Our annual gala event, Playdate 2008, and fund-raiser will be held Saturday, May 3rd. In addition to dinner and dancing, we hold a paddle auction of exquisite and exciting items!
Here are some of the featured packages:
The Ultimate Bubble Q: champagne barbeque and grill with tv chef Tyler Florence. We are excited to welcome Tyler and Tolan Florence!
Sea kayak in the San Juan Islands on a Family Multi-sport Vacation.
We're closed on Easter but don't let that keep you from having a family outing this Easter Weekend. Don't forget the camera!
SF Easter Parade & Spring Festival: A parade, games, ponies, face painting and the Easter Bunny can all be found on Union Street starting at 10 a.m on Sunday.
Easter at the Park Chalet: Egg Hunt, children's music and a delicious Sunday buffet brunch at the edge of Golden Gate Park.
Alice and Wonderland Spring Faire: Falkirk Cultural Center in Downtown San Rafael bring Alice and Wonderland alive, bring a picnic, easter eggs, see puppets shows, meet the characters and have fun this Saturday.
Easter Egg Hunt and Horses: Special needs outreach Miwok Livery Stables opens their doors for an egg hunt at noon in Mill Valley, Sunday.
Breakfast and Egg Hunts: Walnut Creek parks bring hunts and breakfast to families in the East Bay this Saturday.
Ardenwood Historic Farm: Eggs hunt and a parade at this beautiful farm house in Fremont on Saturday.
Also, check out a list of parks in Marin holding egg hunts here.
Give your child a disposable camera and take a walk around the neighborhood, mall or park.
Have them take pictures of different things, buildings and people. (Have your child ask permission before taking pictures of people).
At the end of the walk, talk about what you both saw and what your child took pictures of.
Get them developed and then use the pictures to create a picture book. Tape or glue each photo onto a piece of paper and help your child think up a story to go with all the images.
It's an activity that can be done with your child over the course of a weekend.
Or fish out some old pictures of your own and create a picture book of family memories!
Does your child love using a camera? Or being in front of it? Tell us an anecdote of your child and a camera...
Everyone is going "green" and looking for "organic" products these days. With foreign chemicals being found in everything, contamination being a scare among consumers and environmental concern growing each day, there is a growing interest in organic foods.
All you need is a food processor of any kind, a fork or a potato masher can work as well. Here are some easy tips for making your own organic baby food:
Steam, boil or bake the fruits and veggies to keep as many essential vitamins as possible.
Peel and Pit, take off the skins, seeds, and veins of the food.
No Seasonings, avoid adding salt or spices to the food.
Freeze and Save, use baggies or ice cube trays to portion and freeze foods for later use.
Cook throughly, for meat wash, clean and cook thoroughly before boiling and grinding.
Finding organic foods can be as easy as going to your farmer's markets. Making organic baby food is good for your baby and it's cheaper than buying the little jars of food. If you have a moment to make and freeze some organic baby food, I suggest you give it a try!
Also, here are some companies that sell organic baby food.
www.peasofmind.com - SF company that sells in stores all over the country
One of our most popular elements of the museum is the Willow Sculpture by Patrick Dougherty. His installation was meant to last about three years but the children loved it so much that we try to keep it maintained so that it will last as long as it can. Our staff maintains the maze throughout the year. This week we have closed off access to the Willow Sculpture and have undertaken the upkeep process.
Chip, Adam and Todd have been weaving in new willow into the old willow for the past few days. Though most of the sculpture is made of willow pieces, it is a living sculpture. Some of the willow has rooted to the ground and is growing as it stands.
With passage ways, windows and an open roof..it's easy for children to make believe they are in a whimsical woody secret forest. It's my favorite part of the Museum.
I never went to Summer Camp as a child. I had very protective parents and I have to say that I was a sheltered child. I wanted to go to the woods, sleep in a cabin and learn to shoot arrows! I don't think that actually happens at summer camps but it always did on TV and I learned everything I know about summer camps from The Parent Trap movie.
Summer Camps at the Museum seem a lot more interesting the movie. Here are some of the week long sessions we offer from June 16 - August 22.
