I live and work in Silicon Valley, it has become an integral part of my everyday life but even I was amazed and thoroughly entertained when we took our out of town guest for a 1 day Silicon Valley tour highlighting its heritage. This essentially FREE (you only pay the entrance fee to the Computer History Museum), easy, self-guided family friendly road trip itinerary is best completed on the weekend because: a) there are no traffic jams on HW 101, b) there is ample parking available at some of the places we are going to visit and c) there may be special programs held for children at some stops. You can drive this route either from the North to South or in reverse, it does not really matter. I am outlining this trip with San Francisco being the departure point.
Silicon Valley Tour Stop #1
Stanford University. Stanford was in many ways the cradle of Silicon Valley and up to this day it is continuously supplying the region with new tech start-ups. The role of Stanford, and particularly its Office of Technology Licensing, in the Valley’s formative years was significant. Stanford campus is beautiful so you can easily spend the whole day here (check out my FREE self-guided Stanford Campus Tour) but to get a quick feel of the place just stop by the Main Quad and Memorial Church. This is where Stanford was born. When you are facing the church on your right hand side is the School of Engineering campus, where all the great tech ideas are generated. If you have time, go inside the church to admire beautiful glass mosaics, the entrance is FREE. Finally, before you leave, take an elevator ride up the Hoover Tower which is located literally next to the Main Quad (on the left hand side if you are facing the church). The view of the whole campus from the top is definitely worth much more than $4 pp ticket to get up there.
Silicon Valley Tour Stop #2
HP Garage, 367 Addison Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301. Technically, here isn’t much to see there. It is a private residence, you cannot go inside. You can see the garage pretty well from the street as well as a metal plaque indicating that this is an important historical place – the birthplace of the Silicon Valley. For me the significance was form a symbolic perspective – it is a great spot to give a motivational speech to the kids about how they can start creating something small at home or in a garage and then turn it to something so influential – there is no limit for a willing heart.
Silicon Valley Tour Stop #3
Elizabeth Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St, Palo Alto, CA 94301. This small but very beautiful botanic garden is located just a couple of blocks from the HP garage. It has different flower displays depending on the season. We were there in July and dahlias were the focal point. For me personally, the highlight of the garden was a kiwi plant with fruits. I have never seen before how kiwi grows in nature and so this was very educational. The entrance to the garden is FREE.
Silicon Valley Tour Stop #4
Google Headquarters Tour, 1981 Landings Dr, Mountain View, CA 94043. It is located about 7 minutes’ drive South on HW 101 from Stop 3. Many tourists come to Silicon Valley with a dream to go on a Google Headquarters tour. To get inside the buildings you need to ask a Googler friend for a favor. If you don’t have an insider to help you, there are interesting things to see outside the buildings on your own.
I typically do not suggest dragging kids from one corporate headquarters to the other just for a selfie but if you must visit one let it be Google since it is located right along your route just off the highway, so you are not making any detours.
Google Headquarters has a fun outdoor exhibition called Google Android Lawn Statues. Each statue is dedicated to an Android platform, like Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich, etc. They are nothing but “eye candy” 😉 and a great photo opportunity too.
In addition to that you can find T-Rex skeleton replica outside the premises, which was put their by the company’s founders to serve as reminder not to let the company go the way of the dinosaurs. Other fun things to be on look out during your Google Headquarters tour: colorful Google bikes and Waymo self-driving cars.
Silicon Valley Tour Stop #5
Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94043. Another 7 minutes’ drive and you have arrived to your next destination. This museum is very comprehensive. It has some exhibits that may be too complex for smaller kids but overall it has a great educational value. On weekends the staff brings out some old computing machines and kids can try their hand at using IBM 26 and the like. Also don’t miss the videos playing throughout the museum. At the end of the tour you will be rewarded by a close encounter with a self-driving car (in case you did not see one during the Google Headquarters tour).
Silicon Valley Tour Stop #6
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94035. The Center is located just 1.5 miles from the Computer History Museum, so it will be a short ride. This will be your final stop so enjoy as much time as you want here but be aware that it closes at 4 pm. This facility has a small visitor’s center with some exciting exhibits for the future space explores and space aficionados. My favorite one was a moon rock. The entrance is FREE.
Additional tips for Silicon Valley Tour:
To get the best insight into the birth, development and significance of Silicon Valley and to make this trip so much more meaningful I suggest that adult members of your tour team read this book either before or after the tour: Troublemakers: Silicon Valley’s Coming of Age
. To develop appreciation of the region you really need to know its fascinating history and the book does a great job at presenting it in an engaging and entertaining way.
If you found this Silicon Valley Tour useful, please do me a little favor and share this trip with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂
