Gateway Science Museum invites families to explore the wonders of our natural world with a selection of interactive exhibits for kids of all ages. Permenant exhibits include the welcoming Gateway Gardens. This outdoor space is rich with local flora from four of California's distinct regional ecosystems. Inside, visitors can find out about Chico's own Hooker Oak, at one time, the largest valley oak in the world. The Ice Age comes alive through the skeletal remains of the short-faced bear and saber-tooth cat—a pair of mega-fauna that prowled California in the Pleistocene Era, some 11,000 years ago. Exhibits are changed every three months with a fall, spring and summer session so there is always something new to explore.