10 places to create messy art in the San Francisco Bay Area

Habitot is the place you want to take the kids before they are old enough to graduate from that place and go to MOCHA at 18 months. The babies and toddlers will definitely enjoy getting all messy and literally dive into the paint (aprons provided) and experience their first experience with art materials and paints.

This is for children aged 7 and older. This is not your usual playground, this is a playground where children are creating and building their own fort. Dirt, rumbles, and wood are the basics to which each child in the playground adds his own touch of creativity. He will make something that will stand out and that other children will add up to.

MOCHA has week-day and week-end drop-in Art programs. Children starting at age 18 months enjoy making THEIR art using clay, fabric, feathers, paint. They get inspired by a different theme every week and a teaching artist guide them to better structure their ideas and energy. On a week-day, children from 18 months to 6 years old can enjoy making messy art. On week-end, the program is open to kids of any age. All drops in cost are $7 per child and $3 for the adult accompanying them. They also provide a program called Family Extravaganzas (same cost as the drop in) where everybody joins forces to make fun projects. There is a monthly theme so consult the MOCHA calendar and just show up! MoCHA is really about spontaneity so this is perfect for families with small children.

This is aimed to tweenager and teenagers. The crucible is about welding, fire, jewelry, metal, glass etc. Youth will definitely have a blast being more mature artists and taking charge of tools they may not have been used to manipulate and transform raw materials into pieces of Art.

There is no need to make an appointment; the door is always open to be creative using paint and the ceramic of your choice (and there is a lot of them to pick from). They also have some fun events happening regularly like the Kids’ Night Out (KNO) that happens on a Saturday. For $20 from 6 to 9 pm, children will get to enjoy ice-cream, watch a movie and paint a ceramics. Your children are going to be you to go out so they can be part of every KNO happening! Pajama’s parties are also a regular on a weekly basis as well as themed events depending on the calendar. Check out the monthly calendar to pick your event.

SF Moma presents Family Sunday every 1st and 3rd Sundays of every month from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. The family tour of the galleries led by docents starts at 1:00 pm with the special art program starting at 2:00 pm. This event is free with the admission. Note that children under 13 always get in free at the museum. The programs are held in the Koret Visitor Education Center and there is a new theme every month (let it drip, Mirror Mirror, Capture the moment etc). You can also enjoy some free art making for the MOMA free family days where families will be able to enjoy some hand-on activities and performances. The next one is scheduled for October 17th, 2010 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

De Young Museum offers free Saturday art classes (most Saturdays). They are divided by age with children 4 to 6 in one group and children 7 to 12 in another group (children aged less than 8 must be accompanied by an adult). You have to check their calendar to see if the classes are held the Saturday you want to go. The classes are held from 10:30 am to noon and are included in the museum admission. But do not arrive late as nobody can participate in the class once it has started. You can also enjoy Family Fun night at the DeYoung every Friday with a different theme and activities every week. There is a mix of dance, art making, art showing, dance etc starting at 5:00 pm. A wonderful and inspiring way to start the week-end.

At the zeum, Art becomes virtual. You can experience with different Art: drama, movie, sing and be very creative in each of them using the tools that the Zeum offers you. One of my children’s favorite is the record studio where they create little skits and record them on camera. Another favorite is definitely the Claymation where you can create characters out of clay and showcases them in a movie that you record yourself.

The Bay Area Discovery Museum offers two art studios: studio 5 for Pre-k and babies and Studio 10 for elementary aged children. Studio 5 is more about the process and the feeling of the tools and materials used to create art. Studio 10 is more about process and children are able to think things out a little deeper. The good thing about the Bay Area discovery museum is that it is not only about art, there are lots of other activities to do and experience and art is only one of them. So if your child wants to experience more than one thing, this is an excellent place to be.

You can come to Triton to enjoy some EverFamily Art Days. These free events held on Saturdays are opportunity to create art. They also offer week-end classes that are a mixes of exploring the galleries with creating art inspired by what you have seen.