Mad Science of the Bay Area

I had my 9yrs old son's birthday party with MadScience Bay Area. Thanks to our instructor, Plazma Petey, the show was successful and 20 kids were so happy! The booking process were a bit challenge due to staff's turn over and miscommunicatiin, but after all, all attendee, including parents, were all so happy! Thank you Mad Science team.

My child was in a half-day, Mad Science summer camp last week called Jet Cadets. Tl;dr: 1) Issues with the instructor. 2) Camp advertised activities that didn't happen. After Day 1, I had to contact both the city recreation department from whom I signed up for this camp, as well as Mad Science. I overheard and saw for myself that the instructor was shouting at and berating the students in a tone that was far too harsh for young kids in a camp. Not just strict, this was a mean tone. A couple students along with my child also told their parents that they were being yelled at for nearly the entire 3 hours. I appreciate that Mad Science promptly responded and sent someone from their office to supervise the next day. Afterwards, the instructor cooled down, but still occasionally yelled at the kids in a harsh way. I was also disappointed in this camp because the kids didn't get to do some of the activities that were advertised. The description of the camp was: "Learn the basic principles of flight, ride a hovercraft, build airplanes, and construct balloon copters!" There was no hovercraft. The parts for balloon copters, which could be purchased on Amazon for about $1 each, were sent home with the students to make with their parents. The students did not see or make balloon copters in the camp, so why advertise it? This camp cost us $355, which is a fair price, but the students didn't get to do half the experiences that were advertised. Instead the students mades *slime* on the last day. We were specifically avoiding camps that had slime, because my child is really not a fan of it. Overall, this is easily the worst summer camp experience that my child has had. I'm giving it a 2nd star though, because the students did get to do a couple fun activities, and I appreciate that Mad Science made an attempt to amend the instructor situation.

This review is long overdue. This is for a birthday party we had for my 7 year old in March. It was a group of 23 kids. Overall, I would think twice before booking them for a kids party. While there were several good things, the experience was lacking in a few areas. (1) The website hadn't been updated with pricing details and options for birthday parties, and the only way to get that was to call them. Hopefully that's been addressed. (2) The instructor arrived 15 mins before the start of the show (as Mad Science requested) but she needed almost 20-25 mins to get everything setup. A large group of 7 year kldsy sitting and waiting for the show to start isn't ideal. (3) Some of the science tricks didn't even work as planned. The kids of course laughed it off, but I don't think that was part of the act. (4) Some of the science experiments, like melting foam, were cool but required one kid at a time to come up to the front. This meant that 22 kids were bored and disengaged while 1 kid was doing their experiment. (5) I paid for add-ons like the dry ice one, but I couldn't do it. Why? Because the instructor said she needs to go to her car and get more equipment which would take another 30 mins. This after an hour of the party, where the kids were already pretty bored and disengaged. So I told her to skip it. In short, the instructor was clueless about running a party of 23 kids, by herself. Either she was inexperienced at handling a group of kids larger than 5-7, or she should have brought along another instructor, or at the very least they should have told me that I needed to add the extra hands and help to run the party. Me and a couple of the parents had to jump in and help keep the kids engaged and occupied. Not what I was expecting to do when I paid good money for a science themed party. So if you want to use Mad Science for your kid's party, go ahead -- but either ask them to send an experienced instructor, or manage the show yourself.

I think this program is awesome for young learners who loves to build and create new things.

Children feel excited to attend this class after school and they feel confident about the concepts they learn. They are also having a lot of fun in the process