Oddyssea

A true gem. Wonderful kids activities, unique toy and trinket selection, and very kid friendly owner. I will likely mail order from them once we get back home. If you have kids or budding scientists of any age, definitely visit.

Such a fantastic place. I wish this was my house. There are so many wonderful things for all ages here. It’s a necessary stop whenever we’re in the area. The owner has great stories about the décor and products. You’ll find great gift ideas and things for yourself you didn’t know you needed. Highly recommend this place

This is the best place to get souvenirs from your trip to Half Moon Bay! Porcupine quills for my mom, antique skeleton keys for my sister, magnetic hide-​a-​key for my brother-​in-​law. Resin model bear claws for my coffee table! The girl who rang me up wrapped my items especially delicately when I told her I was bringing them home in a carry-​on, and she was so personable and funny to boot. I didn’t bother with the make-​your-​own terrarium workshop, but this is a delightful little place to stop into, with lots of fun curiosities.

What a cute, fun place to shop in Half Moon Bay! The guy behind the counter was super helpful & very nice. They have one of those «Zoltar» fortune teller machines (like from the movie BIG), that’s what caught my husband’s eye and what made us walk in.
Lots of interesting treasures, prices are good. I bought my daughter a diy pearl necklace that you scoop out of an oyster. She ended up getting a rare dark grey/​black pearl. It was only about $ 20 and such a fun experience & souvenir for her to have.
We will definitely be back in next time we’re in town!

So much awesome & neat stuff! Perfect place for gifts and the staff is really friendly. Plus, everything is very reasonably priced.

I LOVE this place. It is the best store along the stores of Half Moon Bay’s Main Street. It’s an offbeat and eccentric store BUT it has an amazing selection of knickknacks and gifts for science geeks and nature lovers!
There are vintage science gizmos, specimens of fauna and shells, etc. I love window shopping and I probably spent a good 20 minutes just looking and playing with everything.
The best part about this place is the kid and adult playground in the backyard. It’s so artfully and creatively put together. There is even half of a sunken ship in the yard. You can purchase dubloons and then use the dubloons to do various activities that you can take home with you. I must say, though, that the activities are pricey. For example, the ornament activity costs 8 or 9 dubloons, which is the equivalent of about $ 20?
I used 1 dubloon to crack open a geode. It was awesome!
The yard is possible to rent out for parties and events. I can just imagine having a company gathering here with casual drinks and fun activities for adults.

What a gem! So much fun DYI kits I would drive to Half Moon bay, just to go here. Also I love thier outside craft room with the jolly Roger and large marble run, like the old mouse trap.

So many interesting things! I completely nerded out in here and bought a bunch of cool treasures. There’s a great mix of scientific tools, taxidermy, air plants, shells, stones, and so much more! The prices are much better than any similar shops I’ve been to. I didn’t catch the guy’s name who was working yesterday, but he was super helpful and excited to interact with customers. What I loved most is that he encouraged us to touch and play with whatever we wanted to. I will definitely return!

A highlight of my recent trip to the area and a great place to get some unique geeky gifts. The staff were very welcoming and I particularly liked the way they encouraged people to pick things up and play with them without pressure to buy.
My nephew loved his marbles with bugs in them and ate his dinner that night using a bear claw instead of a knife! I will definitely be back for more

You HAVE to stop here if you are in HMB. We were eating lunch across the street and initially I thought it was a nursery. No, it is a gift shop /​supply shop for nature and science nerds. Many, many interesting items, I bought 2 birthday gifts and 2 Christmas gifts. And since I already have a number of small air plants that have pupped, I was able to buy the blown glass mini terrariums for a very reasonable price. Previously I had purchased them from MAKE magazine’s store but then have to pay shipping. Was delighted to buy almost identical items here. I also bought 2 sea green sea urchin shells so that I can make those cool «jellyfish» style hanging airplants that you see in the magazines like Sunset and Martha Stewart.
This store is just chock full of interesting, reasonably priced items that you always wanted to but didn’t want to have to mail order.
And their outdoor area is great too — for «doubloons» (which you buy in the store) they provide a make your own terrarium station, a stamp your own dogtag station, a sand art station, a message in a bottle station and more — delightful interactive activities for kids (and artistically minded adults!).

Nothing but absolute love for this place. I’m from San Francisco and a friend took me here after looking at some overpriced terrariums. «I know the perfect place, you’ll love it!»
While it was a 45 minute drive to get there, it was absolutely 100% worth it. The prices for everything are fantastic and the shop owners are not only super friendly but also super informative. They know exactly where every product in their shop came from — they’re not just buying up a bunch of random stock to sell. They actually care about each and every product.
We were encouraged to play, touch, and look at everything. There was a cute outside area made for building your own bath salts, terrariums, etc. It’s the perfect place to find a unique gift for a loved one or for yourself. :)

What a fun place! We were just passing through town and arrived right at closing. They were so nice and stayed open so we could look around. Very cool stuff! So much to see and do, I’d definitely give yourself some time to enjoy. They have the coolest garden/​event area too! We didn’t get to explore it, but it looked like a great place for events or relaxing!

