kristined's Passport
 

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Member since:
31 August 2009

Icon_superoo_orangeSuperoo '11, '12, '13

Icon_pictureBeen to 159 Attractions
Icon_star114 Reviews
Icon_star182 First to Review
Icon_camera2276 Photos
Icon_thumbsup35 Helpful Votes
Compliments
About Me & My Family

I'm the mother of a two high energy kids who were born ready for adventure. My oldest is a gifted athlete and my youngest is a charmer with special needs.
Our Family's Travel Personality
adventurous, curious, rowdy, disorganized, independent, energetic, spontaneous, easy_going, social_butterfly
We Just Got Back From
Gold Country
Our Favorite Vacation Spot
The Big Island, HI
A Place We'd Love To Visit
The Cook Islands, Australia, Jordan, Alaska, Israel ---oh, did you say PLACE as in singular? HA!!!
Favorite Vacation Memory
Riding a water bike on a Hawaiian lagoon with one of my kids on each pontoon!
Worst Travel Moment With My Kids:
Flying with my three month old baby just weeks after September 11 -- what a nerve wracking and tense experience that was!!
Websites I Like:

Museum Exhibits Around San Francisco Kids Will Love (2012)

Kid-friendly museum exhibits and activities in the San Francisco Bay Area

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200 Larkin Street (between Fulton and McAllister Streets)
San Francisco, California

Comment:
From lively storytelling to creating a piece of original artwork together, there are many opportunities at this museum for families to explore the many aspects of Asian art and culture. For a listing of summer events visit: http://www.asianart.org/family.htm


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151 Third Street (between Mission and Howard Streets)
San Francisco, California

Comment:
Kids get in free every Sunday, the museum offers families free days three times a year. Activities include family friendly art tours and participatory art projects. For more info: http://www.sfmoma.org/visit/families


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34th Avenue & Clement Street
San Francisco, California

Comment:
Doing and Viewing Art - every Saturday, 2PM. Family tours are followed by related hands-on art projects led by professional artists. Children under 8 years old must be accompanied by an adult. Upcoming sessions: May 5: Wonders of Light and Shadow May 12: Sleeves of Satin and Silk May 19: Portraits with a Purpose June 2: Hands and Feet: Figurative Explorations June 9: What's on the Table? (Painted Things That Stay Still) June 16: The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde, 1860–1900 June 23: Fashion from the Past June 30: Figure Drawing


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50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
San Francisco, California

Comment:
From taking a kid-friendly tour through the galleries to get hands on in art classes, there is something for every little artist in your family at the de Young Museum. For more info visit: http://deyoung.famsf.org/education/families-children


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655 Mission Street
San Francisco, California

Comment:
Your child can have their birthday party here! During the party instructors specializing in cartooning, illustration, animation, character design, and comic book creation conduct illustration lessons!


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55 Music Concourse Drive
San Francisco, California

Comment:
Earthquake, a major new exhibit and planetarium show, opens May 26, 2012. Take a kinetic journey toward understanding these super seismic phenomena and how they fit into the larger story of our ever-changing Earth.

reviewed on: August 03 2010

"Very Educational if You Can Get Near Anything"
If you're headed here anytime soon, pack A LOT of patience with you and prepare for crowds. This place has a lot to offer and a lot to learn from if you can get near any of it!!! The crowds were so overwhelming, I think it would be a great idea for the SF Fire Chief to hightail it over there and monitor the situation. We weren't able to see a single show ---- apparently they offer a spectacular bug show and some planetarium thing but, by noon there were no show passes to be had. You could view a rain forest housed in a three-story terrarium bubble, if you cared to wait two-hours in a line. Have you ever waited in line with an active 7-year-old and an anxious 4-year-old? Hell, doesn't even begin to describe it.

There were three eating choices in the place ---- the largest, which was just off the entryway , was so crowded, people were eating on the floor. The second choice had a 40-minute wait in line and the third choice, labeled as fine dining, cost a small fortune.

So people, here is what I suggest you do should you want to see this place:

Get a membership. A family membership is just under $160. You can write it off on your taxes and visit multiple times in a year. You also avoid waiting in the massive (and I mean MASSIVE) ticket line to get in. Arrive during members-only hour (which is the hour before the museum opens to the public), collect any show passes you want at that time and see as much as you possibly can before the throngs crush through the doors.

If you need to eat --- walk out of the park toward Irving (just walk in the direction of the bandstand in between the academy and the De Young and keep going until you hit the edge of the park) and patronize a local restaurant (there are many over in the area of Irving) where you won't be treated like just another number in the sea of humanity. You can return to the museum after your meal satiated and ready to learn as the folks who lined up at the same time are fainting from hunger or fuming with frustration.

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JFK Drive, Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California

Comment:
Plantosaurus Rex is coming! It’s a prehistoric paradise of plants from the time of the dinosaurs when giant ferns, spiky horsetails, and primitive cycads grew in lush abundance and fed many of the monstrous reptiles that roamed the earth millions of years ago. May 10-Oct 21, 2012

reviewed on: May 17 2011

"Calling All Mini Paleontologists!"
Do you have a little paleontologist in your house?  Well, they’re going to love this exhibit!

Dinosaurs have invaded the Conservatory of Flowers!   Plantosaurus Rex rolled into the iconic white gabled Victorian greenhouse and brought some rather ravenous friends with it.  Pterodactyl shriek from the rafters and a Tyrannosaurus Rex lets out a roar you’ll feel in your bones as you wind your way through the foliage and other plant life these giant creatures used to call lunch.  Their presence is felt even before you enter the building because one of them even managed to break through the roof of the place!

Divided into three parts, the exhibit delves into the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.   Visitors learn how the atmosphere and terrain of the planet changed as the barren Panagaea broke into the continents we know today setting off massive inland changes in water and humidity. This shift and those that came after gave life to an ever changing plant and animal population that grew quickly.  

In fact, the symbiotic relationship between plant and animal life is the key message of Plantosaurus Rex.   As the planet evolved, much of the vegetation and animal life did with it. Visitors learn about animal dependencies on plants and trace how this relationship nearly disintegrates then bounces back from near extinction taking on new survival qualities and characteristics. For example, as the climate changed some plants clung to areas near water, some became non-flowering, others seedless.   Animals took on skeletal changes in these shifts as well with some developing protective plating, sharper teeth and a lower build. It’s a fascinating look at the early development of our world.  You also will be amazed by how many plants you’ll recognize.  This exhibit is particularly terrific for second graders and up as they have studied dinosaurs in school and just as my kids did, they will enjoy flexing their dino knowledge!

Open Tuesday through Sunday from 10AM to 4PM, Plantosaurus Rex takes a look at the Mesozoic Era, the Age of Dinosaurs.  Docents are available to share fossils and take questions.  Plantosaurus runs through October 2012.

This review is based on a complimentary tour of Plantosaurus Rex.  I received no other compensation and was not asked to express a particular point of view.  My opinions are entirely my own.


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214 California Dr
Burlingame, California

Comment:
Learn everything you'd ever want to know about PEZ and then some!! This museum is also home to the World's Largest Pez Dispensing Machine --- and it is officially recognized as the World's Largest by Guinness World Records ™ !