Family Fun

Highlight

The Bedford Gallery is hosting free and fun drop-in art classes for kids! The next on is on Saturday, May 26 from 2-4pm. For each show the Bedford hosts, docents offer a free Art Make project for children of all ages. An excellent way to introduce the young people in your life to the creative world of art, projects will highlight the theme of the exhibition and offer children an opportunity to engage with art in a hands-on, educational, and creative way! More details at bedfordgallery.org.

More Family Fun

Below are some great places to take the whole family. Please check their Web sites for more detailed information.

Asian Art Museum's Storytelling
asianart.org
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco currently preserves a vast collection of art and artifacts from the Far East. But the museum's art isn't just visual; each Sunday and every first Saturday at 11:45am, the Asian Art Museum Storytelling Corps offer entertaining and educational programs for kids and adults to enjoy, continuing oral traditions that otherwise would have been forgotten.
Where: 200 Larkin St., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 581-3666
Cost: Storytelling free with museum admission: $10 adults, $7 seniors, $6 students and youth (13-17), free for children under 12, Asian Art Museum members, and SFUSD students; $5 Thursday evenings after 5 pm; free first Tuesday of every month

Bay Area Discovery Museum
baykidsmuseum.org
The Bay Area Discovery Museum encourages exploration of and connection with the local environment and the diverse communities that live here. They have permanent and special exhibits and offer visitors a wide range of events, performances, learning labs, tours and workshops in which to engage and educate children.
Where: East Fort Baker, 557 McReynolds Rd., Sausalito
Phone: (415) 339-3900
Cost: $10 adults, $8 seniors and children (1-17), free for BADM members and children under 1; Admission is free on the first Wednesday of each month.

Cartoon Art Museum
cartoonart.org
Located in San Francisco, The Cartoon Art Museum is the only institution in the United States dedicated to preserving an art form not often thought of as an art form: printed cartoons. The museum frequently holds events for young children, and the ongoing exhibits have fascinated young and old alike.
Where: 655 Mission St., San Francisco
Phone: (415) CARTOON
Cost: $6 adults, $4 students & seniors, $2 children (ages 6 - 12), free for children age 5 & under. The first Tuesday of month is "Pay What You Wish Day."

Community School of Music and Arts
arts4all.org
CSMA offers a complete Early Childhood Music & Art Program for children (18 months to 5 years) accompanied by a parent. Additional offerings include summer day camps for children grades K-8 and weekly music and art classes for students of all ages from children to adults.
Where: Finn Center, 230 San Antonio Cir., Mountain View
Phone: (650) 917-6800

Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
cdm.org
Visit the big, purple building where children can discover unusual events, exhibits, and artwork for themselves. The Children's Discovery Museum exposes kids to the world of science, technology and art at an early age, to stimulate their curiosities and dreams for the benefit of future generations.
Where: 180 Woz Way, San Jose
Phone: (408) 298-5437
Cost: $7 ages 1 through 59, $6 seniors, free for children under 1 and Children's Discovery Museum members

de Young Museum
famsf.org/deyoung
The new de Young in Golden Gate Park has something for the whole family -- from contemporary and ancient art to an outdoor sculpture garden. Now every Saturday the museum hosts drop-in art programs for children ages 3 1/2-12, from 10:30am-noon. Encourage your kids' interest in art through exploring galleries and exhibitions with an experienced museum educator and then they can find their own little inner-artist in the studio. It makes the family trip to museums a hassle-free adventure!
Where: Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 863-3330
Cost: Free with museum admission. Museum admission: $10 adults, $7 seniors, $6 students and youth (13-17), free for children (12 and under)

Exploratorium
exploratorium.org
This hands-on museum houses more than 650 science, art and human perception exhibits. And their Web site is super fun too, with plenty of interactive games!
Where: Palace of Fine Arts, 3601 Lyon St., San Francisco
Phone: (415) EXPLORE (397-5673)
Cost: $13 adults (18-64); $10 students, seniors, people with disabilities, and youth (13-17); $8 children (4-12), free for children 3 and under, free the first Wednesday of the month

Habitot
habitot.org
A place for young children, Habitot Children's Museum offers hands-on exhibits, a drop-in art studio and special weekend events that are geared toward infants, toddlers and preschoolers.
Where: 2065 Kittredge St., Berkeley
Phone: (510) 647-1111
Cost: $5 adults, $6 children, 10 percent discount for seniors and people with disabilities, free for children under age 1; inquire about free admission days for the general public and the Family Outreach Program for low-income and special needs families.

Koret Visitor Education Center at SFMOMA
sfmoma.org
Unique among art museums in the United States, SFMOMA's Koret Visitor Education Center offers new pathways to enjoying art, with art activity bins for children and studios for hands-on family programs.
Where: 151 Third St., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 538-2693
Cost: $12.50 adults, $8 seniors, $7 students with ID, free for SFMOMA members and children 12 and under with adult, free the first Tuesday of the month, half-price admission Thursday 6-9pm

Museum of Children's Art
mocha.org
Especially for kids, the Museum of Children's Art offers classes, family workshops and an art camp. And it offers Little Studio and Open Studio, drop-in art programs for kids and their families.
Where: 538 Ninth St., Oakland
Phone: (510) 465-8770
Cost: Gallery admission is always free; classes, workshops and camps often charge a fee -- contact them for more information.

Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo
pajmzfriends.org
The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo provides children with an array of learning experiences-all on a kid's scale-to engage their minds. Their offerings include an interactive Museum exhibit, a natural habitat Zoo and educational programs. The Mark Brest Van Kempen's Creek Installation is a reconstruction, rock for rock, of one specific cross section of the local San Francisquito Creek. This artificially maintained system is integral to the artist's vision -- a chunk of creek surgically removed and on life support.
Where: 1451 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto
Phone: (650) 326-6338
Cost: Free. Donations accepted and appreciated.

Peninsula Pops
peninsulapops.org
The Peninsula Pops Orchestra is the San Francisco Bay Area's only exclusively Pops orchestra. The Peninsula Pops Orchestra provides unique fun filled shows for the entire family to enjoy by inviting kids ages 10 and under to come free with an adult. Discount group and family tickets are also available.
Where: 3pm matinees at Spangenberg Theater, 780 Arastradero Rd., Palo Alto
Cost: Free for kids ages 10 and under with adults, $18 adults, $15 seniors, $10 students.

Randall Museum
randallmuseum.org
The Randall Museum offers a unique haven where children and adults can explore the creative aspects of art and science and make discoveries about nature and the environment by direct participation in classes, workshops, special events and clubs. Our suggestion: check out their Drop-In Family Ceramics on Saturdays from 10:30-11:30am.
Where: 199 Museum Way, San Francisco
Phone: (415) 554-9600
Cost: Saturday ceramics program is $5 per person; museum admission and school field trip programs are free. Donations are gratefully accepted.

San Francisco Center for the Book
sfcb.org
The San Francisco Center for the Book is devoted to teaching the many arts and crafts that go into making books by hand. Every semester, the SFCB offers a free hands-on event called Family Bookmaking Days -- giving 4-12-year-olds (and their families) a taste of making books.
Where: 300 De Haro St, San Francisco
Phone: (415) 565-0545

San Francisco Children's Art Center
childrensartcenter.org
For more than two decades, the San Francisco Children's Art Center has focused on a process-oriented art experience. They offer offer weekly art classes and art birthday parties and conduct programs at community sites in San Francisco.
Where: Fort Mason, Building C, San Francisco
Phone: (415) 771-0292

San Francisco Symphony's Music for Families Series
sfsymphony.org
The Music for Families Series offers quarterly symphony concerts that combine great music with fascinating talks, show-and-tell demonstrations and useful tools to promote music appreciation at home.
Where: Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 864-6000
Cost: Four-concert series is $48-170 for adults and half-price for children 12 and under; inquire about single tickets.

San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles
sjquiltmuseum.org
Kids Create is held the first Sunday of the month for children ages 5-12. The museum celebrates a different culture with a story and art project. Reservations required.
Where: 520 S. First St., San Jose
Phone: (408) 971-0323
Cost: Free with admission: $6.50 adults ; $5 seniors and students, free for children 12 years and under

Children's Creativity Museum (formerly Zeum)
creativity.org
Providing a hands-on participatory environment for youth arts expression, Zeum is a lot of fun for everyone. If that isn't enough fun for your whole family, Zeum is the cornerstone of the Rooftop at Yerba Buena Gardens, which also includes an ice skating rink, a bowling center, a child development center, a 1906 Playland-at-the-Beach carousel and gardens.
Where: 221 Fourth St., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 820-3320
Cost: $10 general admission, free for Children's Creativity Museum members and children age 2 and under