East Bay

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.

Rain, rain go away. We’ll get you out of the house some way.

Monster Energy Supercross

Flying dirt, revving engines, racing motorcycles, and kids screaming in excitement. There’s an alcohol-free “family section” of the stadium set off for families.

When: AT&T Park, 24 Willie Mays Plaza (at King Street), San Francisco; supercrossonline.com.

Where: Sat., 1/30, 12:30pm-9pm; Age 5+; $10-75.

RACE: Are We So Different?

Race is not skin color, says this multimedia exhibit that pokes into the history, sociology, and geography of race.

When: Sat., 1/30-5/2, Age 4+; Free-$12.

Where: Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Drive (at Stadium Rimway) on the University of California, Berkeley campus, 510-642-5132, lawrencehallofscience.org.

Ramona Quimby

Based on the much-loved series by Beverly Cleary, this stage adaptation follows Ramona through the third grade, as she feuds with her teacher and sees her dad lose his job and mom start working.

When: Sat. & Sun. 1/30-2/7, 2 & 4:30pm; $14-16.

Where: Julia Morgan Performing Arts Center, 2640 College Avenue (at Claremont Avenue), Berkeley, 925-973-ARTS; activeartstheatre.org.

Surprise: Kids weaned on Wii still like pinball. The low-tech thrill of bleeps, bloops, and a couple of flippers lives on at the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda. Ten bucks gets you in the door (a mere $5 for kids), and all-you-can-play pinball in any one of a warren of rooms. Which one you’ll like might depend on when you were born. Did you grow up playing the gentle pinball machines of the ’60s, with just a couple of dingers and no multi-ball challenges? Did you learn how to play on a machine with a buxom broad painted on the back in the ’70s, or did you learn on Indiana Jones in the ’80s? They’re all represented here, and many more.

All the machines are set to free play and kids are free to wander. There’s no alcohol sold on the premises, just sodas and Wright’s pink popcorn for $1. The kitsch value is incredible, and a lot of the games are still surprisingly fun to play. Make sure not to miss the notorious Orbitor 1, which uses magnets to send the ball on unexpected looping trips around the board. Oh, and be sure to leave all your stuff in the car, you don’t want to be dragging the diaper bag when you’re working the flippers. If you come on a Friday or Saturday evening, the Museum opens the “back 40″: an old gaming parlor called Lucky Ju Ju with an additional 40 vintage machines.

Pacific Pinball Museum, 1510 Webster Street (at Santa Clara Avenue), Alameda; 510-769-1349; pacificpinball.org.

An East Bay school district made national news this week when the Alameda Board of Education voted to replace a curriculum that emphasized tolerance for gay people with a more general lesson about bullying.

The original lesson, a.k.a. “Lesson 9,” became a hot topic due to the national controversy over gay marriage, and became an extremely divisive issue amongst East Bay Parents, sparking weeks of intense meetings, and a lawsuit. Gay parents hoped that Lesson 9 would prevent their children getting grief, while other parents argued that elementary school children aren’t old enough to learn about gay issues.

The new curriculum agreed upon by the board will include six children’s books that talk about stereotypes and how they hurt people, including gays.

A dozen Alameda families sued the school district earlier this year, contending that parents should be notified in advance of the gay-tolerant lessons, so their kids can be excused. The judge in the case sided with the district, ruling that a state law that allows parents to “opt-out” of discussions about human sexuality was not applicable to Lesson 9.

A Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D

The spooky holiday classic screens in eye-popping 3D during its week-long engagement at the Castro Theatre.

When: Fri. 10/23 through Thu. 11/5; 7pm, 8:45pm (Sat., Sun. & Wed. shows at 1:30pm, 3:25pm, and 5:10pm); Age 6+; $7.50-10.

Where: Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street (at Market Street), San Francisco; 415-621-6120; castrotheatre.com.

Scare Grove

A Halloween carnival specially aimed at families, with a haunted house, hay rides, bounce houses, rides, and treats.

When: Fri., 10/23, 4-9pm; Age 2+; $5 for an all-access pass.

Where: Sigmund Stern Grove, Sloat Avenue (at 19th Avenue), San Francisco; sfgov.org.

Creepy Crawly Week

Get weirded out by science with an exhibit of scary animals, a scavenger hunt for spooky creatures, and naturalist lessons in which you get to meet (and sometimes touch!) frightening critters.

When: Sat., 10/24 through Sun. 11/1; Age 3+; Free with paid admission (Free-$25).

Where: California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive (at JFK Drive) in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 415-379-8000; calacademy.org.

Jack o’ Lantern Jamboree

Come in costume to this annual Halloween party, which boasts roaming costumed characters, jump houses, pumpkin crafts, face painting, and the festive, make-believe atmosphere of Fairyland.

When: Sat. & Sun., 10/24-25, 10am-5pm; All ages; $10 per person.

Where: Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Avenue (at Lake Merritt), Oakland, 510-452-2259, fairyland.org.

Even after your kid’s been out of diapers for a while, there are probably dozens still hanging around the house, in sizes newborn to pull-up. Unless an entire incontinent nursery school class comes for a visit, there’s little chance you’ll use them up, and you certainly don’t want to put them in trash. A better alternative: dropping them at one of the Bay Area pickup locations for the Give Cheeks a Chance diaper drive.

