Indoor fun in the East Bay: 8 things to do on rainy days

Wow, can the time pass slowly inside the house on a rainy day! Here is a list of indoor family activities for East Bay parents to consider.

Places to go with Bay Area kids on a rainy day

Kick off a tinkering project
No patience for a mess in your own house? Go to Sticky Art Lab on University Ave. and use their stuff! Hands-On Berkeley is ready to entertain you with STEM activities, too!

Go to a family-friendly movie set up
With onsite cafes, The New Parkway in Oakland and The Cerrito Speakeasy in El Cerrito both make it possible to feed your kids a real dinner and watch a movie at the same time. If they need to flop their bodies around during the show, there's room for that.

Jump and roll around
Check our calendar to see if any of the local open gym hours are happening (Cal Golden Bears in Berkeley; Head Over Heels in Emeryville; Ruby's Tumbling in Alameda all offer them) and if not, consider making the drive to Sky High Sports in Concord or Rockin Jump in Fremont or Dublin for some bouncing time. Even Pump It Up in Oakland offers Pop In Playtime where you pay by the hour.

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Toddling around
Need something to do before naptime? Habitot is open until 12:30 every day for little ones. Kids Gym in Berkeley is ideal for preschoolers who need an outing after naptime as they are open until 7 pm! See our full list of indoor playspaces for toddlers here >

Step away from the screen
Big kids can get their video game fix at Plank in Oakland. In Alameda, the Pacific Pinball Museum offers a similar experience. Drive out to Concord for Round1 Entertainment. Other places for big kids to play indoors are on this list.

Arcade plus bowling, billiards, karaoke, and birthday parties are available at Round1.

Play indoor sports
Batting cages await you in Richmond (The Wheelhouse). Set the pitch as slow as 25 MPH so that everyone can get in on the fun. Albany Bowl and Alameda Bowl are fun for multi-generational crowds. Try something new at Fat Shafts Archery in Benicia.

Learn something
The science museums, Chabot in Oakland and Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley are super kid-friendly, as is Sulphur Creek Nature Center in Hayward ($2 for a toddler class!). Berkeley Art Museum (BAMPFA) and Oakland Museum of California are beautiful spaces to explore together and offer hands-on areas for little ones to feel engaged. See a list of Bay Area science museums for kids here >