Playdate 2008: An Evening by the Cove resulted in raising $570,000 for the Museum!  We give a big thanks to everyone who helped bring this all together.  The Council, Board, volunteers and the Museum Staff.  

Everyone looked beautiful and had a fun time.  See some photos of the event on our Flickr page here.

The importance of outside play has been a topic of interest recently by education and child development leaders. Where schools are focusing more and more on testing and academia, the importance of play falls on the wayside.  For the younger children outdoor play seems to be even more crucial for developing social and personal life skills. Self-regulation, sharing, team building and interactions with different people are all skills that children learn while playing in a playground. I wrote about news articles that highlight this topic in an earlier blog post, The Decline of Serious Play.

A report in the New York Times speaks about day cares not going outside to play with the children, in an article called The Flip-Flop Factor. Citing reasons such as children wearing flip-flops, no coat or playgrounds having mulch which can be thrown by kids and some caregivers just thinking it is too much trouble.

Where academia is very important and parents do urge their children's caregivers to teach them as much as they can, it is also important for children to play. We hope that developmental play becomes a focus of parents as well as educational learning. The Museum works to provide such play with our varied exhibitions and community programs which not only has strengths in early child development but fosters a stronger family unit as well.

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 11.

My mother loves champagne brunches. We have gone to nearly every restaurant in the Bay Area that offers them. Grand Cafe in SF, Claremont Hotel in Oakland & many others that I found on Open Table.  You can't have a Mother's Day without flowers! I have been going to Moe's Flowers in Berkeley since college and his arrangements are the only ones who grace the tables of my mother and aunts for the past 12 years.

I still remember making those arts and craft gifts for my mom in school. Glitter picture frames with a photo of me in the middle. The hand print paper weight that I broke while taking it home to her. I didn't, however, make a macaroni necklace for her. Even as a kid I knew that food is not a cute fashion accessory.

Try a few of these Mom's Day art projects with your kids!

• Paper Flower Bouquet - take 3 or 4 small tissue paper squares and fold them like a fan, take a pipe cleaner and twist it to hold the folded paper at one end. Unfold, twist and bunch the tissue paper to make a flower! Repeat until you get a beautiful paper flower bouquet.
• Artist's Rendition - Take a photo of mom with the kids and have your child draw, color and/or paint a replica image on a piece of construction paper. You can frame the art and the photo and place them together on the mantel.
• French Toast M-O-M: Make french toast for breakfast and have the child cut out the letters with a butter knife for a special breakfast in bed.

If you're scrambling for gift ideas you can't go wrong with stores like

Congratulations to Soraya (2) and Arjun (5)!!!

Click here to see the runners up and all the photos submitted.

Come visit our table at Dolores Park this Saturday, May 3 for San Francisco's Cinco de Mayo Celebration.

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Dolores Park, SF

Participate with the community in some of the following activities:

• Historical Docent Walk early at 10 a.m.
• Dancing by Aztec dancers, Ballet Folklorico and local student peformances throughout the day.
• Various activities for kids
• Mexican food booths

Do you know what is being celebrated by the Mexican people on Cinco de Mayo? Leave a comment and post the answer!

This depends upon what level of membership you have at the Bay Area Discovery Museum.  Starting at the Museum Passport level one of the benefits is participation in the ACM (Association of Children's Museums) Reciprocal Program.

A children's museum membership that includes ACM Reciprocal privileges extend only to children's museums within the ACM Reciprocal Network and not all children's museums. The number of members allowed complimentary entry at a museum you visit may be different than your home museum's membership policy.

Due to their close proximity, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, Habitot, and the Bay Area Discovery Museum have come to an agreement to offer discounted admission to ACM level members at each other’s institutions.  The Bay Area Discovery Museum also mails out 2 one time use passes (valid for up to six people) so that our ACM Reciprocal members can visit Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose or Habitot prior to receiving their discount on admission.