Launched by the nonprofit Help a Mother Out, which collects and hands out donations for homeless and low-income families, the Give Cheeks a Chance drive has already collected thousands of diapers. At about a quarter a pop, diapers can be truly hard to come by for low-income families–and it’s tough to get out to discount stores like Target to buy the giant packs unless you have a car.

The Give Cheeks a Chance drive is over after tomorrow; hurry up and get those diapers in. Drop-off locations include Sadiedey’s Cafe, 4210 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland; Natural Resources, 1367 Valencia Street in San Francisco; and Baby Buzz, 1314 Lincoln Avenue, #1A in San Jose. If you’d like to help out another way, you can find out how to buy and donate online. Give Cheeks a Chance is looking for diapers of any size and unopened boxes of baby wipes; visit helpamotherout.org.

Three sweet ways to enjoy life with the kiddies this weekend.

Strega Nona

Strega Nona tells Big Anthony to lay off her pasta pot. Big Anthony doesn’t listen in this Commedia dell’arte-style adaptation of Tommie DePaola’s classic children’s tale.

When: Sat. & Sun. 9/19-10/4 (the production also runs in San Ramon 10/10-18), check website for times; Age 2+; $18 adults, $14 children.

Where: Julia Morgan Center, 2460 College Avenue (at Claremont Avenue), Berkeley; 510-296-4433; activeartstheatre.org.

International Coastal Cleanup Day

Spend a day cleaning up the coast, and empower a generation of non-litterbugs.

When: Sat., 9/19, Age 2+; Free.

Where: Various coastal sites in the Bay Area, see website for locations including Ocean Beach and Candlestick Point in San Francisco and the Port of Oakland Estuary.

Film Night in the Park: The Dark Knight in Dolores Park

Take advantage of what’s supposed to be a pleasant evening in the warmest part of San Francisco and watch this gripping update of the Batman tale.

When: Sat., 9/19, 8pm; Age 8+; $6 adults, $3 children.

Where: Dolores Park, Dolores Street (at 20th Street), San Francisco, filmnight.org.

Festivals, movies, and more ways to take up your time.

Old Time Music Convention

All manner of non-electric instruments making old-fashioned music.

When: Ongoing through Sun. 9/13; Check website for times; All ages; Free-$20.

Where: Various venues in Berkeley including Civic Center Park, Center Street (at MLK, Jr. Way), Berkeley; 510-548-3333; berkeleyoldtimemusic.org.

Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival

Local patisseries and candy-makers bring the goodies, you bring your appetite. There’s a children’s area for when the tykes go sugar-nuts.

When: Sat. & Sun., 9/12-13, 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.

Movie Day with Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)

Handler presents his favorite family movie, Young Frankenstein, in this benefit for SF libraries.

When: Sat., 9/13, movie at noon, reception at 11am; Age 4+; movie is free (but reservations required), reception $25 for adults, free for kids under 12.

Where: Balboa Theater, 3630 Balboa Street (at 38th Avenue), San Francisco; 415-626-7512, x106 or sara.bassett@friendssfpl.org; friendssfpl.org.

The Plastiki - Mission Control

Use interactive exhibits to learn about a 10,000 nautical mile voyage across the Pacific Ocean on a boat made almost entirely out of reclaimed plastic soda bottles.

When: Wednesdays through Sundays, ongoing through December 31, 11am-4pm; Age 3+; Free.

Where: Pier 45, Embarcadero (at Taylor Street), San Francisco; plastiki.com.

Taking a CPR/emergency class for infants and children is such a pain…but not as big a pain as helplessly watching a child choke or stop breathing in front of you. CPR classes are offered daily all over the Bay Area, and many organizations will give lessons free to a group of parents. Make learning CPR the focus of your next mommy-get-together, or contact one of these fine civic organizations:

DayOne: This San Francisco parenting support organization offers several classes monthly for $45.

CPR Family: Classes in San Rafael and San Francisco run $35-75; pre-crawling babies are welcome.

American Red Cross: The paterfamilias of lifesaving organizations offers classes in most communities for around $50. Type in your ZIP code to find the location nearest you.

SafetyMax: Will give seminars for groups of 12 (minimum) in your Bay Area home or office.

CPR Education Seminars: Teaches safety classes all over the North and South Bay as well as in San Francisco.

Counting down the last month of summer.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

A boy gives a hungry mouse a cookie, and then a lot of other stuff happens at this Fairyland show. Admission includes the price of an hour at Fairyland. The Friday evening shows are supper shows; bring your own picnic for eating in the outdoor amphitheatre or buy dinner at the Fairyland cafe.

When: Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays, 4pm, Fridays 6pm through 8/16; Age 2+; Adults $12, Children $10.

Where: Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Avenue (at Lake Merritt), Oakland, 510-452-2259, activeartstheatre.org.

Pier Crabbing Demonstrations at Fort Point

Learn how to drop a net and catch crabs off the San Francisco piers at this demo from Fort Point staff. All equipment is provided but (free) reservations are required.

When: Saturdays, March through October (including 8/8), 10am-noon; Age 2+; Free.

Where: Fort Point, Marine Drive (at Old Mason Street), San Francisco; 415-556-1693; nps.gov.

Family Day at SCRAP: Accessorize with Toys

Bring small objects from home or use SCRAP’s treasure trove to make jewelry or sculptures. Participants will learn basic jewelry-making techniques.

When: Sat., 8/8, 1-4pm; Age 4+; $15 per individual or $20 per family.

Where: SCRAP, 801 Toland Street (at McKinnon Avenue), San Francisco; 415-647-1746; scrap-sf.org.