We're enjoying our third week of camps at the Museum - with fort-making, drumming and dancing, and performances of homemade bug stories!

Visit our Flickr page to check out some photos of our creative campers - and if you still need a camp for a week or two for your little bug, sign up online!

Highly acclaimed musician (and mom) Frances England returns to the Museum for what's sure to be another sold-out show - this time for a CD release party for her second album, Family Tree.

Reminiscent of Sarah McLaughlin and Norah Jones, Frances plays indie-folk music for kids that parents will enjoy too! Zooglobble (a terrific site that reviews kids' music) calls it, "a melding of folk and lo-fi indie pop originals that stands out from most of the kids music world in its sound and centeredness."

P.S. A special deal for our loyal blog readers - use the coupon code groovy when you buy your tickets online today to save $1 off each ticket!

Thanks to everyone who marched with us in the SF Pride Parade on Sunday - our festive contingent of Tykes on Bikes included member families, staff families and Board of Trustee families of all varieties! We had the great joy of marching behind the Lesbian & Gay Freedom Band - nothing puts a skip in your step like hearing the crowd cheer and sing along to "Goin' to the Chapel"!

Check out some of the photos and commentary out there on the Web about our group - and if you marched with us, put your link in the comments and add your photos to our flickr group!

• Our Flickr photo set of Pride pictures
• KRON-TV Flickr group with photos from Holly Boland and Andrea Everitt
• SFGate reader submitted photos with some of our pics
• Cry It Out blogger Mike Adamick and his moving post on Emme's first parade
• More from Mike from a broader perspective on the Chronicle's The Poop blog.

We'll be marching again next year - this time we're planning to perform stroller and bike maneuvers for the grandstand!

The Bay Area Discovery Museum is walking as the Tykes on Bikes contingent this Sunday, and we'll be in the family-friendly front of the parade (no naked people nearby!) near other schools and family groups.

We are celebrating families of all compositions, whether 2 moms, 2 dads, mom/dad, single parents, grandparents etc. It is SO MUCH FUN - the generosity of spirit from the crowds is really energizing. You can see some pictures from our contingent last year here on Flickr.

We'll meet by 10 a.m. on Spear St between Mission & Howard - we're contingent #26. We will have pinwheels and streamers to wave at the crowds, decorations for your bikes & strollers, plus stickers to hand out. Feel free to come with your own decorated stroller / bike as well. It is likely to be quite warm - bring water and sunscreen, and most importantly, comfortable shoes! We will be marching from Spear up to Market Street, then down Market street to 8th Street. Following the parade is a celebration at Civic Center .

Families coming from Marin might consider taking the ferry, since it will be extremely difficult to park downtown. There is a special ferry trip just for Pride leaving at 8:45 am from Larkspur. Return trips are at 12:40 pm, 2:40 pm, 4:40 pm and 7:15 pm - last year we made it onto the 12:40 ferry back, but it depends on how long the parade takes, which can vary.

Email Jennifer at jcaleshu(at)badm.org if you'd like to join us!

Some time ago, we asked for your comments regarding our Cafe - and got a great response. So we're pleased to announce a few changes which will hopefully make the Cafe experience even better.

• On weekends and busy days, you'll be able to pick up your food from the side window, which should reduce the crowding in the Cafe.
• We've installed a second register to make the line move a bit more quickly.
• And the Cafe has added tasty new specials to the menu. On Fridays, look for favorite hometown recipes from the Cafe staff - from pupusas to tamales to soy & ginger chicken over brown rice. And on Saturdays, the special will be Philly cheesesteak!

Stop by and let us know what you think. We'll continue to work on improvements - stay tuned for more coming soon. As always, we welcome your feedback, whether in the comments here, by email to contact(at)badm.org or on a paper comment form at the Museum.

We just found out we're a top write-in pick for Best Enviro-friendly Place for Little Kids in the Bay Area, from Parents Connect! If you haven't voted in this category yet, please write us in and join dozens of other parents who appreciate our award-winning eco-friendly atmosphere.

There are six days left to vote - we're nominated for Best Museum for Little Kids and Big Kids and you can write us in for any category you like.

Vote online here!

We're up for Best Museum in the Parents Connect Parents' Picks 2008 Contest!

We'd appreciate your vote - just click here and vote for us in the Museum category for both Little Kids and Big Kids.

And while you're at it, share your comments on other web sites too - your honest reviews of the Museum are worth their weight in gold. We recommend Yelp.com and GoCityKids.com as two great sources of reviews from real people!

We need your help! The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is a federal agency that provides funding for museums. This Thursday, the House of Representatives Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee is scheduled to debate the Labor-HHS-Education funding bill—which includes funding for IMLS.

Contact Congress today to urge their support for $46.3 million for IMLS’s museum program —a $15 million increase from last year's appropriations bill.

The Bay Area Discovery Museum received significant support from IMLS for our My First Museum project. We paired with an organization that serves diverse families to pilot a joint curriculum that provides access to the Museum to non-traditionally museum-going communities. IMLS support is critical to our mission - and to the mission of museums across the country.

We—the museum community, including our visitors and members—need to let every member of Congress hear that an increase in IMLS funding is critically needed. Use this easy form to send a letter of support to your representatives today.

Like most parents, we've been singing little made-up songs to our kids since day one - crooning "sleepy, sleepy, baby" to the newborn, or encouraging "put your shoes on, shoes on, shoes on" to the 3-year-old. And our son has been singing his own nonsense songs just as long as he's been talking.

Tracy Zimmerman from FPG Child Development Institute talked to music therapist Dr. Petra Kern who points out the great ways music can help with transitions.

You can listen to the interview here. And if you need a little more inspiration, check out this book by Dr Kern that features 17 goal-oriented songs supporting outdoor play.

(Thanks to Zooglobble for this link!)

Meet Heather Posner - our fabulous Camps Coordinator. We sat down for a quick chat to learn more about our summer camps, which start on Monday!

What's new to Discovery Camps this year?

We're offering snacks for the first time this year - we have 100 pounds of Cheddar Bunnies ready to go - we'll see how long they last! Also, the way the ages are distributed is new, so that we could meet the developmental needs of the children better. Now 4-year-olds and 6-year-olds wouldn’t be in the same camp. More fun for all.

Any specific camps you're particularly excited about?

I’m really excited about our kid building camp – the teacher worked at adventure playground in Berkeley. They’re going to use real tools, real wood, build forts, it will be awesome. The yoga camp will be great too – she’s a professional kids' yoga instructor and mom, they’ll go on hikes, make art, and of course learn yoga.

Sounds fun! Are there still spots available?

We still have openings in yoga July 14, 21 and 28, and there are spots in many sessions in the kid building camps too. You can sign up online!

What else should we know?

Well, we'll be posting to this blog regularly – so parents know what their children are up to, have a better idea of what their kids do during the day, and see pictures too.

To read all the camp blog entries, just click the keyword "camps" from the tag box to the right!