Diwali at the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose 2026

The Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose holds Diwali: Festival of Lights on Saturday, November 7, 2026. Special programming runs 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The museum is at 180 Woz Way, downtown, by Guadalupe River Park. Regular Saturday hours that day are 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., so you can stay in the exhibits after the performances end.

The page posts a schedule, which is rarer than it should be. At 10:40 a.m., Sindhu Ravuri does a solo performance and an interactive workshop. At 11:15, Ishmeet Ghai reads aloud. At 11:25 there is bhangra. At 11:40, Kathak Kala Vihar dances. Alongside that, kids can make a diya and decorate a Bandi Chhor Divas cloak. Purvi Shah's rangoli is on view. A Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San Jose helps pay for the day.

The museum does not list a separate Diwali ticket. You are paying museum admission, and members use the visit the way they use any Saturday. Check the ticket page for the current price before you promise the group a number. The desk number is 408-298-5437.

Who this is for: families who want a morning they can explain to a child, with a start time for each performance. Skip it if you want a street mela or a dance floor at night. Oakland Diwali is the same Saturday, 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. at BLOC15 in Jack London Square. San Jose Diwali Carnival at Cesar Chavez Park is October 24, the outdoor version.

VTA light rail stops at a station named for the museum, which is the easy way in with a stroller. The performances are stacked between 10:40 and late morning, so arriving at 10:00 gets you the workshop and the dances without sprinting. If you only have an hour, that 10:40 start is the one to hit.

Diwali day is Sunday, November 8. This is the Saturday preview, indoors. Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and some Buddhists mark the festival. The museum says that on the page, which is the right scope for a room full of school-age kids. The purple building on Woz Way is the landmark. You will see it from the river path before you see a sign.

Our take: be there at 10:40 if the morning is short. The read-aloud and the two dance sets sit in the next hour. Oakland is the plan if the kids are old enough to stay out past dinner.

When: November 7, 2026, programming 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. (museum admission)
Where: Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, 180 Woz Way, San Jose, CA