What Chabot Space & Science Center does

Chabot Space & Science Center is a 501(c)-style non-profit science center founded in 1883 in Oakland, California, and currently operating from a 13-acre campus at 1,500 feet elevation in Redwood Regional Park. The Center is the largest observatory complex in the Western United States open to free public viewing, housing three historic telescopes (the 1883 Leah 8-inch Alvan Clark refractor, the 1915 Rachel 20-inch refractor, and the 2003 Nellie 36-inch reflector), a 70-foot full-dome planetarium with a Zeiss Universarium fiber-optic star projector (one of four in the US), and multiple permanent exhibition galleries. Since 2021 it has hosted the NASA Ames Visitor Center under a content partnership with NASA Ames Research Center, and has expanded its exhibit portfolio to include Studio 2 (Going The Distance, with content from JPL, SpaceX, and Planet), Studio 3 (CoLab: Other Worlds), Astrolight, and Universe Unveiled (with STScI).

The Center serves a diversified customer base spanning general public visitors, K-12 school groups in Oakland and Contra Costa County, teen students via the Oakland Space Academy and Galaxy Explorers programs, corporate event clients, and wedding/private event renters. Its revenue model combines one-time general admission ($19-$24), tiered annual memberships ($125-$1,000 with NARM reciprocal benefits across 900+ museums), event rentals across 10+ venues, structured educational programs ($75-$350 per offering), gift shop and cafe sales, and philanthropic donations supported by a development team. Free telescope viewings every Friday and Saturday evening, alongside ticketed special events (Sci-Fi Nights, Sip Series, Space Week Festival, WinterFest, BubbleFest), form the core recurring engagement model. The Center is governed independently as a community-supported public charity with 51-100 employees and no parent company or external equity backing.

Name

Chabot Space & Science Center

Legal name

Chabot Space & Science Center

Website

https://chabotspace.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1883

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Chabot Space & Science Center is a 138-year-old Oakland-based non-profit science center operating a 13-acre campus with historic telescopes, a 70-foot Zeiss planetarium, the NASA Ames Visitor Center, and STEM education programs serving Bay Area families, K-12 schools, corporate clients, and event renters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Science Center & Observatory

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (71211), Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

akta.pro primary industry

Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Space & Astronomy Programs (EDAMABAE), Conference Centers & Dedicated Meeting Venues (THAHAAAB), Observation Decks & Viewing Platforms (THAJACAA)

Keywords

• Science center exhibits
• Observatory public viewing
• Planetarium shows
• STEM education programs
• Museum venue rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. General Admission Tickets: Visitors pay admission fees for access to exhibits, observatory (during daytime), and planetarium shows. Pricing varies by age category.
2. Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership program with multiple tiers (Individual, Dual, Family, Science Supporter, Stellar Society) providing unlimited free general admission, free planetarium shows, members-only events, and discounts on programs and rentals.
3. Event Rentals: Private venue rentals including weddings, corporate events, birthday parties, and meetings across multiple venues (Spees Building, Dellums Building, Planetarium, Theater, Laboratories, Classrooms, Observatory).
4. Educational Programs and Courses: Fees for structured educational offerings including Oakland Space Academy intensives, Cosmic Camp-ins, field trips, and specialized courses like astrophotography workshops.
5. Donations and Philanthropic Support: Tax-deductible contributions supporting science education programs, exhibit development, and operations. Includes individual giving, corporate engagement, and legacy giving programs.
6. Gift Shop and Cafe Sales: Retail merchandise and food/beverage sales at on-site facilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Chabot Space & Science Center operates a public science center and observatory featuring three historic research-grade telescopes (Leah, Rachel, Nellie), a 70-foot full-dome planetarium with a Zeiss Universarium fiber-optic star projector, and multiple exhibition galleries including the NASA Ames Visitor Center. It delivers STEM educational programs, school field trips, overnight Cosmic Camp-Ins, festivals, and venue rental services for weddings, corporate events, and private gatherings in Oakland, California.

Product overview

Chabot Space & Science Center is a non-profit science center and observatory offering a unified portfolio of educational experiences, science exhibits, and public viewing programs. The core experience centers on three historic telescopes (Leah, Rachel, and Nellie) and a 70-foot full-dome Planetarium. The Center houses multiple permanent exhibitions including the NASA Ames Visitor Center, Studio 2 (Going The Distance), Studio 3 (CoLab: Other Worlds), Astrolight, and Universe Unveiled. Educational offerings include field trips, Cosmic Camp-In overnight programs, Oakland Space Academy workforce development, and Galaxy Explorers teen volunteer program. The Center operates seasonal festivals (Space Week, WinterFest, BubbleFest), adult programs (Sci-Fi Nights, Sip Series), and offers venue rental services for events. A membership program provides tiered access to the Center's facilities and programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NASA Ames Visitor Center: Hands-on exhibition showcasing NASA Ames Research Center stories, people, and artifacts, featuring over 30+ objects from space missions
• Oakland Space Academy
• Galaxy Explorers
• Cosmic Camp-In
• Family Nature Adventures
• Sci-Fi Nights
• Sip Series
• Space Week Festival
• WinterFest
• BubbleFest
• The Astrophotography Prize

Products and services

• Leah Telescope 8-inch Alvan Clark refractor telescope, the original 1883 instrument donated by founder Anthony Chabot, housed in one of Chabot's historic observatory domes and used for public viewing nights.
• Rachel Telescope 20-inch Warner and Swasey refracting telescope, the largest refractor in the western United States regularly open to the public; installed in 1915 and formerly used to relay information to NASA during Apollo 13.
• Nellie Telescope 36-inch research-quality reflector telescope housed in a rolling roof observatory providing 180-degree sky access, used for Near Earth Object research and active public viewing.
• Planetarium

