Museums for Kids

This weekend, June 14 and 15, San Francisco's de Young Museum is free to everyone, in celebration of the opening of their new exhibition, Chihuly at the de Young! The free weekend is sponsored by Target. In addition to the exhibition and the museum's permanent collections, there will be numerous performances and activities for families throughout the weekend, including hands-on art activities, live music, stilt walkers, circus arts performances, and industrial and fire arts demonstrations  by The Crucible, an Oakland based non-profit educational facility, on their Educational Response Vehicle—a repurposed 1960 International Harvester fire truck.

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One of our favorite relatively short road trips is to head down to the Monterey Peninsula. It's about a 2-1/2- to 3-hour drive from Marin, making it perfect for a day trip, overnight, or weekend. (What makes this easier for us is that we have good friends in Pacific Grove who are willing to put up with us every so often for a few days.) A favorite place to visit, especially with small children, is the Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Summer’s still here, and if you’re looking for fun and educational things to do with your kids during the month of August, then look no further than your local children’s museum. The Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito and the Habitot Children’s Museum in Berkeley are two of our favorites.

The Bay Area Discovery Museum offers a Special Summer Series that includes art, science and music workshops on Wednesdays at 2:00 pm for ages 4 and up.

August 1: Seaside Songs
August 8: Science by the Bay
August 15: Masterpieces, Summer Drawing Series
August 22: Prolific Puppetry

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One of my kids favorite places to go, hands-down, is the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito. If you haven’t been there, they are located in the beautiful Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Fort Baker in Sausalito, which overlooks San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, and the views are amazing.

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Who says you can't take in some art and have some fun at the same time? The new de Young in Golden Gate Park won the distinction of being one of the 10 best American art museums for kids by Child's magazine. The de Young reopened in October, 2005, and since then has been a popular place for families from throughout the Bay Area. In addition to three floors of art, the museum has a great "Children's Garden of Enchantment" (pictured above) with whimsical landscaping, outdoor sculpture, and the unique Fog Fountain, as well as an outdoor sculpture garden with an expansive lawn where kids can run off some energy (but don't touch the art!).

The museum cafe has kid-friendly items on it's menu, like barbecued chicken skewers with fresh fruit, macaroni and cheese, and of course the old standby PB&J. Check out the museum store on the lower level, which has a large selection of cool art-inspired toys, games, books, and DVDs.

If the art experience just isn't working out, you can always cross the street at JFK Drive and find a large, modern playground. Kids under 12 are always free at the de Young, and everyone's free the first Tuesday of the month. There are drop-in art classes for 3-1/2–12-year olds on Saturdays. Check their calendar for details.