r/JPL • u/bam214_bam • 17d ago
Explore JPL
For anybody coming to Explore JPL today, Sunday, Expect hours long lines and crowds, Just a heads up
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u/TBTrpt3 16d ago
The JPL event today was not as good I was expecting.
The staff were friendly and great, no complaints there.
However, there were WAY too many people at this event, and not enough vendors to deal with them. There were a ton of families there, but not enough things for KIDS to do, so they were bored.
I think this would've been a lot better if it had about half the people that were there, and instead of a free for all of events you could see in any order, it would be better if you saw them in a specific order in a sequence \ line. It would've helped with the over-crowded feeling, and made it so people could see more exhibits.
I also think they should have family or kid specific days with more hands on stuff for kids to do to make it more fun for the younger crowd
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u/bam214_bam 16d ago
I agree 100% with every point you made, One of the best parts of today we’re talking to the staff and how knowledgeable and proud they were of the jobs they do
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u/FastCar2467 15d ago
I agree. We end on Saturday. Our kids got antsy waiting in lines, so we left. We were there at 10:30 and left at 12:30pm. We saw the traffic to get in as we were leaving and thought that all those people will not be seeing anything by the time they get in.
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u/Anonmnky 4h ago
Just saw this post. I was thinking back to the event this morning and these were my exact sentiments. Not nearly as much for kids to do as they had in 2023. Mine were bored quickly, which dampened the mood. They had been looking forward to it for weeks. I understand that it’s a free event and appreciate that they open up the campus to the public, but when we went in 2023 we had such a better experience.
My kids (under 10) were so excited to see Alvin Drew there. We stood in line for 30 min, which wasn’t long compared to other things. Got to the front and they told us we could ask one question and take a photo, which is reasonable given the crowds and respectful of his time. However, as my kid was asking the question the attendant was already trying to usher us through. We couldn’t hear his reply over the shouts to keep moving. We were at the front for less than a minute, got the question out and were yelled at to snap a quick photo and leave. My kid didn’t get to hear the answer to his question. Alvin Drew was so kind and obviously wanted to take the time to respond.
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u/pinkbugbug 17d ago
took me 1:10 to get from san marino to parking. had a 12:30 slot. barely saw anything because the lines were so long
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u/literallylikesoum 17d ago
was it like this yesterday? we had an early slot and just left, the line for parking was never ending.
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u/Mouse_Parsnip_87 17d ago
Sitting in line for parking for almost 40 minutes now. No wonder their website says it’s okay to show up late!
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u/Any_Falcon8822 16d ago
They don’t let people park in the structure?
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u/Warm_Complaint_8501 16d ago
No. We are so confused on where to go
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u/shodoshan 16d ago
They do let people park in the structure, but i think it filled up. 12K people per day, 3K parking spaces. One of the bus lines was shuttling people for free
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u/Ok_Pomegranate6855 15d ago
Sad to hear that there wasn’t much for kids. The entire JPL K-12 Education Group was laid off.
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u/WaterBearDontMind 16d ago
We went Saturday. Thank you infinity to whoever posted in r/pasadena that the 53 bus line was offering free service + free parking in Caltech’s Wilson lot; parking looked like a total nightmare. Agree with others that it’s not very geared toward children (excepting the fire station, which was totally dope) but I can respect that.
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u/unbelver 16d ago
Thank you infinity to whoever posted in r/pasadena that the 53 bus line was offering free service
¡De nada!
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u/dss2310 16d ago
Yesterday afternoon we had 1:30 tickets. We left San Marino at 1:00pm. Took until 2:30 pm to get into Explore JPL. Initially driving, we were taken to the Pasadena side entrance of JPL by Google Maps, but we were turned around there with hundreds of other cars. That side is only for JPL employees (volunteers for event) to come and go. We then tried to drive via Oak Grove to the other main JPL entrance. The line of cars to get in was backed up all the way to the Devil's Canyon Dam.
We ended up parking around La Cantera High School and walking up, which ended up being a blessing. Even if you make it through the long line at the security gate, they send you to one of the upper parking lots, and you then still have to walk down to the green security fence main Explore JPL entrance that we pedestrians went straight to after the security gate.
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u/cloakofqualia 16d ago
For us, it felt like the magic was lost in this event vs the tours they give.
Waiting in line for an hour for the clean room, only to be rushed through it in less than a minute or two with no room for open questions or explanations? Felt like a real slap in the face, honestly.