Archive for September, 2010

Big kids are locked up in school and it’s time for parents to roam freely with the littles (and the homeschooled). Now is the time to visit the places that are unthinkably crowded in summertime.

California Academy of Sciences: Go now, now, now, in between the summertime season (when tickets to the planetarium sold out most days) and the Great Time of School Field Trips, which starts soon. The planetarium show, Journey to the Stars, is really cool, and you can linger for a long time in the rainforest without feeling like other visitors are prodding you in the back. 55 Music Concourse Drive (at JFK Drive) in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 415-379-8000; calacademy.org.

Exploratorium: Absorbing exhibits you can finally let your child investigate to her heart’s content include the spinning sand wheels, the giant bubble-maker, the beach balls blown up into the air, and the two faraway posts where you can hear each other talking. The spinning striped tent is also a lot better for small kids when the big ones aren’t roughhousing in it. 3601 Lyon Street (at Presidio Avenue)., 415-561-0360, exploratorium.edu.

Bay Area Discovery Museum: Fearlessly let your kids play with the train in the room with the great big boat or paint and squeegee windows for endless moments. There’s always a table at the cafe during lunchtime on fall weekdays, and plenty of parking in the lot. 557 McReynolds Road (at Fort Baker), Sausalito, 415-339-3900, baykidsmuseum.org.

Children’s Fairyland: The weather is still great in September and October, and Fairyland’s schedule reflects this, open Wednesday through Sunday until Halloween, though you might want to stick to the weekdays for the lightest crowds. The Jolly Trolley is all yours! Toot toot! 699 Bellevue Avenue (at Lake Merritt), Oakland, 510-452-2259, fairyland.org.

Party Playhouse: You sit on the couch and read a magazine, the kids climb (and climb, and climb), with no big kids to freak them out in a nook or cranny you can’t see. 56 Hill Street (at Washington Street), Daly City, 650-756-7529, mypartyplayhouse.com.

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Museums, live music in the park, and enough chocolate to have the kids begging to stop tasting.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Weekend

Meet characters from The Clone Wars, build your own models and make movies using stop-motion, test your lightsaber skills, and learn how soundtracks are mixed.

When: Sat. & Sun., 9/11-12, 11am-5pm; Age 5+; $8-10.

Where: Zeum, 221 Fourth Street (at Howard Street), San Francisco; 415-820-3320; zeum.org.

Power to the Peaceful Festival

An old-school groovy San Francisco be-in, with drumming, yoga, live music, healing arts, and lots of colorful people on blankets.

When: Sat., 9/11, 9am-5pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Speedway Meadow, 25th Avenue & Fulton Street (in Golden Gate Park); powertothepeaceful.org.

Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival

Chocolate chocolate chocolate. And a kid’s area.

When: Sat. & Sun., 9/11-12, noon-5pm; Age 2+; Free admission, $20 for 15 tastings of chocolate samples.

Where: Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point (at Polk Street), San Francisco; ghirardellisq.com.

Information for parents of special needs kids tends to be of the social-service variety: Xeroxed flyers hung up at a doctor’s office, spiral-bound handbooks, pamphlets. It’s rare that such material exhibits the elegant style of Dandelion, the quarterly magazine for Bay Area special needs parents. The magazine is glossy, the pictures are beautiful, the text is well-written and covers such diverse topics as soft clothing for children with sensory integration issues and equine therapy.

Each issue of the magazine (summer, winter, spring, and fall) has several long features, as well as reviews of useful products and services, and personal content from parents working through their own challenges. In the back are listings of relevant associations, schools, medical and therapy centers, and other places of interest. And then there are the ads, which will prove as useful to some people as the editorial content itself. Hey, I didn’t know there was a speech therapist in that strip mall right down the street! Wow, there’s a store downtown that sells wiggle seats, I can try before I buy! And so on.

The magazine is distributed free in agencies and doctor’s offices that deal with special needs kids, or interested parents can subscribe for $20 a year. For more information visit dandelionparent.com.

Good things to eat, to watch, and to read.

Giro de San Francisco

Watch the cyclists spin by from pretty Levi Strauss Plaza as competition continues for the California Cup. Kids age 14 and under can race as well, even on tricycles.

When: Mon., 9/6, All ages; see website for start times and entry fees (viewing is free).

Where: Levi Strauss Plaza, Battery & Union Streets, San Francisco; velopromo.com.

Off the Grid

The roaming conglomeration of food trucks and bands is landing in Fort Mason every Friday evening for a while; come for a picnic on the grass.

When: Fri., 9/3 (and every subsequent Friday, see website for details), 5-9pm, All ages; Free admission (food available for purchase).

Where: Fort Mason Center, Marina Boulevard (at Buchanan Street), San Francisco; offthegridsf.com.

San Francisco Zine Fest

A feast of chapbooks and zines, cartoons, and little magazines. Much of the material is aimed at adults but it’s still a thrill for literary adults and inspiration for budding lil writers.

When: Sat. & Sun., 9/4-5, 11am-6pm; Age 6+; Free.

Where: San Francisco County Fair Building, 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way (in Golden Gate Park), San Francisco; sfzinefest.com.