Wow, what a place — the perfect shop for me with a welcoming atmosphere. An easy way to spend an afternoon

Want to play? Have a hankering for a childhood inspired shopping experience? Want to nerd out while shopping? This spot will not disappoint. Fun toys and curiosities abound. The shop keeper is very friendly and there are even signs up encouraging to touch and play with the merchandise! While I was shopping a kid dropped a display toy; the shop keeper came over and asked «how do you like the toy?“and reassured the worried mom, «it’s ok, we tell you to play, he was just playing!» How refreshing! Cool jewelry and air plant kits for the grownups, too. I brought home a really fun air plant kit. Definitely worth a stop if you’re in the neighborhood and looking for a fun and out-​of-​the-​box shopping experience.

Had to stop in here again. What a fantastic store!!! Owner is fabulous and is very attentive without being over bearing. Every single item in the store makes me want to stay and touch and play and explore! There just isn’t enough time to look at everything. Great job! Keep it up!

Bring your kid here — your kid or your inner kid. Thank me later.
This place is amazing and delightful and delightfilled.

Hubby and I loved this shop… definitely a interesting mix of nerd, science, nature, games, and the bizarre.
He found several items he desired, and ended up with a small, very elegant magnifying glass.
Outside they have an interactive mining display, and cool colored sand they install in glass containers.
A must see on your HMB promenade. Closed Wednesdays.

Let me tell you the epic tale of my journey to Oddyssea.
I’ve been wanting to make my own terrarium forever and now I can thanks to Oddyssea. This place is the coolest store ever. When you walk in, they have a Zoltar fortune telling machine — there must be some sort of motion sensor because he starts talking whenever someone walks in the door. In the first part of the store, they have all kinds of interesting items for sale. Some of my favorites were the cast of a narwhal tusk (I asked about this and the lady said it was a cast made from the mold of a real juvenile narwhal’s tusk — it’s well over five feet tall so I can’t imagine how long an adult narwhal’s tusk would be — the tusk was like five hundred dollars), the jellyfish lava lamp thing, the box of antique keys ($ 1 per key), and the periodic table of condiments.
In the next part of the store is where they have everything you could possibly need to make a terrarium. They sell terrarium kits that have all the ingredients you need to make your own — a glass globe, an air plant, moss, sand, little seashells, a little starfish, and a little sea urchin. And the kit was only $ 22! I’ve been looking at taking a terrarium workshop and looked for kits online and they’ve cost way more than that. I asked the lady at the store how to take care of the terrarium and she told me that air plants get their nutrients from the green parts, so to spray that part with water, and that there were also instructions in the kit. She also said that if I didn’t like the air plant that was part of the kit, I could switch it out from the basket of air plants on the same table. There were all sorts of stuff to make your own custom terrariums with — different shaped glass globes, colored moss, little figurines, other shells, rocks and minerals, and more. They also had pre-​made terrariums for purchase. Another cool thing that I saw were air plant «jellies» — they had taken air plants (which look like the tentacles) and put a sea urchin (which looks like the head) at the root and so it looked like a jellyfish. So creative! Be sure to open the drawers in the things that look like old school library card-​catalog cabinets — there’s stuff in there too!
Oddyssea is also opening up an outdoor area just adjacent to their store — it’ll be opening up this coming weekend. I asked what they plan to do there and they’re going to have workshops and classes. I can’t wait to come back to check that out. I peeked in through the window in the shop and the space looks really cool — wooden tables and there’s something that looks like part of a ship too.
This was a really fun store to visit — I love the vintage nautical look of it, I love that they have terrarium stuff, and the service was awesome. This is a great place to look for gifts for others (or for yourself!). I walked out with a terrarium kit and I can’t wait to start making mine!

I really love Oddyssea and I find myself there whenever I need a cool gift or just a little something to pick up my mood. I agree with the reviewer who compared this store to a less expensive Paxton Gate (located in SF). The prices here are very fair and they such a neat collection of stuff– make your own terrarium kits, magic tricks, wooden toys, pressed pennies, original jewelry, cute cards, bones, crystals, shells, things that seem magic in general. I really like consulting Zoltar for a quarter when my future seems too uncertain.
I’ve been living in HMB for a little under 2 years now and there aren’t many stores that I visit that often. This place is the exception though– there are awesome items inside that aren’t just meant for the geriatric crowd which often frequents Main St. I guess what I’m trying to say is this store has something awesome for kids and adults of any age. The woman who has helped me every time I’ve come in is a really cool + sweet person. I’ve really enjoyed chatting with her and I can’t wait to see what Oddyssea’s outdoor space will be like when it opens. My husband and I are often somewhat bored in this town (childless, young transplants from other cities have difficulty assimilating into this town) so it would be really nice to have a fun community space to hang out at.

I almost passed this place by but saw the sign for Terrarium Kits and J-​walked across the street to check it out. I had no idea that this store was going to house «all things Melissa loves and wants» inside. I have a proclivity for the creepier things in life so I was hooked once I saw the jar of bones (see pic) and Zoltar. But, tis the season to think about other people before myself (pfffft) so, hello store that I will be doing some holiday gift shopping in.
My haul consisted of 3 air plants, 3 sea urchin shells/​sea shells for the air plants, wee bones (terrarium decorations), some tinny tiny sea shells (terrarium decorations), and a scary Santa hologram photo. All of that was only $ 43! And the owner rang up my items on a 100 year old copper plated register. I don’t want to ship this stuff out but these gifts have to go to their forever homes.
This store is full of toys, oddities, some antiques and pretty much all things cool. I envy those in the 94 019. If you can’t make it to Half Moon Bay, Oddyssea has an online store where you can purchase a few of their items. (terrariums, games, ect.)