get to climb through the nose section of a Boeing 747-100 jumbo airliner from the 70's & 80's. The gift shop is one of the more extensive that I've seen with lots of souvenirs for all ages and aviation memorabilia for enthusiasts.

Keep an eye out for the special events held at this museum as I always have a good time! This year…read moreI have been to the annual yard sale on the grounds and an annual holiday tea in the museum, both of which were very well run. The holiday tea was my first experience inside the full museum. Upstairs was a display of items made and invented in Sunnyvale, which was really interesting! Downstairs, there are historical exhibits about the Murphy family, showing off many of their wares. There are additional exhibits that feature history of the Ohlone tribe as well as information about agriculture and innovation in Sunnyvale. The teas throughout the year are held by the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association and are run by volunteers as fundraisers, and we had a lovely time. I would highly recommend attending! Lots of easy parking is available in front of the museum. There is a museum store that, in addition to museum merchandise, sells vintage jewelry and other fun treasures.

We enjoyed checking this place out over the weekend. An outdoor courtyard in front of the museum,…read moreas well as two levels of exhibits inside, showcased the history of Sunnyvale and the surrounding area, staged rooms (bedroom, kitchen, living area) presenting plenty of interesting pieces in the Murphy home, old photos of Libby's water tower (the giant fruit can that still stands today), antique instruments such as an 1895 graphophone along with several different pianos, vintage toys and technology with an impressive timeline display that brought a feeling of nostalgia, and of course the temporary Baylug Gingerbread Village Lego exhibit, charming in the details including a model railroad, planes, trains, and boats (with the option of a scavenger hunt too). The staff and volunteers here were helpful and cordial during our visit, and we appreciated getting to explore the various rooms at our own pace. We picked up a few items from the gift shop before leaving, some cool lego glasses and sunglasses for kids, the timing during the holidays working in our favor as they had some quite unique stuff. We also walked around the Orchard Heritage Park and Interpretive Exhibit, adjacent to the museum. We viewed the informational boards on site, about the community who cared for the land as well as apricots! Sure there were plenty of bare trees in winter, but the scenery was still so lovely. It was a great way to end our time here. Days/hours of operation are limited during the week, just Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays (for 2024, closed xmas eve and new years eve, but open an extra day Saturday 12/28). Free parking and free admission.

Just beautiful grounds. Peaceful and lovely to walk around…read more Perfect for a ladies group gathering You can only eat in the cafe. So don't bring your own picnic hoping to sit inside to eat Great for photos!

Have been coming here for 30 years. The grounds are SO gorgeous, and the gardens are a "must visit"…read morefor any garden lover. Plan on spending 2-3 hours here, so much to see. Easy parking. The holiday events are especially fun! I've done both a Halloween one, and holiday one. Stop at Bucks for dinner before or after your visit!

No charge. As soon…read moreas we went inside, an employee met us with a smile on his face and a friendly question: Do we want a tour or not? My advice is to answer yes, because that way you get through the entire museum, learning interesting that you might have missed without a guide. This man was full of passion for the place. He found much of the material, and yes, he just is a bit volunteer! By the way, my favorite part of the museum was the train. So, if you've never been to this place - you should visit it. You won't spend a lot of time, but you will probably learn something new!

Such a great relic from times past. When trains were The mode of transportation. Very good set up…read moreand display for families to visit. Lots of care here.

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!

I've lived two streets away from this little creek and park for six years and never realized it,…read morebut this year during quarantine I noticed it on Maps and had to check it out. The first time I came here I was actually a little scared! It's a legit woodsy area right next to a neighborhood, with a small babbling (or maybe trickling) creek. The mallard ducks like to call this place their home, mostly visible in early morning or evening (you can sometimes catch them sleeping!). After you get used to the insular quietness of this park, you come to really appreciate it! It's a very short path (I think my Fitbit logs it as about 200-300 steps across), but it's very peaceful. You can listen to the birds chirp, the squirrels rush about, and the water and gentle rustling of leaves. I also found it funny to catch the squirrels yelling their heads off more than once. It's located between two streets, so you can clearly see houses on both sides, and it's pretty safe. I'd recommend taking a stroll! But not too many so I can keep the quietness to myself :)

Arroyo Park is probably one of the honey's favorite parks in the area due to the mallard ducko…read morefamily that is in residence in the stream. We originally thought it was just the drake and his two ladies, but it turns out there's at least two drakes and three hens, though we don't usually see them all together. The park is open during daylight hours and is usually pretty quiet, surprising for being not that far from the bustling El Camino street. You can hear the brook babbling and birds, and it's really quite a lovely stop.

Such a cool, mellow feeling to siege a whole block and kick back to watch a movie from a historical…read morebuilding where any angle is the perfect view. There is security, food, movie and fun! Parking can be tricky but it can be found.

