The Children’s Creativity Museum
add photosFormerly called the Zeum, the Children’s Creativity Museum is an interactive art and technology museum for kids.
9 Reviews for The Children’s Creativity Museum
39
21
'11, '12
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"Zeum Offers Something for Everyone"
ZEUM OFFERS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
This was my first trip to Zeum Museum and I was impressed at the amount of entertainment and activities available in such a small area. I brought my 6 kids, ages 2 through 12 and each one had a great time playing with the wide variety of activities such as The Digital Art Studio, The Cosmic Campout Exhibit and The Recording Studio. Since the museum does not have a parking lot, I parked in a parking garage. There were about 3 in the area and all-day parking starts at $10.
VARIETY OF PLAYSPACES FOR ALL AGES
After checking in at the front desk, the kids were allowed to explore the many fun play-areas available. All my kids quickly scattered to explore the variety of interesting activities. My oldest went into a digital art section where she was able to create digital animation on the computer. There were a few computers available for children, and this was a fun activity that she was able to do on her own.
All of my children enjoyed the recording studio, where they performed Karaoke-style songs using green screen technology. They had a great time singing Taylor Swift songs in “Paris”. There were two people staffed in this room making sure everyone had a turn and recording the music videos on their choice of DVD, CD-ROM or MP3 file. Although there wasn’t a charge required, a donation of $5 was suggested for each recording. My girls loved watching themselves on screen.
My second and third oldest daughters went to the arts and crafts section and immediately began cutting and pasting with a wide variety of materials, such as paper bags, ribbons, and scraps of paper. There were paper scraps all over the table and floors, which my child slipped on. It would be nice to have a designated employee available to keep this section clean and organized, but they had a great time nonetheless.
My youngest daughter enjoyed the “green screen” section in the main activity room. This was a fun area in which the children could view themselves on a screen with different backgrounds. The children were able to choose one of three different backgrounds on a special effects camera that portrayed a scene on everything that was “green”. My daughter chose which background she wanted to use and enjoyed watching herself in new scenery while going down on the big slide. There were many kids doing this all at once, so it was a bit chaotic. While my kids had an amazing experience, I do feel that the area would have been well served by having a staff member assigned to organize and keep order.
My 2 year-old twins enjoyed the soft building block section that was made especially for the little explorers. They had a fun time stacking the blocks and knocking them down repeatedly, though I think the play area, especially the blocks, could benefit from a good cleaning.
COSMIC CAMPOUT EXHIBIT IS WONDERFUL FOR YOUNG KIDS
We then were able to attend the opening of the museums newest exhibit, “Cosmic Campout.” This was such a cute exhibit that was geared toward younger children. Created by Zeum’s Artist –In-Residence, Michelle, Blade and Joshua Churchill, the entire room was decorated to make you feel as if you are camping in the woods. There were tents for the children to crawl in, flashlights to see in the “dark”, drums and musical instruments for singing songs by the makeshift campfire in the center of the room. All this was complimented by shadows of forest animals along the walls, owls in trees, a sparkling ceiling that resembled the nighttime sky, and the sounds of crickets chirping and owls hooting.
I was fortunate enough to speak with Ms. Blade regarding the Cosmic Campout. She was thrilled to see her vision come to life at Zeum. She then told me that she planned the lower section to entertain the younger children and the balconies to entertain the older children. I told her that she designed it perfectly, because that is exactly what happened with my children. My younger 4 children immensely enjoyed the exhibit and spent quite a bit of time there, while my older 2 enjoyed the balconies.
My younger 4 children spent the entire time crawling through the tent tunnels and pretending to sit around the campfire. They wore the provided helmets and headlamps to help them see in the “dark”. They played the bongo drums as they listened to stories (told by other parents) around the campfire. They loved pointing out the forest animals they spotted on the walls, especially the bunny rabbits.
My older two daughters (ages 10 and 12), on the other hand, were a little too old for this section of the museum, and went to explore the balconies in the upper levels of the exhibit. They enjoyed looking down at the entire exhibit and singing into the microphones, which were attached to a light panel that lit up when sound was emitted through them. There were several balconies throughout the exhibit and the older girls made sure they went to each one.
There was even a scavenger hunt around the entire museum that my oldest daughter did via iPhone. She had such a fun time exploring the museum looking for barcodes to scan using a free app called NeoReader. The prize for the scavenger hunt is two tickets to ride the famous Zeum Carousel, which are normally $3 per ride. This was a nice way to end the day, and a worthwhile money saving adventure.
