UrbanBaby San Francisco

A venerable local icon re-opens for business, and other ways to while away your weekend.

Happy Hollow Park & Zoo Grand Re-Opening

The kitschy old park and zoo has had a $72 million renovation. Come see flashy new exhibits like the carousel with endangered animals (lemurs! hummingbirds!) as well as old favorites like the spiffed-up Danny the Dragon tram ride.

When: Sat., 3/20, 9:30am ribbon-cutting ceremony, gates open 10am; All ages; $8-12 (free for age 2 and under).

Where: Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, 1300 Senter Road (at Story Road), San Jose; 408-794-6400; hhpz.org.

Sense of Place Treasure Hunt for Families

Take your family on a quest to learn about local fauna at this self-guided tour using URBIA’s new adventure booklet, “Seeking California in a World of Plants.”

When: Sat., 3/20, 10am-2pm (hunt takes about 2 hours); $1-5 for booklet.

Where: Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, 1199 Ninth Avenue (at Lincoln Avenue), San Francisco; urbikids.com.

Living Ship Day on the USS Hornet

Check out a real aircraft carrier in action, sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet, and watch as flight operations are simulated.

When: Sat., 3/20, 10am-4pm; Age 3+; $6-14 (free for age 4 and under).

Where: USS Hornet, 707 West Hornet Avenue (at Eighth Street), Alameda; 510-521-8448; uss-hornet.org.

Just as parents of kids in San Francisco public schools are breathing a sigh of relief after assignment letters went out Saturday, the school board has voted unanimously to approve a new assignment plan for next year. Parents who hoped neighborhood schools would be the new order may be disappointed: Under the new plan, children living in census tracts with the lowest test scores are given assignment priority over kids living in the school’s attendance area.

The San Francisco Chronicle explains the new rules with a list:

New system

Students would be assigned to high-demand schools using the following order of preferences:

Elementary schools

– Students with siblings in the school

– Students who attended preschool in the school’s attendance area

– Those in low-scoring census tracts

– Those in the preferred school’s attendance area

– All others

Middle schools

(For those participating in choice process)

– Students with siblings in the school

– Those in low-scoring census tracts

– Those in the school’s attendance area

– Those in densely populated attendance areas

– All others

High schools

– Students with siblings in the school

– Those in low-scoring census tracts

– All others

Announcement of the new rules has been met with guarded praise from parents. As one typical commenter on the SF K Files sums it up: “I expect the result of the assignment system will be old wine in new bottles. Low SES families will continue to participate in the system at a lower rate than high SES families. Higher SES families will continue to fill high-demand schools in disproportionate numbers. Schools will remain imbalanced and segregated to some extent.”

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Pomp, splendor, floats, and lots of green. There are children’s activities and traditional Irish food and crafts at the after-parade party at City Hall.

When: Sat., 3/13, 11:30am-5pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Parade begins Second Street (at Market Street) and winds to City Hall on Grove Street (at Larkin Street) in San Francisco; sfstpatricksdayparade.com.

Shiv Sounds with Ryth EM

Shiv and Em play kid-friendly music in the Tim Burton-ish atmosphere of this curious shop for kids.

When: Sat., 3/13, 2-4pm; All Ages; Free.

Where: Paxton Gate’s Curiosities for Kids, 766 Valencia Street (at 19th Street), San Francisco; 415-728-8466; paxtongate.com.

Journaling Birds & Wildlife

Learn how to draw nature in the raw at this two-hour program with naturalist and artist Jack Muir Laws focusing on drawing birds and other wildlife.

When: Sat., 3/13, 10am-noon; Age 9+; $25 per participant (advance phone registration required).

Where: Richardson Bay Center & Sanctuary, 376 Greenwood Beach Road (at Tiburon Boulevard), Tiburon, 415-388-2524; tiburonaudubon.org.

Fantastic Fridays: Fun with Food

Use this excuse to tour the fancy new Crissy Field Center, where toddlers and their caregivers rustle up some healthy snacks and learn more about healthy eating.

When: Fri., 3/12, 10am-11:30am; Age 1-5; $15.