After finding parking, my brother and I found the intersection and walked down a narrow sidewalk…read moretowards the grassy areas. As I got near, I saw about 5 food trucks along the street and long lines in front of each truck! First thing to do was check in at the Info Booth! I waited for a short while since first the lady said I should wait for the lady beside her to help me. After waiting for 2 people, the same lady I first approached ended up changing her mind and felt like helping me...sheesh. Highlighting my name & my +1 brother, I was then given my 2 red bracelets. It signified my VIP access to the Yelp VIP area. I was told that there are blankets strewn in front of the movie screen area and that's where I would be able to sit. On a side note, there was no Yelp schwag at this Yelp Community Event. It was more of a casual night to just watch movies with other family and friends. Next, my brother and I walked around the Night Design Market area. The first tent on the left was where we picked up our free water. They ran out of other beverages. I just quickly browsed to see what vendors were selling: items or food. I did see cotton candy! After that we walked around the check out the menus of all the food trucks. I ended up deciding the LittleGreenCyclo food truck which sold a small selection of Vietnamese food. While my brother & I were waiting at the very end of the line, I told him I'll go find the blanket area. I asked the friendly staff if this was the VIP area. Successfully locating it, I choose an available blanket about the 8th in front of the movie screen. I dropped off my bag and coat there. Oh my, there were so many fruit flies or small flying bugs on the blanket! I met a nice couple with cute long-haired chihuahuas behind my blanket spot. *Side Note* Before the day of this movie night, I received contact from some Yelpers saying they would be excited to meet me. It was definitely exciting to meet more Yelper friends. Surprised they even noticed me! Glad I found a blanket before it got more filled up, I walked back to join my brother in the long wait in line! I was glad I had internet data still working in that park. I noticed a Yelper Stan checked in. I was scanning around and thought I spotted him just standing in the left side food truck line. I kept staring, LOL, and knew he didn't see me. So, after I received his comment notifying me he was located at which food truck line and wearing what, I approached Stan, introduced myself, and as I was showing him his profile picture asked him if that was him. It was a fun, brief, first encounter. Yay! I found 1 Yelper for the night. I commented on my thread for Linda to find me! Still waiting in line, I became restless and wanted to check up on my belongings. I walked and went back to the food truck line. Later, nearing the middle of the line, it started to rain lightly! So, I wanted to go get my jacket. At that time Linda commented she was waiting at the blanket. We were commenting live time in my check in, so I immediately went back to my blanket to get my jacket and see if I could spot Linda! I was looking around to see if anybody was wearing a moto jacket and even asked the lady behind my blanket to see if she saw any girl matching the outfit description Linda told me. LOL. Next thing you know, I saw a girl walking in front of me, tapping on her phone. Realized later she commented walking over to the food truck. haha. Anyways, I quickly said Linda, Are you Linda?? :-D LOL. And YAY! I was right! She finally looked up from her phone and said Yes. and I told her I'm Andrea. Think we hugged and I was excited to tell her about meeting another Yelper Stan too. So, we walked to go greet Stan. Linda later told me she had another Yelper friend telling her she would be there at movies too! Back to the line, I was sooo hungry! Finally reaching LittleGreenCyclo, tried to order fresh pineapple lychee lemonade and lemongrass grilled pork, but they ran out! I ended up choosing Lemongrass Chicken with Noodles (Mary's Free Range Air Chilled Nine Spice Grilled Chicken with Fresh Rice Vermicelli). Delicious. My brother got the Sweet Potato Tater Tots. All were yummy! After that, we walked to our blanket. I saw Stan still waiting in line for food sadly! It was getting dark by then...My brother and I shared our food. I told Stan since he wasn't VIP, we can share our blanket with him later during movie time. My brother and I finished our food and went to throw away our garbage. He went to go buy bacon caramel popcorn and Sugar Spun cotton candy too. Shortly after, Ferris Bueller's Day Off movie started. By that time, it was completely dark, after receiving a late message, I spotted Stan sitting on the grass and invited him to join our blanket. He was nice to share his Rib Whip ribs with my brother and I, also his antibacterial. Wow, delicious rib! I was still hungry during the funny, classic movie. Luckily, I brought my chocolate chip cookies! Happy that movie night!

I love this shop . I live up in Sf and try to stop by anytime I'm in San Mateo .. The wife /…read morehusband duo that owns / runs it are very nice .. and they carry some of the coolest stuff for your home or apartment ... very well curated !!

Finally came in after passing by who knows how many times. Was searching for a birthday present and…read morethey helped me out so much with recs. Went above and beyond to gift wrap things, even though not everything was purchased from them. Very friendly, would come back again!