Asian
Art Museum
200 Larkin Street
(between Fulton and McAllister Streets)
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415)581-3500
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
is one of the largest museums in the Western world devoted
exclusively to Asian art. Its holdings include nearly 15,000
treasures spanning 6,000 years of history, representing cultures
throughout Asia.
The Asian Art Museum’s interactive
Family Programs allow parents and children to explore the many
aspects of Asian art and culture together. Listen to lively
storytelling in the galleries, watch a video or performance, create
a piece of original artwork– these are just a few of the
entertaining activities the whole family can enjoy.
For more information about the
family program,
click
here, or call (415)
581-3666 or e-mail
familyprograms@asianart.org
All Family Programs are free with museum admission, and kids under
12 always get in FREE!
All new and completely redesigned. For those who loved the old Academy this new version will seem much smaller
and less inclusive. However parents with small tots in tow will appreciate that everything is close at hand and can be taken in with
much less walking, including a place to sit and eat. (No more long walks through the
labyrinthine bowels of the museum while kids whine for food!)
Meanwhile, although we bemoan the fact that the new Academy has less space for visiting
exhibitions, we must admit that the new rainforest exhibit
area is spectacular! And the newly designed aquarium portion beautifully showcases the (former) Steinhart collection in a way that is
much more kid friendly, and aesthetically appealing than the old
Academy site. What's more, the new building is safely designed to withstand the famous California quakes, a big improvement, and is very eco-friendly.
Tips: With sections aimed at little tots as well as older kids our advice is still to visit
with another adult so that the little ones don't have to dawdle in areas that don't appeal to them. Next,
to view
the much talked about living roof, head across the plaza to the M.H. de Young Museum and take the elevator up to the top
floor of their viewing tower. Incredible views of the bay, but also of the Academy and its fabulous roof. Note that you do not have to pay to visit the tower,
only if you wish to enter the rest of the de Young Museum. And finally, although admission may seem a little steep for the average family
you may want to resist the temptation to take advantage of the various
free admission days. Lines to get in on free days are literally
around the block, right up until hour or so before closing. And once you're in, the press of humanity makes it very hard to see the exhibits.
But if you must visit on a free day, bring your patience -- and someone to stand in the long line while you amuse the kiddies.
Still touted as the oldest scientific institute in the west --
"Earth, Ocean, and Space, all in one place" -- the newly
designed Academy includes:
African Hall:
Lions, and cheetahs, and zebras, oh my! Take a virtual safari through Africa and encounter these animals —and many others—inside intricately crafted dioramas. Look closely as you wander through the hall, and you’ll find some live animals as well, including tortoises, lizards, and a colony of African penguins.
Altered State: Climate Change in California
Walk beneath an 87-foot-long blue whale skeleton, gaze up at a towering T. Rex, come face-to-face with a live rattlesnake, and marvel at dozens of other California treasures. Then track the potential impacts of climate change in California and around the world, and learn what you can do to help. Measure the impact of your family’s every-day decisions on a carbon scale, help polar bears move from one ice floe to another in an interactive Arctic Ice projection room, and share your ideas for treading more lightly on the planet at the Academy’s feedback station.
California Coast
It never rains at the Academy’s California Coast, an exhibit that highlights the state’s diverse marine environments. Watch waves roll onto a sandy beach, talk to scuba divers inside a 100,000-gallon rocky coast tank, play hide-and-seek with a giant Pacific octopus, and get a closer look at a Red-tailed hawk. You can even hold a hermit crab at the Discovery Tidepool and meet a 165-pound sea bass in the Tank of Giants.
Early Explorers Cove:
Take your scientist-in-training to the Early Explorers Cove, a special exhibit designed for infants, preschoolers, and their caregivers. Tots can explore a 15-foot replica of the Academy’s 1905 research schooner, climb into a tree-house, tend a miniature organic garden, or crawl into a child-sized burrow. The exhibit is also well-stocked with books, toys, puzzles, and dress-up costumes.
Islands of Evolution:
Visit the remote islands of Madagascar and The Galapagos through the eyes of Academy scientists, and discover why islands function as laboratories for evolution. Examine specimens collected during Academy research expeditions, including Galapagos tortoise shells and Darwin’s famous finches. Learn how scientists search for new species, and then put your new knowledge into practice, netting virtual butterflies with Wii gaming wands and setting pit-fall traps for virtual beetles.
Morrison Planetarium: Visitors leave Planet Earth behind as they fly through the cosmos inside the world's largest all-digital planetarium. Using the latest data from NASA, the planetarium presents the most accurate and interactive digital Universe ever created.
Naturalist Center:
Have a question about the natural world? The reference librarians and educators at the Naturalist Center can help you answer them. Bring in your leaves, feathers, rocks, shells, and other personal treasures for identification, look up the latest research on green technologies, or sign up for a special program in the adjoining classrooms and labs.
Philippine Coral Reef:
Dive into the world’s deepest living coral reef tank without donning a wetsuit. Five underwater windows offer a fish’s eye view into one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Find Nemo—and 4,000 other reef fish—darting through a technicolor forest of coral, watch garden eels emerge from their underwater burrows, and admire the brilliant hues of a giant clam. Up on the surface, follow a boardwalk through a mangrove lagoon, where sharks and rays cruise beneath your feet.
