Bay Area Field Trips About Transportation
Transportation Related Field Trips
These field trips to destinations about transportation have been
recommended by homeschooling parents and kids. If you have a favorite
that isn't listed here please call Homefires Journal at 650-365-9425 or
E-mail Your Field Trip Destination.
While we hope that this information is accurate, please do call to
confirm.
Airplanes to Rockets
1625 North Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, CA
Phone: 650-254-7325
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11am to 10pm, Monday noon to 11pm.
Price: Prices vary significantly according to type of jet used and
the time it is used for -- anywhere from $5 all the way up to $49.99.
Call first to sort it out.
A jet fighter flight simulation facility where one can pilot a jet
on missions that include flight maneuvers, air-to-air combat, and
aircraft carrier take-offs and landings. 23 interactive simulators
for authentic and futuristic jet fighter flight simulation. Single
and double seater jets. Simulate take-offs and landings on aircraft
carriers. Simulate dog-fighting. Time periods for jets are 1 hour
and include a half hour of training and a half hour of flying.
601 Sky Way, San Carlos, CA
Phone: 650-654-0200
Hours: Open daily 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Admission: $9.00/adults, $6.00/youth, children under 4 free
This museum showcases full-sized aircraft in simulated flight. Rotating
propellers and operating controls are among exhibits that illustrate
the how's and why's of key aviation inventions. Young Eagles Program
lets kids take a real ride in an airplane -- for free!
Moffett Field, Hwy 101 in Mountain View, CA
Phone: 650-604-6274
Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Weekends 12 noon - 4 p.m.; Closed Mondays
Reservations recommended
Admission: Free
2-hour tours Monday-Friday by reservation, School tours on Fridays at
9:30 am. Includes Visitor Center orientation. Then, caravan on site to
Hangar One, a pre-World War II dirigible hangar. Hangar houses a collection
of aero-space displays including research aircraft, spacecraft, wind tunnel,
artifacts. Children under age 9 not allowed.
Automobiles and Trucks
3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, Danville, CA
Phone: 925-736-2280, 925-837-2525, 925-837-6119
Hours: Open Wed-Sun from 11am-5pm.
Admission: $5 per vehicle park entrance fee.
More than 120 classic and exotic automobiles owned by famous and not-so-famous
personalities.
45500 Fremont Blvd. Fremont, CA
Phone: 510-498-5765 or 510-770-4008
Tour hours: Tuesday-Friday, 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Reservations needed.
Free. Age restrictions: 10 and up. Take a 1.5 hour guided tour/tram
ride through the only car-making plant on West Coast.
Tours depart from the Jefferson Street side of The Cannery, 2801 Leavenworth St., San Francisco, CA
Phone: 415-333-7077
Hours: On-going, call for reservation.
Fee: $20/adult; $10/child to age 12.
Take a unique tour of San Francisco in the back of a bright red 1955
Mack fire engine. There are 2 tours offered: a one-hour trip through
the Presidio and over the Golden Gate Bridge; and a tour along Fisherman's
Wharf and through North Beach.
Ships and Submarines
Hyde Street Pier — One block north of the Hyde Street cable car turnaround near Fisherman's
Wharf, San Francisco, CA
Phone: 415-447-5000
Hours: Daily 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Memorial Day to September 30)
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (October 1 to May 27)
Admission: $5/adults; (good for 7-days) Free/children under 16
Experience San Francisco's seafaring past aboard the ships that helped
build the City: the recently restored 1886 square-rigger Balclutha,
the 1895 coastal lumber schooner C.A. Thayer, the 1891 scow schooner Alma,
and the 1890 steam ferry Eureka. Kids can climb all over the ships
while parents read the historic notes posted throughout. The Maritime
Museum sponsors many events here including Free Evening Sea Chantey
Sing-alongs with hot cider!
Board at Pier 43, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
Phone: 415-447-0597
Hours: Daily 10am to 5:30pm
Fee: $17/adults; $13/youth (ages 12-18); $9/child (ages 5-11); Free/kids
5 and under.
1-hour Bay Cruise sails under Golden Gate Bridge, past Marin Headlands,
by Sausalito, Tiburon, Angel island and Alcatraz.
