6 Cool Tech Attractions In Silicon Valley

Discover the technology culture and pioneering spirit of Silicon Valley, from the Tech Interactive in San Jose to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. Visit the most innovative companies on the planet, including Google, Apple, Facebook, and Intel. Tour the historic Hewlett Packard Garage - considered the "Birthplace of Silicon Valley - in Palo Alto where in 1939 Stanford graduates William Hewlett and David Packard developed an audio oscillator. Discover the history of computers and processors, code with talking robots, and open your mind to the future of Silicon Valley innovation. Here are the best tech attractions in Silicon Valley, where you can nerd out and still feel cool.

1. Computer History Museum in Mountain View

Explore the evolution of our technological world and the largest collection of computing artifacts. The Computer History Museum in Mountain View offers exhibits that illuminate the innovations that transformed our way of life, and include hardware and software, demo labs, photos and videos. Among the collection's most popular displays are the first Apple computer, a WW II ENIGMA encryption device, and a 1980 Sharp calculator with an abacus. Try your hand at coding, sit in a self-driving car, and discover why computer history is really 2,000 years old.

2. Apple Headquarters in Cupertino

(10600 North Tantau Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014) The Apple headquarters in Cupertino takes up a square block with its spaceship-like design and forested terrain in its center. An architectural extension of the private campus, the Apple Park Visitor Center is a fun place to shop and explore with an amazing Apple store, a cafe that uses iPad minis as menus and serves delicious drinks, espressos and chocolates, an exhibit space with a model of the circular building and iPad minis to see the interior, Today at Apple sessions, and the Rooftop Terrace with views of the rolling landscape of Apple Park.

3. The Tech Interactive in San Jose, formerly the Tech Museum

(201 S. Market St., San Jose, CA 95113 The Tech Interactive is a science and technology center in downtown San Jose. The museum features hands-on exhibits on innovation and how we use technology in everyday life, experimental labs, and experiences that spark curiosity. The Tech is a leader in immersive education to nurture the next generation of problem-solvers and innovators. Make a colorful mix of DNA, play with immersive media, or shake in an earthquake in the Exploration Gallery. Check out Social Robots, which teaches coding and circuitry through robot construction, and Northern California's largest dome IMAX.

4. Intel Museum in Santa Clara

(2200 Mission College Boulevard, Santa Clara, CA 95054) Discover the people and technology that changed the world at the Intel Museum in Santa Clara. Just off the headquarters of the world's largest semiconductor company, the museum features fun, hand-son exhibits that show how computer chips are produced and used every day. Go behind the scenes and see what's inside an automated silicon chip factory. Get the story behind Intel's first microprocessor and how it changed the direction of technology.

5. The Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose

(180 Woz Way, San Jose, CA 95110) This San Jose museum offers fun, interactive exhibits that excite and inspire kids to learn, play, create, and imagine. Kids can create giant bubbles, climb-aboard a fire engine, discover the natural world in Bill's Backyard, see mammoth fossils, shop at a farmers' market learning about healthy fruits and vegetables, and experience the action of a big city street. The Children's Discovery Museum also offers a performing arts theater and concerts in the Cadence Amphitheatre.

6. Google Campus in Mountain View

The iconic Google headquarters is a popular Silicon Valley sightseeing destination. While there is no Googleplex campus tour, you can see the campus if you are escorted by a Googler. There are also 12 acres of the campus you can walk unescorted. Some fun things to see include the multi-colored bicycles, organic gardens, restaurants, eclectic works of art, a life-size T. Rex skeleton, stone busts of celebrities and scientists, a sand volleyball court, tennis courts, massive cartoon figures, and a store. Feel the energy of the search engine powerhouse that revolutionized the internet and made it an essential part of our lives.

Where To Stay In The Tech Mecca of Silicon Valley?

If you're looking for a hotel near the Google campus or the Computer History Museum, Hotel Strata offers modern styled rooms and suites near downtown Mountain View in Silicon Valley's tech hub. The hotel offers a prime location for business and leisure travelers near major tech companies and attractions, as well as a business center, free hot breakfast buffet and WiFi, and an electric charging station. Take advantage of the complimentary shuttle service and ride anywhere within 5 miles of the hotel.