Deblynn

Which would interest my boys, ages 10 & 15 the most, the Exploratorium or Chinatown? My 15 year old does enjoy shopping and my 10 year old is really into science. We have visited the Reuben Fleet Science Center in San Diego. Is it basically the same as the Exploratorium? Any input would be great. Thanks.

Mary2Go

I have taken my two sons to both Chinatown and the Exploratorim when they were a bit younger than your boys and they enjoyed Chinatown a lot more than the other. I think your boys may be a bit old (especiallly the teen) to get much out of the Exploratorium. My kids liked all the junk items they could buy in Chinatown even though they are not shoppers. My youngest who was about 8 at the time was into "Ninja Stars" and we had to look at every shop to see them...

gracieb

I agree. There are neat walking tours of Chinatown in NYC. I wonder if they have similar in SF. I've done both on my own and the tour took us to places not normally seen by the public.

We had a business function at the Exploratorium. I wasn't that impressed.

Froggy

Exploratorium is a hands on place. I think that your boys would love the experience of doing the science experiments. I don't think age matters to enjoy it. My husband (who is an engineer) had the best time there. It is a totally different experience than that of the Fleet Center. You could always go to Chinatown afterwards.

Mariann

We went to SF last February with our two girls ages 10 & 11 (4th & 6th grade). They loved the Exploratorium. My husband and I found it interesting too. You could probably do both, We went to the exploratorium when they first openned (make sure you have reservations for the tactile dome - kids loved it, I found it a bit spooky). We then had time to go down to fisherman's wharf and do some of that stuff, your boys might like the tour of the WWII sub but the point being that you could do several hours in the Exploratorium then go to China Town which is openned late. I've been to Chinatown before but not with the girls, we had gone to China with them two years prior and didn't think they would find it too interesting. If your 10 year old loves science he would love the exploratorium. My one daughter found the DNA extraction interesting since thats what they were studing in school while my other daughter was facsinated by the Cow's eyeball dysection.

gracieb

I hope it's okay to cut and paste part of djdave's trip report. Here's a recommendation on a SF Chinatown tour -

Day Three: Did the All About Chinatown walking tour, which turned out to be one of the true highlights of our trip. Linda Lee, who does the tour, provides fascinating insight into the history, culture, and sights of the area, taking you into a Buddhist temple, fortune cookie factory, markets, an herbal store, etc., topped off by a delicious dim sum lunch at Kans. I cannot recommend her, and her tour, highly enough.

FainaAgain

Can your boys compromise and do both? Bus 30 runs from Exploratorium to China-town.

Jayne1973

Both are great, but if I had to choose, I'd pick Chinatown simply because it's something truly San Francisco. There are so many similar hands-on science museums across the country now that the Exploratorium in not that unusual anymore.
IMO, there's nothing like Chinatown.