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7 Amazingly Fun Things To Do With Kids In San Francisco!

The Bay Area in California is full of amazing experiences for families with kids of all ages. From beach outings to interactive museums to inspiring aquariums, San Francisco is a great place for families! It provides tons of options to explore, enjoy, and spend quality time together. But if you have run out of ideas to entertain the family, check out these things to do with kids in San Francisco!

 

little boy smiling in a forest in San Francisco

 

Seven Engaging and Fun Things To Do With Kids In San Francisco

 

Bay Area Discovery Museum

557 McReynolds Road

Sausalito, CA 94965

The Bay Area Discovery Museum near San Francisco is the perfect place for little imaginations to run wild! This innovative museum is located at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, on almost 8 acres of National Park land. The Bay Area Discovery Museum features exhibits and daily programs for kids ages 6 months through age 8. There is something for everyone at this interactive museum!

The museum seeks to provide kids with high-quality, research-based early learning experiences that will help them succeed in the real world. Through playful learning experiences, kids can be inspired to be curious as well as explore the world around them. This children’s museum is a unique, research-backed educational center with activities for kids all the way from infancy up to 10 years of age. Current exhibits include Cardboard City, Paint My Ride, Tot Spot, How Things Work, Try It Studio, Lookout Cove, BADM Beach, Bay Hall, and the Mud Kitchen. 

 

Aquarium of the Bay

Pier 39 Embarcadero and Beach Street

San Francisco, CA 94133

Aquarium of the Bay is a fun, interactive place to discover the beauty and diversity of aquatic life in Northern California. This aquarium is a popular tourist attraction located on San Francisco’s waterfront Pier 39 and features more than 20,000 marine animals! Meet sharks, rays, octopuses, jellyfish, anchovies, otters, and much more. 

The exciting exhibits include walk-through tunnels and transparent touch pools, allowing kids of all ages to have fun up-close encounters with the sea life. The aquarium also teaches families about climate change, ocean pollution, and habitat loss. Tickets are affordable, making this a must-see attraction for families visiting San Francisco. The “Under the Bay” gallery allows families to enjoy a fully immersive experience as they walk through 300 feet of tunnels where they can be surrounded by anchovies, skates, rays, and sharks. The aquarium’s unique touch pools allow kids to experience what sea life looks and feels like, where they can touch rays, sea stars, anemones, and skates. 

 

Baker Beach

San Francisco, CA 

Baker Beach in San Francisco stretches a mile below the Presidio’s rugged cliffs on the western shoreline. It offers spectacular, one-of-a-kind views outside of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands. Families who visit Baker Beach should keep an eye out for harbor porpoises who love to frolic in the surf and for California’s state rock, serpentine. Visitors can learn all about an early 20th-century “disappearing gun,” and picnic and restroom facilities are available onsite. 

On sunny weekends, this beach can get crowded, so be prepared for lots of people and parking issues. The beach features picnic tables, grills, and restroom facilities tucked away in a cypress grove at the end of the parking lot. This beach is usually warm enough for picnicking, exploring, and sunbathing. For families that enjoy exercise, there are hiking trails, including the Coastal Trail on the cliffside.

 

grandpa holding his grandson on Baker Beach with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background

 

The Children’s Creativity Museum

221 Fourth Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

The Children’s Creativity Museum offers hands-on, multimedia arts and technology experiences designed to give kids creative confidence. This museum is geared for kids ages 2 through 12. The Children’s Creativity Museum’s goal is to “nurture creativity and collaboration in all children and families.” 

Exhibits inspire families to imagine, create, and work together. All exhibits are designed to spark a child’s imagination and build creative confidence, giving families opportunities to create unique media projects and experiences that reflect and celebrate creativity during every visit. Exhibits are designed by skilled artists and educators who are available to help guide families through the creative process. Current exhibits include Art and Design Intertwined, Animation Studio, Making Music, Community Garden, Storybook Park, and DesignIt Studio. These exhibits include activities such as building with blocks, drawing on easels, planting flowers in a virtual garden, making Lego animation, and creating electronic music. 

