Junior Center of Art & Science

This place is awesome!
So I just recently moved to Oakland and was in search for a cool location to host my daughter’s 8^th birthday party and stumbled upon this place. I spoke with Gayle, who was very nice, to book the place. Upon arriving she, as well as Ryan, an instructor, kindly helped me unload and setup for the party. The kids had a great time learning, exploring and holding the animals. After that party was over, the kids headed to another room for food and cake. There weren’t any other parties booked, so we had the entire facility to ourselves, which was the best.
This place is truly a hidden gem and I was very pleased with the overall service and ambiance. Gayle as well as her staff, Ryan and Ryan, were very pleasant to work with and made sure my daughter’s party ran super smooth.

I came across an article regarding the Junior Center of Arts and Science, and knew I wanted to take my toddler for a visit. I actually had no idea that it sat on the beautiful Lake Merritt, with accessible parking ($ 2 for 2 hours) near Fairyland. The building itself is small, yet offers enough for a fun-​filled morning.
One can peruse the exhibits for free. We found the most interesting to be the animals (lizards, snakes, and even cockroaches.) A 47 year old tortoise roams around, and doesn’t seem to mind being petted. There are also some coloring sheets for a quick art break.
For $ 2 per child, you can play in the play area. It appears to have once been well maintained, and is painted very lovely, with amazing views of the lake. Today, the toys are a bit sad and worn down, some even broken and a tad dangerous. Yet, for $ 2, there is little to complain about.
My favorite part of the surrounding area includes an awesome bird sanctuary — complete with pigeons, seagulls, cranes, pelicans, ducks, and many other winged friends. There is also a nature center museum and playground close by. We enjoyed it!

The hours posted on the website AND on the door AND on heir automated message must all be wrong! Made a date to come here and after paying for parking and walking entirely around the building, they are VERY closed.

Went here for 5 years both during the school year and during the summer for the carpentry class. Bill Bocheff rocked it. Fight On!

We just celebrated our sons 6^th birthday — a rocket science party– and it was just great. The kids had an one hour program, where they built and launched their rockets. The kids loved it! After that we had half an hour for cake and food. There were no other people than our birthday group and we could use all rooms… The little siblings had the possibility to play in a nice play room and after the official program we had our pinada on the «deck»…
Overall it was a very nice location, nice people and great science topic!

My daughter attended the day camp on July 1 in it’s entirety. I was GREATLY disappointed. I was so upset that my daughter seemed very sad about her
experience starts with using the onlineregistration form to register my daughter. I chose the option WITH lunch. This wording is VERY deceiving and not true. They are not actually providing lunch they are «supervising your child while they eat the lunch that parents have to provide». Having not even read the receipt that was sent to (my fault of course) after getting there I had to run to Whole Foods to grab my daughter a lunch. But Really?! You are charging parents to «watch their kids eat lunch»…That just seems to be excessive. Later on that day I call in to check onmy daugher to see how her day is going. The front desk attendant Gail answered and the first words out of her mouth «she has been picking up Gary (the turtle) and putting him on the spots to polay twister and we don’t want that». Hummmmm so the first words out your mouth to a paernt in relation to their child 1. negative comments 2. a lack of ability of the staff to supervise a 6 year old. Additionally, it was relayed to me that my daughter was «wired». So my next obvious question, This IS a JUNIOR science program right?! You ONLY deal with children which means you are WELL aware of how children learn which translates to there is plenty of fun and interactive behavior going on right? Oh no, we have ONLY have A /​ONE play time. WOW.Ok. Well at this point I am just hoping and praying that my daughter is having some sort of fun because it does not sound reassuring me as a parent at all. I go to pick my daugher at the end of the day and see the volcanoes that they the kids made and was then given instructions on how to erupt when she got home. The description of the class clearly states that this would be done during the class. Additionally, I asked her what she learned about rocks, minerals, volcanoes etc. She could relate nothing about what she had learned scientifically. Again what is the name of this organization. Junior ART and SCIENCE .
On our way home, I inquired with my daughter how her day went. She sadly mentioned that everyone kept yelling at her to be quiet because she talked to loud. She is 6 and guess what she DOES talk loud. But for that to be communicated in a negative way towards her where she felt like something was wrong with her upsets me even more.
To top all this off. I emailed the Ex Director a week ago explaining my frustrations and guess what… no response. imagine that.
I am vastly disappointed in literally just a DAY in the life of Junior Center. The experience was so disappointing and disheartening that I can not ever see myself recommending this camp to any of the parents that I know. Coupled that with the amount of money that they are charging parents seems like a scam.

This is a great place for kids who love art, science and just plain fun. My kids have take many classes here and have loved them all. Last year, my kids built a chicken coop in carpentry. Now I have to buy chickens, but I know they had a great time building it. Plus, it’s totally amazing what the kids make. I’ve seen skateboard ramps, book cases and tables. The art classes are amazing too, as well as the instructors. Some of the great classes are carpentry, jewelry making, cartooning and even rocket making!
If you need a great summer camp, this is a great local spot. ½ day or whole day, the kids will love it. They also give classes throughout the year, so your little people don’t ever have to be bored.
There’s even something for the preschool crew. Twice a week they have FREE classes for kids 3 to 5 years. Classes that build on visual arts, science, music and movement. How cool is that!