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Indoor Play
Indoor adventure play sites can be a little expensive, by the time
you pay for admission, snacks and for the older kids, game
tokens. But, what price sanity? Here is a short list of some local
facilities:
Child-friendly Museums
The Peninsula is home to many fun museums that welcome younger customers. If
you can't always afford the price of admission or just don't want to
spend all day somewhere to get your "money's worth", then go for a
couple of hours to the museums that offer a free day.
Part of this list was compiled by the weblog group Momsoup.
Note: Free days are often crowded so it's not for everyone.
The Aquarium of the Bay is a
unique educational and entertainment facility dedicated to the rich and
diverse aquatic life of San Francisco Bay and its surrounding waters.
The Aquarium provides a window to the Bay that focuses on its distinctive
ecosystems to entertain, educate and inspire preservation of this wonderful
natural resource.
Admission Charge
The nationally-recognized Bay Area Discovery Museum
(Sausalito, CA) is a one-of-a-kind indoor/outdoor children's museum
that offers a full range of programs for children, parents, school groups and educators.
Located on 7 and 1/2 acres in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Fort Baker in Sausalito, CA.,
the Museum's unique programs feature hands-on art, science, environmental and media exhibitions, performances,
special events and ongoing educational curricula... all with a focus on fun!
Free: 2nd Saturday, 1 to 5 pm
The California Academy of Science
in San Francisco, incorporates the
Natural History Museum,
the Steinart Aquarium and the
Morrison Planetarium under one roof
in beautiful Golden Gate Park.
The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University
presents art in 24 galleries plus sculpture gardens, terraces, and courtyard. The Center's diverse
collections span 4000 years and the world's cultures and number some 25,000 objects, including the largest
collection of Rodin bronzes outside Paris. Nearly 100 contemporary sculptures sited outdoors throughout
campus await your discovery. Presenting a wide range of important changing exhibitions, docent
tours, lectures, gallery talks, symposia, and classes, the Cantor Arts Center is a cultural hub
for the community and a teaching resource for Stanford University. Learn what the Center offers and
visit often. Admission is free.
Free: Always
Free: Family Tour every 2nd Saturday at 3pm
At Chabot Space & Science Center (Oakland, CA),
the universe is yours to experience. Set amid 13 trail-laced acres of East Bay parkland, with glorious views
of San Francisco Bay and the Oakland foothills, Chabot is a hands-on celebration of sights, sounds, and
sensations.
Admission Charge
The Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
is 52,000 square feet of interactive exhibits covering, in the museum's own
words, "the broad themes of community, connections and
creativity." All reports indicate that this is a great site, even for
the littlest kids.
The Coyote Point Museum (San Mateo, CA)
is a learning center that inspires each of us to make a lifelong commitment to act responsibly
in caring for the earth. We provide engaging, educational experiences for our diverse, multi-generational
Bay Area community through wildlife, gardens, exhibitions, and programs that relate to
the global environment.
Free: 1st Wednesday
The Exploratorium in San Francisco's
Marina district is a hands-on museum focused on science education for kids and adults alike. With hundreds
of exhibits to touch, look through, pick up, and tinker with, let curiosity be your compass to endless
discoveries! Located in the Palace of Fine Arts, near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Free: 1st Wednesday
Every third Saturday of the month from 11am-noon "Soar with Books" takes place at the
Hiller Aviation Museum off Highway 101
at the Holly St. exit in San Carlos. "Soar with Books"
is a pre-school reading program limited to 25 3-5 year olds who will have
time for a short tour, aviation book reading and an art project.
RSVP required. Please RSVP to Katie Blommer at
Katie@hiller.org.
Free: to members
Visitors need to pay the entrance fee to the museum.
At the Intel Museum in
Santa Clara, you can experience the power of computer chips first hand, and the evolution of their development.
Explore the pages of the site and interact with our Web movies to learn more about the museum and computer chips.
Admission and parking are free.
Free: Always
The NASA Ames Exploration
Center, where visitors can experience NASA technology and missions first hand, recently added a
number of fresh and exciting exhibits open to the public at no charge. Located at the main gate to NASA
Ames at Moffett Field just off US 101, the NASA Exploration Center has welcomed more than
150,000 visitors since it opened at the beginning of 2004 and has inspired tens of thousands of schoolchildren
to become the next generation of space explorers. The facility is open to the public at no charge.
Free: Always
The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo
is best of all, free. The museum features hands-on exhibits and a mini-zoo.
The Seymour Marine Discovery Center
(Santa Cruz, CA) reflects the world of the scientist. Rather than the polished, nicely finished look of most
museums and aquariums, the interior portrays the labs and seawater aquaria where scientists spend their days.
The Seymour Center is organized around the process of how scientists do their work - looking, testing,
puzzling, and questioning.
Free: 1st Tuesday
The 132,000 square feet of the Tech Museum of Innovation
(San Jose, CA) are shared by four major theme galleries packed full of one-of-a-kind exhibits, the
Hackworth IMAX Dome Theater, an educational center for workshops and labs, an upscale cafe, and a retail
store featuring books, gifts, and only-in-Silicon Valley items.
Free: 2nd Sunday
It's always best to check your destination ahead to see if terms and conditions changed.
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Fun Web Sites
Not unexpectedly, the internet itself abounds with web sites for kids and parents desperate for something to do.
Many include pages you can print out for coloring, great ideas for arts and
crafts projects and of course, on-line games and activities. Just
to get you started, here are a few places to check out:
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Crayola has put together a colorful site
dedicated to the crayon. Take a virtual factory tour, find ideas for fun things to do or apply for a job!
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Surfing the net with kids is the web site
of syndicated newspaper columnist Barbara Feldman. Feldman provides reviews and links to a huge array
of kid-oriented web sites.
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Awesome Library lives up to its name with
links and reviews for 14,000 web sites focused on kids.
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Children's Television Workshop, the cyber home of Sesame Street.
The site also includes parenting tips and ideas for fun activities.
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The Idea Box provides early child education
and activity resources.
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MaMaMedia
e'zine for kids, recommended by Janet Delgado, connects youngsters to web sites where they
can learn and play.
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Things2make.com lists all
kinds of projects categorized by age (over or under 6), occasion or theme.
The projects feature detailed, easy-to-follow animated descriptions.
Sportive Activities
Enjoy a great day in the water at the
Silliman Family Aquatic Center in Newark.
Or join in the activities at the Activity Center right next door.
The Aquatic Center features Spa, Activity Pool and Waterslides amongst other things. Enter the Activity Center
to use the gymnasium, weight room or Arobic Studio. Child Care is also provided.
Here is a pool that offers drop in swim lessons. A great thing to do on a rainy day.
Contact information:
Betty Wright Swim Ctr
3864 Middlefield Rd # C, Palo Alto, CA 94303
Phone: (650) 494-1480
Open Gym is scheduled Monday through Friday at the Junior Gym of San Mateo.
Voted the "Best Gymnastics School for Children" by BayArea Parent Magazine, their
4600-square-foot facility provides a challenging but safe environment to promote children's physical
development and self-esteem. They also offer
PARENTS' NIGHT OUT a.k.a. Kids Night Out on
Fridays.
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Child-friendly Shops
- Color me Mine in Menlo Park
- Scrapbook Depot San Carlos
- Petco or any petstore to check out the animals
- IKEA for a meal or to shop in the kids area
- Lego Store at Hillsdale Mall
- Hillsdale Mall for a stroll & lunch, San Mateo
- Barnes & Noble kids section, San Mateo
- Johanssen's Shoes in San Mateo
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