L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wizard of Oz comes to life in Masque Unit Junior Theatre’s annual live theater production for young children at Marin Center this weekend. Masque Unit’s production and Jim Eiler and Jeanne Bargy’s musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz introduces children to this timeless masterpiece and offers an afternoon of delightful entertainment. The colorful characters, fast-paced action, and hysterical humor will please not only children of all ages, but adults as well.
After a tornado whisks Dorothy away from her farm in Kansas to the magical land of Oz, the Munchkins and Glinda the Good Witch send her on an adventure to find the mighty Wizard. On her way, Dorothy meets a brainless Scarecrow, a heartless Tin Woodsman, and a Cowardly Lion. Dorothy must avoid the clutches of the Wicked Witch of the West and find the Wizard who will help her get home.
If you grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, you no doubt spent some time as a kid at the Exploratorium. This innovative and influential hands-on museum of science, art, and human perception has been educating and entertaining families for over 40 years.
Located at the iconic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco's Marina District, the Exploratorium is a perfect place for an outing for families with children of all ages, from toddlers to teens. Parents, grandparents, and most other grownups will find it a lot of fun, too.
Founded by physicist and university professor Frank Oppenheimer, the younger brother of the Manhattan Project's J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Exploratorium is renowned for its hands-on experiments and demonstrations, which are facilitated by orange-vested "Explainers" who are on hand to teach and encourage visitors. Exhibits are created in the museum's own shop, and many are designed by artists-in-residence. Exhibits change frequently, so you may see some that you remember from when you were a kid as well as some that are totally new to you.
Children visiting the Bay Area Discovery Museum can become young scientists at Science + Me, the museum's newest special exhibition. Developed by the Kohl Children's Museum in Chicago in conjunction with scientists at global health care company Abbott, this exhibition opened January 17 and runs through April 15, 2012.
Science + You offers a child-sized laboratory where children can explore how scientists impact health and wellness. Learn how science plays a vital role in keeping you and your body healthy through hands-on interactive exhibits and activities. On Saturday afternoons, meet scientists from Abbott Labs who will perform fun, interactive, and age-appropriate science experiments in the exhibition's demonstration area.
Children will enter the 1,200-square-foot exhibition as if they're entering a real laboratory, washing up and wiping their feet before they put on their white lab coats. Once inside, they'll learn about anitbodies, handle materials in a glove box, separate and and mix liquids and solids, view objects on video microscopes, and learn more about healthy foods and lifestyles.
I haven't been to Golden Gate Park's Conservatory of Flowers since I was a kid, so I was very excited to have the chance to take my kids to see the Playland exhibit that's currently on view there. We had a great time checking out the garden railway setup, the Playland memorabila, and the many exotic plants housed in the Conservatory.
This version of the Conservatory's garden railway celebrates San Francisco's legendary bygone Playland at the Beach amusement park, which was located along the Great Highway across from Ocean Beach and closed (and was subsequently torn down to make way for condos back in the 1970s). The garden railway display is landscaped with hundreds of dwarf plants, and model trains and trolleys travel past miniature versions of old San Francisco landmarks like the Sutro Baths, the Victorian-era Cliff House and of course Playland.
We a lot of fun at the California Academy of Sciences' Penguins + Pajamas sleepover when we attended last summer—it's a fantastic experience. The next Penguis+Pajamas sleepover is scheduled for Saturday, February 11, 2012, and we're giving away tickets to a lucky Marin Mommies reader!
Experience your own "night at the museum" as you explore the exhibits after-hours, stargaze at the planetarium show, and enjoy a special live animal presentation. Before bedtime, settle in for story time with cookies and milk to learn about Pierre—the Academy’s famous wetsuit-wearing penguin.
When the lights go out, unroll your sleeping bag in African Hall, next to the swaying kelp of the California Coast tank, or even at the Swamp window, face-to-face with Claude, the albino alligator. In the morning, rise and shine, then head over to the Academy Café for breakfast.
The Children's Theatre Association of San Francisco (CTA) presents its winter 2012 production Rumpelstiltskin. This live musical stage play for children ages 4–10 runs on Saturdays from January 7–February 11, 2012 at the historic Florence Gould Theater in the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco.
Rumpelstiltskin tells the classic story a poor young girl raised to be a princess, thanks to an odd little man and his magic. Later, she must guess his name or lose her most precious treasure.
The CTA was formed 75 years ago with the support of the Junior League of San Francisco, the San Francisco Board of Education, and the San Francisco Opera and Ballet with the goal of presenting live musical theater to the children of the San Francisco Bay Area. Since 1981, it's been part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco's cultural programs for schools, presenting its productions to more than 6,000 elementary schoolchildren annually.