The museum had much more to offer that we unfortunately did not have enough time to explore, such as a Clay Animation room (reservations required) and huge walls for making Lego shapes and Colorform creations. In all, my family had a wonderful time at Zeum museum in San Francisco, CA. We especially enjoyed the Cosmic Campout exhibit and the recording studio, and finished the day with a lovely ride on the 100 year old carousel.
*The opinions stated in this review are mine only. I was provided complimentary admission to the museum in exchange for an honest review.
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"would love to go again"
I brought my 18 month old son here for a day while we were in San Francisco. I would say that was a little young to appreciate all that they have to do there but we still had a lot of fun. If we lived there we would definately get a season pass and go there regularly There is also a great play ground right outside that was amazing! There is also carousal right outside that is fun!
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"Good for a short day out."
We brought our 3 year old daughter to the Zeum. After a long drive we found that most of the activities were for older children. While other places we have been are able to keep her attention, these exhibits were truely geared toward older kids. She did however love the Merry Go Round that was outside.
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"Fun Times Had By All!"
First off, I can't believe I never knew about Zeum. It's a multimedia, art-integrated museum located just behind the Carousel. The Carousel, oddly enough, almost EVERYONE knows about. I did a little back-research on the place before I decided to take the 2 year old with me. A few people mentioned it was mostly geared for older kids. I also looked at the website and it seems that way as well, though it did mention a toddler zone. Well, just for the record, 2 year old went and he had a blast!
The whole downstairs was completely "touchable" for both the 2 year old and my 8 year old. When we first rounded the corner there was a green screen play structure with slide (this is where toddler spent the majority of his time). A special camera loaded with some nifty software superimposed my tot onto a computer screen of fiery flames...that'll teach him next time he misbehaves! Older one ran in the other direction toward the nearest computer monitor and set to work. I didn't see him again for another 30 minutes. The whole downstairs floor was pretty open so I could see both kids as they ran around and explored the puppet theater, dress up station, and block building space. Older son eventually set up shop in the Animators Studio and didn't come out for over an hour.
There were a ton more things to explore at Zeum (a music production lab where you can make your own rock video, a multimedia lab, and lots more). If we'd had the time (and 2 year old hadn't hit his breaking point...you see, he needs to eat a lot) we'd have stayed another 3 million hours, I'm sure. While there were a lot of things for the big kids to do, I have to say, toddler had his fair share of things to play with, too. I'm glad I brought him.
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"Were my expectations too high?"
We visited the Zeum and after reading all the rave reviews, I wonder if my expectations were too high. Or maybe it was because we went on Mother's Day when there was free admission. In any case, I was surprised that the museum was so small. The kids did enjoy themselves. The younger one really just played with Legos the whole time. Our 5 year old really got into the claymation studio. It seem to be a good museum 5- 16 year old kids. But it's a good thing they just added the toddler area so that while older siblings are having a grand old time pretending to be animators, graphic artists, or cutting they new album, young siblings will still be occupied. We'll definitely give this another try on a less busy day.
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"Playing With Clay"
Everybody loves to play with clay, and at the Zeum adults and children can create clay people or creature and make a mini-movie. We spent hours playing and exploring all that the Zeum has to offer. The kids dressed up in costumes and filmed themselves in front of green screens. It is conveniently located near the Metreon and the Powell Street BART, so we didn't have to worry about driving downtown. Very relaxing and fun. After the Zeum, we enjoyed a sunny day in Yerba Buena Park across the street. Worth the visit with the family!
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"Very fun place"
I can not understand how it took me 10 years to bring my children there. It is a very fun place where children get to experiment with videos, clay animation, recording studios, sliding on a green slide and seeing themselves on a screeen sliding on fire (my 6 years old spent half of her morning going up and down that slide).
To learn more, read my post http://www.travelismorefunwithkids.com/travelismorefunwithkids/2008/12/fun-at-the-zeum.html
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"Really Fun!!"
Our favorite part of the Zeum is making movies with claymation. They provide wire and clay for you to shape your characters. If you haven't played with clay for a while, you'll enjoy this. There are cameras and various backgrounds set up for you to use. It is so much fun. After you make your movie, you can buy a DVD copy of it.
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"Zeum"
The Zeum is so fun! I can't believe it took us so long to check it out. The Zeum offers hands-on experiences in four core creative processes (animation, sound and video production, live performance and visual arts). You can make your own video using clay animation; record your own sound track, make your own music video and play with digital arts. At the entrance there is a life size maze with a marble that you roll by moving your body around. A huge hit with my 7 year old. This museum is probably best for children 4 and up.
http://www.zeum.org/
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