Preschool - Art Dabbler, Treasure Hunt & House of Samba
3/4 Grade - Ecological Arts, Carpenter's Apprentice & Aerial Arts
That's not even all of them, click here for more info. There are no rickety bunk beds, nor swimming in a freezing cold lake, but there is a lot to learn and fun to have. I know I'd love to join some of these sessions. Sadly...I'm too big now.
The biggest problem for a lot of people, both kids and adults, is not getting enough activity and exercise. Being fit is a way of saying a person eats well, gets a lot of exercise, and has a healthy weight. Being fit allows for the child to be able to do all the activities that kids are involved in, giving them the ability to play with friends! Your habits can make a big difference, so here are some tips from www.kidshealth.org for you and your child.
Eat a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables.
Drink water and milk most often.
Listen to your body.
Limit screen time
Be active.
Check out our own Nurse Rona’s advice on how to get your kids involved in eating healthy!
People spend more time in front of TVs or computers and less time exercising. Even as grown-ups we spend more time sitting at desks and in cars than we once did. We have become accustomed to driving everywhere instead of walking or riding bikes. Does your child’s school provide gym class, or another form of physical activity? Try these outdoor activities…
Visit the Bay Area Discovery Museum..of course! Play and climb in Lookout Cove.
Sports…basketball, soccer, skateboards, bicycling,etc. Grab a group of kids and have fun.
Race your sister, brother, cousin or friend….make up an obstacle course.
Take a nature walk…even if it’s just around your neighborhood.Point out different trees, leaves, animals and plants!
Playgrounds...they're good places for varied physical activities, make an afternoon out of ...
I was reading a report by Alix Spiegel, aired on NPR yesterday morning, called Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills. He talked about the development of children stemming mainly from imaginative play. A type of play that is declining more and more. Spiegel states that imaginative play teaches the necessary skill of self-regulation.
"Kids with good self-regulation are able to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline."Read the article here.
The article highlights that toys and items are more of a focus now when children play then the action of play itself. The use of the imagination to create a world of play allows the child to learn rules, obstacles and solutions to problems, all through creativity. With schools cutting back recreational play and emphasizing testings along with structured play like sport, dance, art lessons, imaginative play has declined and children are missing out on prolonged play that builds needed skills such as self-regulation.
Along the same front, just this past Sunday, there was an article in the New York Times which focused on the same aspect of play and development in children, called Taking Play Seriously. They take a more in-depth look at different elements of play.
At the Museum's Discovery Forum this year we had our own speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, who spoke about creativity and learning, his speech can be found here. He inspired many of the attendees, one woman even wrote about the impact she felt about it on
After a long day of fun and excitement, the Museum's Chinese New Year celebration has ended. I had the privilege of being the photographer and videographer of the day. Some of you who attended today probably saw me running around like a chicken without her head. Nonetheless, I was able to get some really good images of the day.
Check out some of the images I captured today on our Flickr page!
A special thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate the New Year and the Year of the Rat!
So it turns out, I have a birthday present to buy for my niece's second birthday next Saturday. I thought to myself..."Hey, I work at a children's museum! I should check out what we have in our store." I don't know what to buy though. I grew up with more books than toys, I only owned one Barbie as a child and I didn't play with dolls. I wanted to get the perfect toy that incorporated fun and learning. Walking through our store I see toys that I absolutely loved as a child.
Cooking set - yes, though I'm a modern and independent woman, I love to cook and it must have been because I had my own small cooking set as a girl. I also had a tea set but I always used it to drink "coffee" (actually it was grape juice.)
Train set - Okay, this was my brother's toy but I still played with it. Of course I pretended I was the damsel in distress while he was the evil villain who tied me (my Barbie) to the tracks.
My First Chemistry Set - Another toy of my brother's. I inadvertently stole it though when I wanted to do the experiment on the box cover. It was the best baking soda vinegar explosion ever!!!
Cat's cradle - I used to do the hand string puzzles with my friends at school in the play ground each day over and over. Flipping through the book I remembered all the moves instantly.
Astronaut Ice Cream - Not really a toy per se but I couldn't stop begging my parents to buy me dehydrated ice cream just like they had on the space shuttle!
After my walk down memory lane I figured 2 years old is a little young for those toys in particular. I think I'm going for the Skuut Scooter or Ladybug Rain Coat. Both are cute and practical.