Rainforests of the World:
Step inside a living rainforest, where water dripping from the mahogany and palm trees sets the beat for a symphony of croaking frogs and chirping birds. Peer into one of Borneo ’s bat caves, meet chameleons from Madagascar , and climb into the tree-tops of Costa Rica , where long lines of industrious leaf cutter ants march along vines and hundreds of tropical butterflies flutter like colorful confetti. Finally, descend in a glass elevator into the Amazonian flooded forest—the land of anacondas, piranhas, and electric eels. An acrylic tunnel allows you to walk beneath the Amazonian river fish that swim overhead.
Science in Action:
Go beyond the headlines and gain in-depth information about recent scientific discoveries around the world. Live talks by Academy scientists, audio-visual displays, computer stations, and podcasts provide a reliable source of timely and relevant news about the natural world.
The Living Roof:
Stop and smell the wildflowers during a visit to the Academy’s living roof, a 2.5-acre expanse of native California plants. Part of the museum’s green building strategy, the roof provides superior insulation, prevents storm water runoff, reduces the urban heat island effect, and creates new habitat for native birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. An engineering marvel, the seven hills of the living roof roll over the Academy’s major exhibits and echo the hilly topography of San Francisco.
The Swamp:
Peer over the bronze railing of The Swamp tank if you dare—an American alligator and alligator snapping turtles rule the water below. One of these reptiles, an albino gator with startling white skin, may steal the lion’s share of the attention, but it’s hard to ignore his neighbors for too long. Snakes, frogs, and salamanders live in smaller tanks nearby.
Water Planet:
What does it take to live underwater? Find out in this innovative exhibit that includes dozens of aquarium tanks filled with fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and other invertebrates. Once an hour, the lights go down inside the tanks, the room transforms into a 360-degree projection theater, and visitors are immersed in a five-minute video about the most precious resource on the planet: water.
THE ACADEMY AT Howard Street
HAS CLOSED.
Please visit them at their new location at GOLDEN GATE PARK
American art from the Colonial
times to the 20th century. Plus art from other lands. Excellent for
older children, middle school and up -- or for your avid young artists.
On October 15, 2005,
San Francisco's beloved de Young museum re-opened in a
magnificent new building. Visit the de Young site in
Golden Gate Park to see the result.
The Legion of Honor displays a
collection of 4,000 years of ancient and European art in an
exquisite Beaux-Arts building in an unforgettable setting
overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.
San Francisco's most beautiful public museum is located in Lincoln
Park near 34th Avenue and Clement Street.
Open six days a week, Tuesday through
Sunday, 9:30 am-5:00pm.
Exploratoreum
3601 Lyon Street, San Francisco CA
(415) 561-0360
The bay area's wonderful hands on science exploration. This is a great place
for those children who really love to find out how things work -- or
for those who just have to TOUCH everything. Topics range from the
magnetic to the electric to the distinctly biological. Plan to
spend about 3 hours. A snack bar is available inside, but
prices are a bit high. Check their website to find out
about current or upcoming exhibits.
A Civil War fort in San Francisco?
You bet. And it's a great place to get a 3-D look at a period of
American History that is already long gone. Photos,
keepsakes, and other memorabilia depict the lives of black
soldiers and the role of women (especially military wives).
The Fort itself is a looming presence, a tangible connection to a way
of thinking and living that most kids only experience in history books
and documentaries. If history is not your thing, you'll
still enjoy an incredible view of the bridge and the bay.
If you're out about about near Castro and Market pop in to the
Randal Museum! This eclectic museum for kids shares the
grounds with a playground and a large park for hiking around.
A great way for kids to blow off some steam -- and it is free!
The Randall Museum houses changing science, art, and interactive exhibits. Permanent areas of the Museum include a live animal exhibit, a woodshop, art and ceramics studios, a lapidary workshop, a 188-seat theater, a greenhouse, and gardens.
The museum's main floor, including the grounds, lobby, deck, animal exhibit, restrooms, theater, and art and ceramics studios, is wheelchair accessible. Call (415) 554-9600 or email info@randallmuseum.org for accessibility information about specific facilities or programs.
In order to allow persons with asthma and multiple chemical sensitivities to attend, please refrain from wearing perfumes and other scented products when visiting the Randall Museum. Pets are not permitted on museum grounds.
The Randall Museum is open to the public 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, Tuesday through Saturday. All exhibits are closed on Sundays and Mondays.
San Francisco Zoo has really been
changing! A whole new entrance with a convenient (modern)
parking lot, and the beautiful new savanna exhibit are too of the
most notable improvements.
Zeum
Yerba Buena Gardens
221 4th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
This hands on
"museum" is all about doing, not looking! It features a
large arts & crafts area, equipped with glue guns, scissors, and
a variety of creative materials that allow kids to make
variations on whatever the current project is -- or anything
else they want. Samples from the past include mobiles and
kites. An animation room features everything you
need to make your own claymation style movie: camera,
background settings, props, even clay. For special
projects, you can purchase some fresh clay (for a nominal fee)
which can go home with you when you leave. Upstairs you'll
find every divas dream: dress up clothes, a microphone, a
stage, karaoke equipment, and even a videotape set up with an
operator to film your big performance. If you really love
your session, you can buy the videotape to take home.
Most of
Zeum is set up for children age 5 and up, however there is a
carousel outside the building that will delight younger
children. Please be aware that because some materials
could produce injury (for example, hot glue gun tips), parents
should plan to supervise children while they are enjoying crafts
and other facilities. There are no staff people available
to fill this vital function for you.
