Sausalito

If you haven't been to the PlayLand indoor bounce house experience in the MLK Gym in Sausalito, it's definitely worth a visit, especially if it's rainy or cold and you can't play outside. PlayLand is a full-sized gymnasium full of inflatable bounce houses, including a 40-by-20-foot sports arena, a 15-foot slide, a bounce house with basketball hoop, and a toddler bounce zone.

My kids always have a blast playing here—sliding, jumping, bouncing, and playing games in a warm, safe, indoor environment. PlayLand was started by Marin dad Jeremy Williams, who also runs Mt. Tam Adventure Camps. He's often on site with several coaches who make sure that everyone has fun. During our last visit, a coach was making balloon animals for the kids, and there was even a remote controlled flying giant clownfish roaming the room. It's a fun and cool place to play in Marin.

This summer, the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito offers a variety of exciting summer Discovery Camps for children ages 3 to 8. Weekly camps start June 3 and run through August 23. Kids can sign up for a different camp each week and enjoy guided exploration and open-ended creative play. The museum's experienced educators and camp counselors will be on hand to help provide direction and guidance for the campers.

The museum's 2013 camps include an expanded Big Discovery Camp for three-year-olds, an afternoon Summer Camp Sampler featuring some of the most popular camp themes, and a multiple week discount—get an extra $25 off when you sign up for four weeks, $50 off or five weeks, $75 off for six weeks, and $100 off for seven or more weeks.

Come honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy at a special holiday celebration at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito. Create art inspired by the work of African American artists and learn more about Dr. King's life and work in the special family reading area.

Quotes from Dr. King's writing and speeches will be displayed throughout the museum to help your family think about how to celebrate this important holiday.

The Bay Area Discovery Museum is normally closed Mondays, but is open today, January 21, from 9 am to 4 pm for this special Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration. General admission is $11; infants under 6 months and members are admitted free.

You can also honor Dr. King's memory through the music of SoVoSó, an amazing a capella ensemble that performs a unique uplifting mix of jazz, gospel, world, and R&B. Performances by SoVoSó take place at 11 am and 12:30 pm. Tickets to either performance are $7 for Bay Area Discovery Museum members and $17 general. Ticket prices to the SoVoSó performances include museum admission.

Fairfax's Studio C Ballet now has a new location in Sausalito! The new studio is located at 10 Liberty Ship Way, Suite 340 (the home of the Stage Dor Dance Studio and the Don't Quit Your Day Job Dancers). Studio C's programs are based on the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, which combines high-quality artistic training with the basics of dancer health and child development.

Offering professional ballet training for all ages and abilities, Studio C Ballet was founded by Marin mom and professional ballet dancer Claudia Alfieri-Wallace, a veteran of esteemed dance companies including San Francisco Ballet, Smuin Ballet, and Baryshnikov's American Ballet. Classes are available for all ages, from pre-ballet (ages 3–5) to adult instruction. Private ballet coaching is available as well.

Studio C Ballet also offers Ballerina Birthday Parties; contact Claudia directly for prices and availability at (415) 297-6897 or claudia@studiocballet.com.

Sausalito's Bay Area Discovery Museum, everybody's favorite hands-on place for kids to learn and explore, will be closed for its annual maintenance the next two weeks: Monday, September 10 through Monday, September 24, 2011. The museum will re-open on Tuesday, September 25, 2011. For more info call (415) 339-3900 or visit www.badm.org.

A Marin County tradition for half a century, the Sausalito Art Festival returns to Marinship Park this Labor Day Weekend for its 60th season. The Festival showcases the works of the finest local, national and international artists, with more than 20,000 original works of art by 270 artists, including paintings, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, fiber art, fine glass, woodwork, mixed media, and photography.

Of course there are plenty of other things to see and do at the Sausalito Art Festival, including music by legendary headliners and local favorites on two stages. Performers include Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, America, and Mustache Harbor on Saturday; The Yardbirds, Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone, anf the Grass Roots on Sunday; The Fixx, Smash Mouth, the Lemon Hammer on Monday. Fantastic food, beer, and wine will be available, too.

The 2012 Sausalito Art Festival also offers a full weekend of children's entertainment and hands-on activities at the special children's area adjacent to the Bay Model, including a sing-along dance party with everybody's favorite award-winning children’s recording artist Tim Cain (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at 2 pm). Check out their complete list of entertainment here.

The PlayLand indoor bounce house experience in the MLK Gym in Sausalito is always a blast to visit. We recently attended a birthday party there, and everyone, kids of all ages and adults included, had a fantastic time! It's definitely a place to consider when planning your next children's party.

PlayLand is a full-sized gymnasium full of inflatable bounce houses, including a 40-by-20-foot sports arena, a 15-foot slide, a bounce house with basketball hoop, and a toddler bounce zone. PlayLand offers two different party packages: semi private weekday afternoon parties and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon private parties.

Weekday afternoon parties run for 1 hour and 30 minutes, and are for up to 12 children (you can pay for more). Two time slots are available, 2–3:30 pm and 3:45–5:15 pm. The cost is $150 for Sausalito residents and $160 for non-residents. You'll have exclusive use of a decorated private party room with balloons and table covers, and will share the bounce house facilities with the public. You'll need to provide all food, drink, and tableware, and alcoholic drinks are not allowed.

Ever wonder who takes care of the seals and other marine mammals that end up stranded on California's coast? Marin's Marine Mammal Center has been on the scene rescuing and caring for sick, injured, malnourished, and abandoned marine mammals—including elephant seals, seal lions, harbor seals, sea otters, and even whales—since 1975.

Located at Fort Cronkhite in the Marin Headlands, the Marin Mammal Center's new $32 million facility opened in the summer of 2009, and offers daily tours and educational activities for the entire family. It's a great destination as an outing on its own, and as a not-to-miss part of a visit to the Headlands.

Admission and self-guided tours are free of charge. Pick up a guide card from the information desk (remember to return it on your way out) and take a look around. At the back of the center you'll find the pools and pens where the Center's patients stay while recovering. The best place to check out the pens and their residents is from the second floor observation area. There are often volunteer docents stationed here who can answer questions about what you're seeing down below in the pens, and who the current patients are. Remember to be quiet here—you're visiting a hospital for sensitive wild animals.

With its wind-swept hills, vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean, and wealth of natural wonders and historic sites, the Marin Headlands sounds like the ideal place for a summer camp. Well, in fact, it is—Coastal Camp by Naturebridge offers educational and fun day camps in the Marin Headlands for children entering kindergarten through 9th grade, and partners with the National Park Service and the Marine Mammal Center for some fantastic educational opportunities.

Campers will explore this amazing national park and learn about the area's natural and cultural history, marine mammals, and coastal ecology, investigate tidepool creatures in the intertidal marine lab, hike along coastal trails, and even sail San Francisco Bay on board an 82-foot schooner. Coastal Camp programs are led by college-age camp counselors and experienced professional field science educators.