Where: Crissy Field Center, 1199 East Beach (at Mason Street), San Francisco; 415-561-7752; parksconservancy.org.

Many restaurants are unfriendly to kids and parents, giving them the cold shoulder, dirty looks, and the seat closest to the bathroom, each and every time. Of course, no one likes eating by a bunch of jumpy screamers, but parents with more well-behaved kids may wonder why they too get a bad reception.Part of it comes down to simple economics, writes the San Francisco Chronicle’s Michael Bauer in his Between Meals blog. Every kid who takes up a seat means a drop in the check. The owner of the Tavern at Lark Creek explains the dollars and cents of it: “The check average is a significant driver in all restaurants for budgetary planning purposes. We started to see more children in the restaurant which was a departure from the past. We have tried to be more child friendly and lower the price point there as well.

When you do 40 children a night on a busy night, that can impact you average check quite significantly. The average check for a child is $7.50; our average check for an adult is about $31.00.

40 children x $7.50

150 adults x $ 31.00

190 covers total net sales is $ 4,950.00 or $ 26.06 per cover.”

So maybe that’s why restauranteurs keep the food-encrusted high chairs over by the bathroom and give you such a dirty look when you ask for one.

Music, dance, and a look ahead to how you’re going to fill the summer.

Dan Zanes & Friends

The tousle-haired rock God of the swim diaper set does a show for families on the UC Berkeley campus.

When: Sat., 3/6, 11am & 4pm; Sun. 3/7, 3pm; Age 3+; $16-26.

Where: Zellerbach Hall, Bancroft Avenue (between Dana and Telegraph Avenues) on the UC Berkeley Campus, Berkeley, calperfs.berkeley.edu.

Disney on Ice

Disney characters glide around the rink in this show custom-made for elementary-school kids.

When: Fri., 3/5, 10:30am, 7:30pm; Sat. & Sun. 3/6-7, 10:30am, 3pm, 7:30pm; Age 2+; $16-70.

Where: Oakland Arena, 7000 Coliseum Way (at Hegenberger Road), Oakland; 800-745-3000; disney.go.com.

Summer Resource Fair

Find out where your kid can take summer soccer sessions or attend theater camp at this conglomeration of more than 200 providers, all eager to give you brochures.

When: Sat., 3/6, 10am-3pm; age 5+; Free.

Where: Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 Eighth Street (at Brannan Street), San Francisco, sfkids.org.

Panicking about where you’re going to stash your child for the upcoming spring and summer breaks? You oughtta be. Most of the more popular camps in the Bay Area fill up in March. But this year you have some inside information that you didn’t find on the playground: Sign Up for Camp.

Launched by a team of Bay Area parents who’ve been through the camp process themselves and know how confusing it is, signupforcamp.com is a directory of local camps that’s searchable by ZIP code, date, or age. Need a camp from June 14th to 18th for your Pre-K kid? Sign Up for Camp has 147 of them, each with the camp’s hours, cost, dates, and contact information in a helpful grid that makes it oh-so-easy to compare. So much easier than Googling and making phone calls, particularly since many camps barely have a website, much less dates and rates on them.

Another helpful feature: users can create a free calendar for their children, which can be shared with other users. Wouldn’t your kid like to go to summer camp with some of the kids in her class? I thought so.

Visit signupforcamp.com for more information. The site has also launched in Philadelphia as well as the Bay Area, with more cities set to roll out in 2010.

Nothing but wall-to-wall festivals in town this weekend.

Chinese New Year Parade

The dragons dance through the crowded streets of Chinatown in this colorful annual spectacle, beloved by children, who abhor the crowds but adore the music, colorful decorations, and fireworks.

When: Sat., 2/27, 6pm (parade lasts for about 2 and 1/2 hours); All ages; Free.

Where: Parade winds around Market, Geary, Post, and Kearny; chineseparade.com.

Chinese New Year Treasure Hunt

This annual hunt always occurs the same night as the Chinese New Year parade, sending teams of people across Chinatown and the Financial District in search of clues.

When: Sat., 2/27, 4:30-9:30pm; Age 8+; $18-40.

Where: Treasure hunters meet at Justin Herman Plaza, Market Street (at Embarcadero Street), San Francisco; sftreasurehunts.com.