There are two performances each Saturday, at 10:30 am and 1 pm, and tickets are $12 each. For more information, and to order tickets online, visit www.ctasf.org or call (415) 248-2677. The Legion of Honor is located in San Francisco's Lincoln Park at 34th Avenue and Clement Street. For more information and directions to the museum, visit www.legionofhonor.org.
Let your children's’ imaginations run wild as they create the ultimate gingerbread house, complete with candy canes, gumdrops, frosting, and other treats at the Bay Area Discovery Museum this holiday season. The museum's 14th Annual Gingerbread Architecture Extravaganza runs through December 23, 2011.
The cost is $30 per gingerbread kit for Bay Area Discovery Museum members and $40 per kit for non-members, which includes museum admission for one adult and one child per kit purchased. Pre-registration is required, so register online at the Bay Area Discovery Museum's website.
Make sure to reserve your spot as soon as possible, because this extremely popular event often does sell out.
Gingerbread house sessions are on the following dates:
Weekdays: 9:30, 10:30 & 11:30 am
December 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23
This Saturday, Sausalito's Bay Area Discovery Museum opens Out on a Limb, adventures with nature and art, it's new special exhibit that promotes nature-play through a sculptural, interactive design that incorporates nostalgic settings, such as a tree house and a fort-building area. Out on a Limb will be at the Bay Area Discovery Museum from Saturday, October 29, 2011 through January 8, 2012, and is included with general museum admission.
The 1,200 square foot imaginative environment is designed to inspire children and their caregivers to learn to explore nature by using their senses. More than simply seeing the beauty of a tree, the exhibit encourages visitors to hear the sounds of the forest, use leaves to make beautiful art, and build big and little structures from bark and limbs. Out on a Limb, adventures with nature and art was originally created by Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose.
Remember when we wrote about how much fun we had at the last California Academy of Sciences Penguins + Pajamas sleepover? Well, their next sleepover event is scheduled for Saturday, November 12, and we're giving away tickets to a lucky Marin Mommies reader!
Experience your own "night at the museum" as you explore the exhibits after-hours, stargaze at the planetarium show, and enjoy a special live animal presentation. Before bedtime, settle in for story time with cookies and milk to learn about Pierre—the Academy’s famous wetsuit-wearing penguin.
When the lights go out, unroll your sleeping bag in African Hall, next to the swaying kelp of the California Coast tank, or even at the Swamp window, face-to-face with Claude, the albino alligator. In the morning, rise and shine, then head over to the Academy Café for breakfast.
L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wizard of Oz comes to life in Masque Unit Junior Theatre’s annual live theater production for young children at Marin Center this weekend. Masque Unit’s production and Jim Eiler and Jeanne Bargy’s musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz introduces children to this timeless masterpiece and offers an afternoon of delightful entertainment. The colorful characters, fast-paced action, and hysterical humor will please not only children of all ages, but adults as well.
Children visiting the Bay Area Discovery Museum can become young scientists at Science + Me, the museum's newest special exhibition. Developed by the Kohl Children's Museum in Chicago in conjunction with scientists at global health care company Abbott, this exhibition opened January 17 and runs through April 15, 2012.
I haven't been to Golden Gate Park's Conservatory of Flowers since I was a kid, so I was very excited to have the chance to take my kids to see the Playland exhibit that's currently on view there. We had a great time checking out the garden railway setup, the Playland memorabila, and the many exotic plants housed in the Conservatory.
We a lot of fun at the 
The Children's Theatre Association of San Francisco (CTA) presents its winter 2012 production Rumpelstiltskin. This live musical stage play for children ages 4–10 runs on Saturdays from January 7–February 11, 2012 at the historic Florence Gould Theater in the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco.
Let your children's’ imaginations run wild as they create the ultimate gingerbread house, complete with candy canes, gumdrops, frosting, and other treats at the Bay Area Discovery Museum this holiday season. The museum's 14th Annual Gingerbread Architecture Extravaganza runs through December 23, 2011.
This Saturday, Sausalito's Bay Area Discovery Museum opens Out on a Limb, adventures with nature and art, it's new special exhibit that promotes nature-play through a sculptural, interactive design that incorporates nostalgic settings, such as a tree house and a fort-building area. Out on a Limb will be at the Bay Area Discovery Museum from Saturday, October 29, 2011 through January 8, 2012, and is included with general museum admission.