- I am a member of a Science Museum, is that valid at the Bay Area Discovery Museum?

The Bay Area Discovery Museum does NOT participate in the ASTC (Association of Science - Technology Centers) Passport Program. Some of the bay area ASTC organizations that DO participate include: The Bay Model, Chabot Space & Science Center, California Academy of Sciences, Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education, The Exploratorium, Lawrence Hall of Science, and Zeum.

- I am a member of the Zoo, is it good here?

Unfortunately not, in order to receive accreditation, Zoos belong to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which offers discounted admission to their reciprocal...

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Despite a range of weather conditions typical of Sausalito, from blustery to burning and back, The Bay Area Discovery Museum’s Spring Break Camp went off without a hitch.  Even creative protestors scaling the Golden Gate Bridge couldn’t keep the kids away! There is endless digging for pennies in Lookout Cove, and fishing for crabs in Bay Hall; yet children are simultaneously making new friends, testing their limits in a safe environment, and most importantly getting a chance to pursue their passions. Check out some pictures here.

I was recently talking to my mom about her experience going to Girl Scout camp in the early 1960’s.  It was life changing for her because while she LOVED camping, her family was not big on nature.  Girl Scout Camp gave her a chance to discover what has become a life long passion that she never would have found through her school or home life.  So if you’ve got a building block fanatic, future Picasso, or budding entomologist living under your roof look no further!

Camps are directly tied to the museum’s mission to “engage, delight and educate.” We give children the opportunity to discover things that will shape them for life, whether it’s the struggle of threading a needle to sew a stuffed bat, making it to the top of the Crow’s Nest for the first time, or dissecting a squid, camper’s interests are truly nurtured. This is the best kind of learning, as all the experts will tell you, our curriculum is play based, developmentally appropriate and we follow the focus of the children.

We still have limited space in many of the summer camps developed right here at The Bay Area Discovery Museum! For more information click here. Or call Heather Posner, Camp Coordinator at 415-339-3982

Try some earth friendly activites with your child this month.

- Plant a garden: teach your kids about growing flowers, plants and herbs.  Yes...even a Chia Pet will show how seeds bloom!

- Park cleanup: Organize a cleanup for your child and their friends at their favorite playground. 

- Visit the Conservatory of Flowers and learn about all the different kinds of flowers, common and rare.

-Take a walk and point out the different birds and trees on the way.  Then go home and look them up!

The Museum will host their Earth Day Festival this Saturday April, 19.  Check out the performance from ZunZun.

Well not ME specifically...but perhaps you are pregnant and have yet to tell those close to you?

A guy friend of mine told me his wife was pregnant recently. This is how he did it...

Him: "We're doing well. Everything is good considering Michelle isn't working."

Me: "What happened with her job? What's wrong?"

Him: "Oh..nothing, she's pregnant."

Me: "What?!!? Congratulations!"

Women seem to have a little more panache when it comes to announcing the news that they're pregnant. A common way being a present of baby clothes given to be opened by the unsuspecting person. Most of the time it says "I love my daddy/grandma/grandpa/sister/brother."

Recently the new fad for pregnant mothers has been maternity photos.  Beautiful portraits to document this amazing time in a mother's life. Here are a few places I found that offer this service around the Bay Area.

• Sarah Metz Photography
• Sophia Field Photography
• Small Miracles Photography

How did you announce your pregnancy to your loved ones? Let us know!

It's our Second Annual Museum Photo Contest!  Send in pictures of your kids at the Museum for a chance to win a Passport Membership!

Submit an original, non-professional photo of your children at the Museum via email to jherrera(at)badm.org.

Images should be emailed in jpg format, 72 dpi or higher or 2 MB or smaller.

Please include:

• child(ren)’s name
• pets' name
• age
• parent(s)’ name
• address
• phone
• email

Up to three (3) photos may be submitted by each entrant.

Entries must be received by April 25, 2008 at midnight.

Click here for entry rules.