About Us
Mission
Our mission is to inspire the innovator in everyone.
Our vision is that The Tech Museum, in partnership with others, will invigorate innovation and inspire learning locally, nationally and globally.
Core Values
The Staff and Volunteers of The Tech Museum of Innovation, in an effort to make a positive difference in the world, are committed to:Creating playful and profound experiences
We commit to creating experiences that invite people to learn through play, evoke emotions of wonder and joy, contain solid and accessible science, show how technology can improve lives, provoke thought and inspire action, and represent our local Silicon Valley community.
Continually learning
We commit to acting on the belief that all people have the capacity to learn and grow through the awakening of their curiosity in an environment that rewards that curiosity. This ideal environment promotes learning from failures and others’ experience, creating a culture of feedback and the opportunity for learning from every experience. This commitment is supported with the time and resources to provide the reflection and mindfulness necessary for growth and development.
Acting with integrity
We commit to keeping our word. To do this, we will make promises based on well-informed and mindful decisions, honoring those promises and offering transparency in all that we do. We hold ourselves to high ethical standards to always do the right thing.
Being team players
We commit to collaborating with others, coming from a place of respect and generosity of spirit, honoring different opinions and perspectives, trusting that others will do the same. This culture of teamwork empowers all to speak the truth, stay in the conversation, and when necessary, question the status quo. This level of collaboration requires support for one another, a willingness to do whatever it takes, and hearty celebration of successes.
Embracing diversity
We commit to actively cultivating a welcoming and inclusive environment that reflects the diverse community that is Silicon Valley. This drives the scope of our outreach, and the tone and content of our communication to all constituents, including board, staff, volunteers, visitors, and vendors. It feeds the process of creating, marketing and delivering our programs. Valuing and encouraging diverse ideas from many sources results not only in a more well-rounded product, but more importantly, in a shared experience by all constituents of feeling valued and respected.
Being innovative
We commit to being innovative. Innovation is the practical expression of imagination. It turns ideas into reality. The Tech Museum provides the environment that supports this expression, seeing opportunities for innovation in our daily lives as well as around the world. When opportunities or challenges arise, we believe solutions exist, take risks to find answers, think “outside the box,” are willing to fail, persevere to the end, remain optimistic, and maintain our sense of wonder.
Valuing the local community
We commit to being involved with what’s going on outside our own front door – giving back to our community as well as inviting them into our home. We welcome by reaching out to collaborate with other Bay Area institutions, we stay involved by being aware of what’s happening around us, and by engaging in dialogue with others. This community is our home which we treat with integrity and respect.
Achieving excellence
We commit to creating and adhering to high standards of excellence, and we welcome being held accountable for the outcome and quality of our work. To ensure we consistently meet these standards, we support systems of feedback and response from our visitors, staff and volunteers. The outcome of this commitment will endear us to our visitors, embolden our staff to reach higher, and help us fulfill our mission in ways that exceed expectations.
Exhibits
- Hundreds of exhibits, 97% of which are original or custom made
- Host of annual traveling exhibitions like "BODY WORLDS 2 and The Three Pound Gem" and "Leonardo: 500 Years into the Future", Star Trek: The Exhibition, and many more.
- Online exhibits and activities
- Hands-on exhibits explore genetics with our partners from the Department of Genetics at Stanford University, space exploration with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, clean energy, biotechnology and other sciences
- New galleries include: The Tech Silicon Valley Innovation Gallery, The Tech Challenge Gallery, The Tech Virtual Test Zone, and The Tech Awards Gallery
- Popular exhibits and galleries include: Genetics: Technology with a Twist; Exploration, Earthquake platform, Jet Pack Simulator and Invention at Play
- Home of The Spirit of American Innovation, an exhibit about the National Medal of Technology, the nation's highest honor for technological innovation
Signature Programs
- The Tech Awards - The international awards program honors brilliant innovators from around the world who apply technology to benefit humanity.
- The Tech Challenge - The annual team design challenge for youth in grades 5 through 12 reinforces the scientific process with a hands-on project to solve a real-world problem.
Learning
- Free Field Trips for California K-12 Schools: free admission to our regular galleries.
- California Title One Schools are eligible for fee-waived educational experiences at The Tech Museum.
- 4,000 square feet of educational science and technology labs.
- Hands-on science labs
- Online design-challenge lessons
- Free museum membership for California K-12 public, private and home school teachers, principals and district employees
- The Tech Summer Camps - the ultimate camp experience, brought to you in partnership with Galileo Learning, offers 4th-8th graders hands-on science and technology classes, high-quality lab facilities, teamwork exercises, and fun in the best camp traditions.
Outreach
- Math Works - a bilingual math & science program geared toward Hispanic communities. Classes engage youth and their families and make learning a multi-generational experience
Visitors
- More than 6 million visitors since opening new facility in October 1998
- Over 500,000 visitors per year
- Over 120,000 visitors came from school groups of which nearly 60,000 were from Title 1 schools
Budget & Staff
- Total annual operating budget - $11 million
- 90 total employees
- Nearly 500 volunteers
Facilities
- Total project cost - $113 million; $49million from the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Jose; $32 million raised through The Tech Capital Campaign; $32 million in equipment and services from more than 500 companies
- Museum design architect is Ricardo Legorreta of Mexico City. The Steinberg Group of San Jose, CA, served as executive architects
- 132,000-square-foot, three-level azure- and mango-colored building
- 185-kilowatt photovoltaic solar panel system atop roof of Parkside Hall, supplementing energy supply by nearly 10 percent
- 2,000-square-foot TechStore stocked with gift items, gadgets and books
- 80-seat Café Primavera
- 295-seat Hackworth IMAX DomeTheater, one of the top 10 attended in the United States. The theater houses a 9,000-square-foot perforated aluminum screen and a 13,000 watt, 6 channel, all digital surround-sound system
- 45-foot cylindrical art piece, "Origin," designed by Beliz Brother, Brad Goldberg and Joseph McShane, stands in the museum's south atrium
- A 16-foot-tall, 12-foot-long audio kinetic sculpture, "Science on a Roll," by George Rhoads stands at the museum's Park Avenue entrance
