by C Song

Created on: July 12, 2009   Last Updated: July 13, 2009

Situated in downtown San Jose, it seems only appropriate that the Tech Museum is located right where the technological revolution began. The Tech Museum, now over 20 years old, has played a vital role in revitalizing the downtown area, and has since been working toward its goal of inspiring and educating visitors.

The museum is comprised of three floors; the first is the main lobby, with a cafe and IMAX theatre, and the second and third are devoted to the interactive and fascinating exhibits that the museum is so well known for. The IMAX theatre alone is worth the price of admission. The massive domed screen provides a truly encompassing experience that engages the viewer and is almost dizzying. You can go on a California adventure, surfing the Pacific waves and swimming with otters, or travel to the sands of Egypt for an Indiana Jones-like thriller complete with mummies, hidden treasure, and grave robbers.

The museum has permanent exhibits and others which changes periodically. The newest permanent exhibit is Technology Benefiting Humanity, which shines a spotlight on global issues of famine and poverty, and the measures people are taking to combat them. The exhibit tells the stories of individuals who, by harnessing the power of technology, seek to solve the most pressing problems of health, economic development, education, and environment. One example would be the Barefoot College in India, which is educating rural women on building solar power and rainwater harvesting systems.

Another gallery in the museum is the Tech Virtual Tech Zone, billed as the world's first virtual-world-to-real-world exhibition gallery. Exhibits in this Tech Zone include Masterpiece Mashup which lets visitors enter the mind of an artist by observing the artistic process and adding their own creative modifications. There is also the Wall of Musical Buttons, which allows visitors to experiment with note intervals in familiar musical melodies. The Silicon Workshop enables museum goers to play the part of an innovator, programming microchips of a Mr. Potato Head or engineering a car. In the Life Tech exhibit, visitors can learn about machines that aid in human performance as well as ponder questions about ethics in biotechnology. Genetically transform bacteria to learn how medications are made, take a virtual journey through the entire human body, or try your own hand at heart surgery with an operating room simulator.

The Tech Museum also gives us the chance to be explorers with exhibits that take us to faraway places in the earth, under the sea, and to the stars. Experience a 8.0 earthquake or pilot your own spaceship.The Jet Pack Simulator is especially exciting. Visitors sit on a chair that rides on a cushion of air and earn points by maneuvering the vehicle to targets within the time allotted.

With more than 240 hands-on exhibits, the San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation provides a dynamic experience for visitors young and old. Eight dollars will purchase one ticket to the IMAX theatre and admission to the museum, with additional tickets being $4.00 for all ages. The museum also provides free membership to teachers, field trips, and lesson plans, evidence of the museums ultimate goal: inspiring and educating our youth. No visit to San Jose is complete without dropping by this fascinating and educational museum. Just look for the orange building with a giant blue dome and groups of smiling families outside you can't miss it.

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