I love to visit factories and peek behind the scenes to see how stuff is made. Especially fantastic are the hands-on tours where kids are so engrossed they forget to be bored. Many Bay Area production lines are surprisingly kid-friendly.

My favorite Bay Area factory tours with kids:

TCHO Chocolate in Berkeley

Short, sweet, by appointment: Chocolate
Peek behind the scenes at TCHO where you can book a tour of the facility, for groups 1-24. Looks like they’re currently available most Tuesdays and Thursdays, but that may change. Tickets are $15 per person.

Boichik Bagels, Berkeley

Salty and satisfying: Bagels
Enjoy a Saturday morning learning about the ins and outs of the famous local favorite Boichik Bagels at their factory in West Berkeley. Tours are free on a first come first served basis on Saturday mornings at 8:30 am.

Jelly Belly Factory Tour, Fairfield

Long, involved, sugary: Jellybeans
Spend all day in the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield to see how candy is made for free. Fun and informative wait in line. No reservations. Self-guided and self-paced tours daily from 9am to 4pm. Freebies offered along the way with a gift shop to take your money at the end. Tickets are $8 for adults, $4 for ages 3+.

Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, San Francisco

An exciting opportunity awaits you: Cookies
Visit to see how the prescient cookies are made. They make up to 10,000 fortune cookies a day, baked fresh on a cast iron rotating griddle wheel. Take a Cable Car their for an added treat: From the Powell Street Cable Car (Powell Street & Market – Bay + Taylor line), exit Powell St & Jackson St. Walk right down Jackson St past Stockton. Ross Alley will be on the right-hand side, between Stockton and Kearny.

Dandelion Chocolate Factory, San Francisco

One hour of education followed by hot chocolate
With small-batch, high end, dark chocolate, I admit that this visit is for me more than the children. For kids eight and up, book a one-hour tour of Dandelion’s facilities for $20 per person. Guests can redeem their tickets for a hot chocolate afterward. Learn more and reserve your spot > They also offer classes for parents and children.

Boudin Bakery, San Francsico

Sour, but in the best kind of way: Bread
Free and easy; just find your way to Boudin on the Wharf. Watch the bakers busy at work crafting batches of bread by hand through a 30-foot observation window. Have a question? Ask it directly to the bakers through a two-way intercom system. They are sure to have an answer. Then spend the rest of day being a tourist on the Wharf.

Krispy Kreme in Concord or Fremont

Quick, easy, sugary: Donuts
When is a donut shop really a miniature factory? When you can peek behind the glass and see dough turn into donuts and plain ones shower in sugar glaze. Get a sugar high at the Krispy Kreme mini factory in Concord and Fremont then run, play, and paddle in Central Park. The most challenging part is finding when the HOT light is on so you can watch all the action. No RSVP or purchase needed.

Yummy factories that need to start tours or bring them back:

Before compiling our list, I visited a bunch of places and I tried to visit many more. Will you join me in wishing that this sweet place will open its doors to us to?

• IT’S-IT factory in Burlingame has NO TOUR but a company store where you can watch a video and pick up special merchandise and ice cream treats. Open Monday – Friday from 10am-5:30pm at 865 Burlway Road.
• Fenton’s Creamery in Oakland used to offer an Artic Tour of their ice cream factory, but it seems they’ve put tours on hold for now. Fingers crossed they start up again soon!

Where do you like to find out how stuff is made with your kids? I’d love to know if there are some I missed! 

[Photos by Heather Flett]