Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
177
SF Muni launches the Culture Bus!
In September 2008, SFMuni launched a convenient way to get to most of the
city's major museums and cultural institutions. The 74X CultureBus (www.sf
culturebus.org) takes 30 minutes to get from SoMa, home to Yerba Buena Gar-
dens and its myriad galleries, to Golden Gate Park, where you'll find the de Young
Museum, California Academy of Sciences, Japanese Tea Garden, and so on. It also
stops at the Civic Center along the way. Tickets offer on-off privileges all day and
are $7 adults; $5 seniors, kids 5-17, and disabled; free children 4 and under. If
you have a Citypass or other Muni pass, you just pay $3. Buses run every 20 min-
utes from 8:40am to 5:50pm.
and usually featur es a demonstration and kids ' activity. Admission is fr ee, so be sur e to
arrive early, as it gets crowded. The museum has an elegant gift shop and an inviting cafe
offering varied Asian specialties such as noodle soups, salmon misoyaki, or Tibetan lamb
stew (simple salads and sandwiches can also be had).
200 Larkin St. (at Fulton St.).
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415/581-3500.
www.asianart.org. Admission $12 adults, $8 seniors, $7
youth 13-17, free for children 12 and under; $5 for all Thurs after 5pm (except kids 12 and under, who are
free). Free first Tues of the month. Disc ount for same-day Muni riders. Tues-Sun 10am-5pm, Thurs until
9pm. Muni: Any streetcar to Civic Center; 5, 21, 19, 74X bus.
Bay Area Discovery Museum
Kids up to 10.
Ostensibly a museum for
children, this indoor/outdoor play and disco very space is fun for gr own-ups as w ell.
Tucked into a wooded national par k at the foot of the G olden Gate Bridge, with lovely
views of the San Francisco skyline, the location alone makes it an excellent place to hang
out and take in the scener y.
Out-of-towners will appr eciate the Lookout Co ve exhibit, a 2
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-acre outdoor space
dedicated to the B ay Ar ea's histor y, geography, and ecology . Kids can don pint-siz ed
construction helmets and “build” a smaller scale version of the Golden Gate Bridge, wade
through tide pools into a sea cav e (real tide pools and cav es are found just nor th of San
Francisco), search for treasure inside a sunken ship modeled after an actual 16th-century
Manila galleon still at the bottom of nearby Drake's Bay, study artists' sculptures of local
animals, and hike along the site 's hillside perimeter. While kids play, parents can hang
back and take in the vie w or r ead the detailed signs and photographs that pr ovide rich
detail about the San Francisco Bay's past and present.
In case the weather disappoints, the museum has several indoor play areas—including
a tot spot, art area, and the San Francisco Bay Room featuring a life-sized fishing boat—
although they're mostly gear ed to v ery young kids. You could easily spend a couple of
hours here, so pick up lunch at the on-site cafe and grab a picnic table outside. E ven
though not strictly in S an Francisco, the museum is too good to leav e for a side trip .
Note:
If you take the bus, y ou'll have a 10- to 15-minute walk fr om the bus stop to the
museum.
Fort Baker, 577 McReynolds Rd., Sausalito.
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415/339-3900.
www.baykidsmuseum.org. Admission $10
adults, $8 seniors and childr en 1 and older, children under 1 free. $1 AAA discount. Tues-Fri 9am-4pm;
Sat-Sun 10am-5pm. Closed Mon., except when noted. Muni: Weekends only 76 bus to Alexander Road/
East Road exit; walk down East Road toward Fort Baker.
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