Phone: 415-556-3002
Hours: Daily 10am-5pm. Admission: Free
Examine ship models, ship relics, beautifully carved and painted figureheads,
see photographs, paintings, maps, scrimshaw, whaling gear and samples
of sailor's handicrafts.
Also: Study books, ship plans, oral histories, films and manuscripts
in the Maritime Museum Library's public reading room, Building E,
Fort Mason Center (call 415-556-9870).
Pier 3, Alameda Point, Alameda
Phone: 888-865-2812
Hours: Daily 10am-6pm. Accessible by direct ferry service to ship.
Admission: $5-9 (special events/programs -- call for fees)
The Hornet is a National Historical Landmark, best remembered for
her duty in World War II and her historic recoveries of the Apollo
11 and Apollo 12 astronauts at sea. Authentic aircraft and equipment.
Guided tours. Live reenactments aboard ship, audio-visual displays,
interactive exhibits, aircraft simulator rides as well as custom tours,
special event and live-aboard packages.
Pier 45 (Fisherman's Wharf), San Francisco
Phone: 415-929-0202
Hours: October 14 until May 23 — 9:00 am - 6:00 pm Sunday through Thursday; 9:00 am - 8:00 pm Friday and Saturday
May 23 until October 13 — 9:00 am - 8:00 pm daily, Wednesday 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Admission: $9.00/adults, $3.00/children (ages 6-12), under 6 free
Explore a real World War II submarine. Go below decks and see the
galley, crews quarters and control room. Self-guided audio tour included
with admission. Very cramped space -- kids love it!
Trains and Railroads
34600 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont
Phone: 510-796-0199 or 510-796-0663
Hours: Thursday-Sunday 10am to 4pm
Admission: $1/general, $0.50/students ages 4-17, free for ages 3 and
under. Special Events programs cost about $7/general.
Learn about 19th century farming and agriculture activities. Civil
War reenactment once each year. Train rides through Butterfly Forest.
Hay rides. Crafts & activities. Homeschool tours available.
900-A Dornan Drive, Point Richmond, CA
Phone: 510-234-4884
Hours: April - December — Wednesday 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday Noon - 5:00 p.m.,
Admission: $4.00/adults, $2.00/children under 12 or $9.00 per family.
Enjoy 10,000 square feet of O, HO and N scale model railroading, constructed
and operated by the East Bay Model Engineers Society. See website before planning your visit.
199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA
Phone: 415-346 3303
Hours: Wednesday 7:00 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.; 2nd & 4th Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Admission: Free, Donations accepted
This club's HO-scale layout shows in miniature the engineering and
geographical features of California railroads, past & present.
Various types of bridges span canyons and dry washes. In addition,
there is a narrow-gauge railroad line that winds through the mountains.
Building 809, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard (at the end of Evans Ave.), San Francisco, CA
Phone: 415-822-8728
Hours: Saturday 7 Sunday, 10am-4pm
Admission: Free (Visitors need valid driver's license, current vehicle
registration and proof of insurance at time of arrival.)
Acquires, restores and operates historic mainline trains that have
been part of the railroad heritage of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Fully restored steam locomotive -- a former Southern Pacific high-speed
mainline passenger locomotive. Visitors must call in advance to arrange
entry pass to shipyard.
Duboce and Market Streets in San Francisco, CA
Phone: 415-552-3055.
Hours: Open daily. Cost: Free.
Old time transit equipment, vintage streetcars, cable cars and buses
in various stages of restoration. Outdoors, Mint Division Yard.
Washington and Mason Streets, San Francisco, CA
Phone: 415-474-1887
Hours: 10am-6pm (April-October); 10am-5pm (November-March).
Admission: Free. The City's Cable Car system is run from a circa 1907
red brick barn. Examine the winding machinery designed to make the
motorless cars navigate city streets. Fascinating!
1090 Merrill St., Menlo Park (100 yards south of the Caltrain station)
Phone: 650-322-0685
Hours: 4th Wednesday of every month from 7pm-10pm.
Admission: Free, but donations accepted.
See 3 different scales of model trains -- great for the family train
enthusiast!
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