Category: Things to do with kids in California

Burma Superstar

This tiny restaurant, known for its creative food, is a favorite of locals, food critics, and tourists. It’s one of the few restaurants in the nation that specializes in Burmese cuisine, which is best described as a flavorful mix of Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese cuisines. Do not come here for dinner, however. It’s a small restaurant that is extremely popular and doesn’t take reservations. Come here for lunch, when there will be no wait at all. The signature dishes are the unforgettable superstar noodles and the rich Samusa soup. Kids will love the sweet coconut rice but, you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu.

Contact no: (415) 387-2147

Location: 309 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94118

Learn more here.

Bi-Rite

To call specialty grocer Bi-Rite a grocery store is technically appropriate, but doesn’t capture how special it is. All the food is top-notch, gourmet stuff; organic and local when the store can get it. The staff gives out samples also: oranges, pears, persimmons, apples and all kinds of cheeses. Prices aren’t low, but the quality makes up for it. This is the perfect place to buy groceries for a picnic with your children in sunny Dolores Park, just a few blocks away.

Contact no: (415) 241-9760

Location: 3639 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

Learn more here.

Beach Chalet

Don’t want to prepare the food for a picnic in Golden Gate Park? The view of the sea at this beachside eatery is incredible, especially if your children don’t live near an ocean. Food is family friendly, with fish & chips and beer. Beach Chalet is a better alternative to the more crowded, overpriced Cliff House across the street. This place is especially good for brunch, but not on weekends, as it can get crowded.

Contact no: (415) 386-8439

Location: 1000 Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 94121

Learn more here.

San Francisco School of Circus Arts

San Francisco is home to the world-renowned School of Circus Arts, which teaches juggling, clowning, acrobatics, and every other skill one would need to work in the big tent. You can tour their facilities, which are right on the edge of Golden Gate Park. More entertaining are the expositions they frequently hold to showcase their students’ talent around town, but locations vary, so check their website for upcoming events. Be forewarned, after watching one of these, your child may want to run off and join the circus. In its own way, this can be very educational for a child to see, as he or she will learn that even the most fun-seeming careers require education, training, and commitment.

Contact no: (415) 759-8123

Location: 755 Frederick Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

Learn more here.

San Francisco Giants

 

San Francisco’s beloved baseball team plays in AT&T Park, the best of the newer, more intimate Major-League stadiums. Even on a foggy day, there’s no better place to see the windup and the pitch, no better place to hear the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd. If your children haven’t beent to a game before, this is a perfect place to start.

Contact no: (415) 972-2000

Location: 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, CA 94107

Learn more here.

Beach Blanket Babylon

We don’t usually like to put musical shows in these guides; the reason is simple: shows can open on Friday and then close Saturday before the matinee. Beach Blanket Babylon, on the other hand, is a local institution. It skewers popular culture through song and dance, and updates its act every year. The show has sold out every performance for the last 32 years and the reason why is simple: it’s funny, it’s clever and the cast wears gigantic, ridiculously ornate hats that would make Carmen Miranda blush. Get your tickets before your trip and take the young theatre fan in your family.

Contact no: (415) 421-4222

Location: 678 Green Street, San Francisco, CA 94133

Learn more here.

Zeum

Zeum is not your typical museum, but a place that builds voice, ignites the imagination, nurtures the creative process, and encourages innovation. Zeum is a nonprofit multimedia arts and technology museum. It aims to foster creativity and innovation in young people and their families. It’s the only Bay Area museum where individuals of all ages, backgrounds, communities, and learning styles can combine hands-on animation, digital technology, electronic media, traditional and nontraditional materials, and the power of their imaginations to create high quality stories, movies, performances, music, and art. This museum offers captivating exhibits for different age groups, so you can take a 12-year-old and a 5- year-old here and neither will be left out.

Contact no: (415) 820-3320

Location: 221 Fourth Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

Learn more here.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

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The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is an art museum, yes, and it’s true that most museums of this sort don’t have a reptutation for exactly being child friendly. Still, the SFMOMA is a perfect museum for children who are a little bit more precocious than most. This is a world-class art museum, with exhibits that focus on modern art and to a lesser extent, art that represents Northern California. Their permanent collection includes important works by Jackson Pollock, Richard Diebenkorn, Paul Klee, Marcel Duchamp, and Ansel Adams. Like we said, not every child will be interested, but for that one who is, the SFMOMA is waiting.

Contact no: (415) 357-4000

Location: 151 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

Learn more here.

Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf

The eerie wax statues at The Wax Museum really do seem to be alive. The craftsmanship of the sculptors makes every one of the more than 200 statues at this Fisherman’s Wharf institution come to life. The Museum maintains a good mix of historical and contemporary figures, so there should be sveral that both you and your children will recognize.

Contact no: (800) 439-4305

Location: 145 Jefferson Street, San Francisco, CA 94133

Learn more here.

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum

The Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf is big, bright, loud, ridiculous, and full of bizarre oddities. While exhibits seem incredible, when given the choice, you and your children will probably opt to believe them. On display are the two-headed calf, the eight foot cable car made of matchsticks, and the shrunken corpse. The museum doesn’t really have a unifying theme and its only underlying message seems to be that the world is an exceedingly strange place. Still, it’s great fun, and you can have your future told to you there by a mechanical man — what other place on earth can you say that about?

Contact no: (415) 202-9850

Location: 175 Jefferson Street, San Francisco, CA 94133

Learn more here.