• Location: 2065 Kittredge St. Berkeley, CA 94704

• Phone: 510-647-1111

• Website: www.habitot.org

• Pricing: $

• Hours: M-TH 9:30-12:30, F-S 9:30-4:30

 

Description: Habitot in downtown Berkeley is a great place to take toddlers and young children up to 4.5 years old. It's a hands on exploration center that has plenty of room for children to use their imagination and creativity. There are water tables, playdough tables, painting, and daily projects that children can sink there hands in to. There is a gopher wall maze for climbing, but be careful if your child is too big it is a good way to make them feel stuck. There is a big space space ship complete with astronaut dress up clothes for the imagination and dramatic play- that was the highlight of the trip for my crew. If your toddler is getting hungry or tired there is a snack area and also a mellowed out reading room. Also more dramatic play areas that have dress ups and various other themes like the supermarket and such.

 

Highlights: The gigantic model of a spaceship is the big catcher here. Not only can children go inside of it and explore the different buttons and levers, but there are also built in phones so they can "phone home" or call back to the space station. The best part of this imaginative play is that there are dress up's so they can feel like real astronauts. There are bright orange jumpsuits and space helmets. This exhibit is centered right next to a giant space wall mural so the children will really feel like they are getting that out of this world experience!

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Tips: If you can take a visit during the weekday it is less crowded and eqasier to find parking. This is downtown Berkeley so parking is tricky, or taking Bart would help. Since you are in downtown there are plenty of places to grab lunch with your children after that are within walking distance. 

 

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