Bay Area Children's Museum

I had been dying to take Norah to the Bay Area Children's Museum for a while. It has the reputation as the best kid's museum in the area and is known for its toddler room-no big kids allowed. I hate 75% of big kids we interact in public places these days. They are pushy, domineering, and have parents on the other side of wherever we are texting on their iphones. Anyway, Aunt Amy and Bubby were in town and so we decided to take the plunge and make the drive.

The museum is in Sausalito, which is just right on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Traffic was no issue and we got there in about 40 minutes. We hit the toddler room first. Norah's favorite thing, by far, were these plastic tubes that would shoot up bubbles if you pressed the pedal with your foot.

Then there was a tunnel with a rain forest on the outside.


Back to the bubbles.

There were huge buttons on the walls that made animal sounds when you pressed them. And Norah pressed them. A lot.

The other toddler room was insect themed. There was a giant ant hill and a structure for climbing (or pretending to be ants? Termites? Who knows).


This bench had all kinds of stuffed animals that you put into holes. Norah was genuinely surprised (and freaked out) when she would put one in a hole and it would come out a different one.

Back to the fish room. There were water bed type things that the kids could walk on and pretend to be lily pads. Norah hated them. She is okay to play on them by herself, but as soon as another kid got on it was game over. This is exactly how she feels about the trampoline. She could jump on it until the cows come home, but the second that someone else gets on and messes with her equilibrium she gets totally pissed.

One of the water beds had real live fish in the glass ceiling above it.

She even lay down to get a better look.


Immediately outside the toddler room was Norah's favorite part of the whole museum. You could take giant plastic fish and set them in the water at the top of the structure and then watch the current bring them down.



It was really awesome to see just how much she gets the whole concept of cause and effect. She would let a fish go...

...and then run to the other side of the bridge to watch it float down.


She clearly loved the stone statutes and sat on all of them.


Even the little mouse.

The grounds of the museum are in old military buildings, set over several acres. Each 'room' of the museum is in a different building, which is a brilliant set up for a kid's museum. You walk outside in the fresh air to get from exhibit to exhibit. It gives the kids a chance to run around without annoying everyone and clausterphobic parents get a chance to get a breath of fresh air.

Here we are in a different building checking out mixtures from the bay (sand, rocks, marine life, etc. in creepy little test tubes).

Making waves roll and birds fly.

Being fish on tv.

View of the bridge.

My favorite room was the San Francisco port. It had a great train table.

And tons of cute exhibits detailing an old school fishing port.


We fished off the side of a big boat (it rocked and everything).

And sent the basket down to collect crabs.

Norah crawled around in the underground tunnels. (Good thing Bubby is miniature and could go with her).

The space room.

My other favorite part was the outdoor area. There were all kind of nature hikes and trails for bigger kids, but Norah stuck with the trucks.


And the diggers.




The giant spider web.

And the antiquated tree that had been hollowed out.

It's beyond a fabulous place and I can't wait to go back.