Purim Palooza

Celebrate the riotous and colorful Jewish holiday with costumes, games, hamantashen, face painting, and music.

When: Sun., 2/28, 9:30am-2pm; All Ages; Free (bring a can of food for charity).

Where: Marin Jewish Community Center, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael, 415-444-8000; marinjcc.org.

Here’s the scenario: baby is thirsty, you give him some milk in a sippy, he drinks for a second of blissful, blissful silence, until “Waaaah!” He’s turned the cup upside down and can’t get anything else out. For the 11 millionth time.

The innovative Bot sippy cup has a cool feature: a weighted stainless steel ball inside a flexible straw. Whenever the kid tips the cup, the same gravity that makes the liquid fall to one side also moves the straw. Ergo, every sip brings up a drink, ergo, you get 15 more seconds of peace and quiet before he empties the cup and starts screaming again.

The Bot is made by Burlingame’s ZoLi, an eco-minded company whose products are free from BPA, phthalates, PVC, latex and chloride. ZoLi’s packaging is made from recycled products and uses soy-based inks, for earth-friendlier degrading. The Bot is non-breakable and the lid and handle are just one part, to cut down on wandering cup pieces.

ZoLi also makes an intriguing child’s nail trimmer, the Buzz B., which uses a gentle whirling sander to grind nails down instead of a clipper that can slip and cut baby’s little cuticles. The Buzz B. is unfortunately out of stock on ZoLi’s site, but the Bot is available, in green or orange.

ZoLi’s Bot sippy cup, $12

As the short winter melts into early spring, the opportunities for outdoor fun keep flowering.

Free King Tut Weekend

The de Young Museum’s blockbuster Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit is free all weekend; the lines will be huge when the box office opens at 9 a.m. to distribute the free tickets. The de Young’s permanent collection is also free.

When: Sat. & Sun., 2/20-21, 8:30am-4pm; Age 3+; Free.

Where: de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Drive (at Music Concourse Drive in Golden Gate Park), San Francisco; 415-750-3600; tutsanfrancisco.org.

Tulipmania

Thousands of tulips in just about every color of the rainbow decorate the pier at this annual event. Free tours are available at 10am daily.

When: Sat.-Sun., 2/20-28, 10am-5pm; Age 4+; Free.

Where: Pier 39, Embarcadero Street (at Grant Street), San Francisco; 415-705-5500; pier39.com.

Lunar New Year Celebration

Celebrate the Year of the Tiger with Chinese lion and folk dancing, seasonal crafts, and a Chinese zodiac tour around the zoo.

When: Sun., 2/21, 10am-3pm; All Ages; Free-$15 (guests born in the year of the tiger get free admission).

Where: San Francisco Zoo, Great Highway (between Sloat and Skyline), San Francisco; 415-753-7201; sfzoo.org.

Can’t make it to that Kenyan safari now that you’ve gone and had yourself some little ‘uns? The next best thing is just a few miles away: Safari West, 400 animal-filled acres right in the middle of Wine Country. It’s not a zoo, it’s not one of those drive-through-lion-country tours that you see from behind your car window. This is a real, live nature preserve, with hundreds of exotic species: lemurs, giraffes, antelopes, monkeys, ostriches, even cheetahs!

Most visitors opt for a jeep tour; try to get the seats at the top, because they give you a bird’s eye view of the place. Animals are well cared-for, with healthy, shiny coats, and are quite tame; don’t be surprised if they wander right up to the jeep to say hello. There are other kinds of tours as well, such as the behind-the-scenes tours where visitors get to see how the animals are kept, and can even hand-feed exotic birds and giraffes.

If the scenery thrills you, stay overnight: there are a range of lodging options, from basic family tents to a two-bedroom cottage that sleeps six. Many of Safari West’s animals are nocturnal, so expect to hear birds calling and lemurs chattering. And early morning is the best time to see many animals, when they’re awake and alert, not sleepy in the midday heat.

Safari West is located at 3118 Porter Creek Road (at Vineyard Spring Lane) in Santa Rosa; call 707-579-2551 or visit safariwest.com.