Located in Fort Baker on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito is a unique children’s museum with much to offer our young one.

Our visit landed on a warm, sunny Saturday which left us fearing large crowds and limited parking. On the contrary we were met with convenient free parking just outside the museum and a pleasant lively buzz of activity without feeling crowded.

The museum is comprised of converted military buildings with great outdoor space in between. We were surprised at how many of the exhibits were outside, I’d say about half. Our toddler’s favorite exhibits were the Tot Spot and Lookout Cove.

Made up of indoor and outdoor sections, the indoor portion of the Tot Spot includes a clever room of waterbed “ponds” for tikes to play on, with fish tank ceilings and mirrored walls giving the illusion of being under water. There was also a fun area with different textures to walk on (bumpy, squishy etc.) Even mom and dad thought that was pretty cool. We liked that it was a “no shoes zone” making it a clean place for little ones to crawl.

The outdoor Tot Spot space has a wonderful “stream” for kiddos to play in. A long, meandering, waist high water table of sorts, this was probably our daughter’s favorite spot in the museum. She happily spent her time washing little, rubber salmon and frogs and making them “swim.” There are even aprons provided to keep clothes dry.

Lookout Cove was a great outdoor playground with many themed play structures. Children can grab a shovel and dig for treasure in a sunken ship or don a hard hat and help construct the Golden Gate Bridge among other things. There is a beautiful structure made from live willow branches for children to explore and a short trail featuring views of the bay and the bridge.

The other exhibits stirred intellect and imagination as well. In the art studios children can collage, sculpt and paint. Two other exhibit rooms, full of hands on fun, are dedicated to the natural and cultural history of the San Francisco Bay and its cities.

One thing this budget conscience family appreciated was that we could bring our own food and drink into the museum. They have a sizable deck with tables but you can also choose to picnic elsewhere. We thoroughly enjoyed dining on a bench under the trees while out daughter ran and played between bites of lunch. There is a restaurant on site which offers a small selection of sandwiches, burgers and snacks. The reviews for the restaurant look good and much of their food comes from local and organic sources. We will have to try it on our next visit.

General admission is $11 for anyone over the age of 6 months and is worth the price for a full day of learning and fun. If we lived closer I would even consider becoming members; for $150 dollars a family can have access to the museum for an entire year. There is so much to do and so much open ended play that children would not get bored with frequent visits throughout the year.

In summary: we loved it and you will too.

A few tips and trick to make your day at the Bay Area Discovery Museum great:
•Strollers are not allowed inside most buildings due to limited space, so if you have an infant I HIGHLY recommend an infant carrier or sling. We were so very glad we had ours in the car.
•Because a large portion of the museum is outdoors I recommend checking the weather before you go (there is a link on the museum site). Weather by the bay can be finicky, so always pack a sweatshirt.
•Another word about clothes, the art studios are fun but messy. There is water, dirt and sand. Dress accordingly and consider packing a change of clean clothes for your kiddos. If you have young ones going into the Tot Spot easy on/off shoes would be handy for the whole family. We all had shoes with laces and an infant to carry, not a fun juggling act to get ourselves put back together.
•Check the museum calendar for fun events like special performances and programs

The Bay Area Discovery Museum provided my family with complimentary tickets for this review. The museum did not request that I express any particular point of view and my reviews always reflect my honest opinions.

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