 

Koret Children’s Quarter and Carousel

320 Bowling Green Drive (adjacent to the Koret Children’s Quarter playground)

San Francisco, CA

Located in Golden Gate Park’s southeast corner, the Koret Children’s Quarter and Carousel has delighted generations of San Franciscans and visitors from around the world. The playground used to be called the Sharon Quarters for Children playground when it first opened to the public in 1888 and has grown to become the Koret Children’s Quarter. Which includes the Sharon Art Studio, the Sharon building for indoor play, and the outdoor playground with a climbing wall, rope climbing structure, and historic concrete slide. 

The Herschell-Spillman Carousel was built in 1915 by the Herschell-Spillman Company and operated out of Los Angeles and Portland before it was installed in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in 1940. It features 62 colorfully-painted menagerie animals, including dragons, camels, horses, dogs, goats, frogs, roosters, and pigs. The painted panels inside the carousel are depictions of beautiful Bay Area landscapes. You can reserve the picnic area near the carousel and playground for events!

 

 

Golden Gate Park

San Francisco, CA

Golden Gate Park is one of San Francisco’s most famous attractions. It lives up to its reputation and is just as fantastic as people say it is. Families with kids of all ages can enjoy exploring this iconic park’s 1,017 acres, which feature bucolic lakes and meadows as well as vibrant activities and destinations.

Golden Gate Park attractions include Anglers Lodge, Beach Chalet Visitor Center, California Academy of Sciences, Conservatory of Flowers, de Young Museum, Japanese Tea Garden, Koret Children’s Quarter and Carousel, McLaren Lodge, Music Concourse, Oak Woodlands, Panhandle, Portals of the Past, Prayer Book Cross, Windmills, and the San Francisco Botanical Garden. This is a great place to get out and play as a family. There are thousands of ways to enjoy the park, from activities such as basketball, soccer, and jogging to lawn bowling, horseshoes, and model yacht sailing. The park’s many playgrounds include the flagship Koret Children’s Quarter and are some of the most popular playgrounds in the city. 

little boy running away from the camera on a beach in san francisco

 

San Francisco Exploratorium

Pier 15 (Embarcadero at Green Street)

San Francisco, CA 94111

San Francisco Exploratorium is a place where kids can immerse themselves in a world of wonder as they touch, tinker, and play with hundreds of interactive exhibits. Families can enjoy plenty of hands-on exhibits that are sure to delight visitors of all ages. Visitors can watch exhibits being prototyped, tested, and built in the open-to-view Exhibit Development Shop. Families can also enjoy a refreshing, locally-sourced meal at Seaglass Restaurant, which features stunning bay views. So kids can have fun engaging in hands-on activities, exploring, and creating in the Tinkering Studio.

The Exploratorium is conveniently located at Pier 15, between the Ferry Building and Pier 39. Additionally, this is one of the most experimental museums in the world. It allows families to explore the world through large-scale art installations, studies of microscopic life, color and light installations, as well as expansive galleries. But all exhibits encourage families to feel, play with, and manipulate activities. It’s like a huge learning lab for families to immerse themselves in San Francisco’s innovative culture. San Francisco kids all love visiting this incredible place!

little boy sitting on a san francisco beach smiling at the camera

 

Things To Do With Kids In San Francisco

San Francisco is a bustling, vibrant city full of attractions for families with kids of all ages. From museums to parks to outdoor recreation and much more, San Francisco features some of the best Bay Area attractions designed for family fun. With such an incredible variety, it’s hard to run out of things to do with kids in San Francisco!

I’m all about making motherhood easier. Whether I’m telling you about my favorite spots in San Francisco or helping you capture the moments you’ll want to remember forever. As a family photographer (and a mom myself!) I know how quickly these moments fly by! So I love to provide professional images that let you have memories of this amazing stage for years to come. If you’ve considered booking family photos, we should chat! So contact me today to find out more.

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