Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo

The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo is a delightful escape for young explorers and their families, offering an engaging blend of interactive science exhibits and an intimate zoo experience. This award-winning destination sparks curiosity, encouraging children to discover, create, and play within a stimulating environment. Visitors can immerse themselves in hands-on science displays that make complex ideas tangible and fun, covering principles from physics to biology through interactive elements like giant ball runs and object exploration. Beyond the museum's walls, the thoughtfully curated zoo provides close encounters with over 60 species and 400 specimens, many of which are indigenous or part of rehabilitation programs. Highlights include the captivating Meerkat Desert, where children can crawl through logs for a unique view of the slender-tailed meerkats, and the vibrant Flamingo exhibit, where daily feedings offer a chance to see these majestic birds up close. The California Dinosaur Garden transports visitors to prehistoric times with life-sized dinosaur sculptures, a fossil dig, and interpretive exhibits built around a living dawn redwood tree. With its focus on education and conservation, the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo creates a memorable experience that nurtures young scientists and animal advocates alike. Explore the grounds like a pro—download the Snappit app to instantly identify animals and plants.