Quantifiable outcome

• Largest free public observatory complex in the Western United States
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Astrophotography PrizecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 June 2026International astrophotography competition partnership where winning images from the Astrophotography Prize 2026 competition will be displayed in a major public exhibition at Chabot in October 2026. Top 100 finishers (25 from each category) will have images displayed, with Chabot curating 25 works for printed exhibition in their largest gallery.
• NASA Ames Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021NASA Ames Visitor Center partnership opened in 2021, featuring hands-on activities and NASA Ames artifacts highlighting current Ames research and space missions. Located in Fremont Bank Studio 1, the exhibit showcases over 30 objects from NASA's past and future, including spacesuits from Mercury and Gemini missions, experimental heat shield technology, and a fan blade from the world's largest wind tunnel. Many items have never been on public display before.
• Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Universe Unveiled outdoor exhibit featuring celestial photos taken by amateur astrophotographers from the Bay Area. STScI guided the project, contributing scientific expertise related to Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope imagery and data.
• Eastbay Astronomical Society (EAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVolunteer-run organization active at Chabot Observatory since 1924. EAS volunteers provide maintenance of historic telescopes, facilitate science educational programming, and run the Telescope Makers' Workshop.
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContent and inspiration provider for Studio 2: Going The Distance exhibit, exploring human space exploration. JPL's Mission Control was modeled for Chabot's interactive Mission Control experience.
• Planet (satellite company)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContent provider for Studio 2: Going The Distance exhibit, contributing content about Earth observation and satellite technology.
• SpaceXminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContent provider for Studio 2: Going The Distance exhibit, contributing content about commercial space exploration and launch technology.
• Caltech (Jet Propulsion Laboratory affiliation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContent and inspiration provider for Going The Distance exhibit through JPL affiliation, exploring space exploration topics.
• San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmateur astronomy organizations contributing astrophotography to Universe Unveiled exhibit from Bay Area photographers.
• Mount Diablo Astronomical Society (MDAS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmateur astronomy organizations contributing astrophotography to Universe Unveiled exhibit from Bay Area photographers.
• Dutch Black Hole ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContent provider for SPACETIME planetarium show featuring the Einstein Telescope gravity wave detector project.
• Fremont BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNaming sponsor for Studio 1 (NASA Ames Visitor Center location) as Fremont Bank Studio 1.
• PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerEvent sponsor for WinterFest celebration, providing support for the winter festival programming.
• AC TransitminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPublic transit partnership providing Line 31 bus service directly to Chabot Space & Science Center, operating every 30 minutes from Bay Farm Island through Fruitvale BART.
• Preferred Catering PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of 11 approved caterers including ACT Catering, Carrie Dove Catering, McCalls Catering, New Delhi, and others for event rentals. Includes preferred vendors for DJ/AV, photography, officiant, hotel, florist, bar service, event production, and entertainment.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Exploratorium: The Exploratorium is a San Francisco-based interactive science museum and a direct peer to Chabot, competing for Bay Area family visitors, school group bookings, and corporate rentals. Like Chabot, it emphasizes hands-on STEM learning and is located within 30 minutes driving distance, making it Chabot's most direct regional competitor.
• Lawrence Hall of Science: Lawrence Hall of Science is UC Berkeley's public science center, directly comparable to Chabot in K-12 STEM programming, planetarium offerings, and Bay Area school district contracts. It competes for the same Oakland/Berkeley/Central Contra Costa school group market.
• California Academy of Sciences: California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park operates a planetarium (Morrison Planetarium), natural history museum, and aquarium — directly competing with Chabot for Bay Area family visits, memberships, and field trip bookings. It is a larger, more well-funded peer.
• The Tech Interactive: The Tech Interactive in San Jose is a Silicon Valley science and technology center with a strong focus on STEM workforce development and teen programs, directly comparable to Chabot's Oakland Space Academy and Galaxy Explorers offerings. Both target K-12 and high school audiences across the Bay Area.
• Pacific Science Center: Pacific Science Center in Seattle is a non-profit science center with a planetarium, IMAX theater, and observatory programming — a strong functional peer to Chabot in operating model, programming mix, and educational mission, though in a different geography.
• Griffith Observatory: Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles is a public observatory and space science center offering free public telescope viewing through historic instruments — directly comparable to Chabot's signature free telescope program and Zeiss-grade planetarium experience.
• Adler Planetarium: Adler Planetarium in Chicago is a non-profit space science museum with a full-dome theater, public telescope programming, and K-12 educational programs — a strong direct peer to Chabot in mission, format, and scale, though in a different metro area.

Broad incumbents

• Rose Center for Earth and Space (American Museum of Natural History): The Rose Center houses the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and is a broader incumbent in the space science center category. It operates at significantly greater scale than Chabot and competes for institutional donor attention and traveling exhibit partnerships.
• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. is the largest aerospace museum globally and a broad incumbent whose partnerships with NASA and artifact collections contextualize Chabot's own NASA Ames collaboration. Both serve as visitor-facing interpreters of NASA science.

Emerging players

• Morton Arboretum: Morton Arboretum in Illinois is a large outdoor nature and education organization offering programming and event rentals on a significant land base — partially comparable to Chabot's Family Nature Adventures programming and 13-acre redwood campus model of combining nature trails with structured education.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ChabotSpace
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChabotSpace
• Instagraminstagram.com/chabotspace

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chabot Space & Science Center