Bay Area Discovery Museum Blog

Which Bay Area Discovery Museum exhibition are you?

The Bay Area Discovery Museum is a children's museum with 7.5 acres of indoor/outdoor exhibitions just under the Golden Gate Bridge. We're unique - just like our visitors. So which of our exhibitions are you?

Take our Facebook quiz to find out!

While you're there - become our Facebook fan!

Connections Update

Here at the end of the first year of our new Community Outreach Program, Connections, we reflect on the success of this innovative effort. We have hosted four visits by each of the over 800 children from our 22 partner preschool classrooms. That adds up to over 3,500 visits for our preschool friends and over 1,700 visits by their teachers, adult caregivers and parents. It has been extremely satisfying to develop relationships with the children and adults over the year. We have been witness to the tremendous social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth of the 3 and 4-year-olds. We have also seen the children adopt the Museum as their own special place to express their creativity and learn through exploration of our exhibitions. Over the next month, we will be hosting each group one more time, inviting each child to come back to the Museum and act as an ambassador for their extended family members, so whole families can share the fun and enriching experiences at our Museum.

Behind the scenes we are conducting thorough evaluations of our first year in preparation for next. We will continue working with the same classrooms again as well as adding new partners, including classrooms from Contra Costa Head Start in the City of Richmond.

Discovery Camps Week 4 update!

We started off the week with a beautiful sunny day, only to be greeted by the more familiar wind and fog of Fort Baker today.  Despite the chilly temperatures the kids and staff have been enjoying all sorts of fun at camp:

Ecological Arts campers built up their adobe fairy houses and started brewing some natural dyes using native plants.

In Shipwrecked the sailors stowed their treasure  on their very own ship, and worked in the ship's logs.

Our brave Super Heroes and Heroines invented their very own sidekick, and worked on their performance piece.

And in Water Wonders the friends stayed relatively dry and built boats using corks, popsicle sticks and straws.

Don't forget to check in on our flickr page to see photos from camp.

 

Join the Discovery Council

If you would like to do rewarding work supporting the Bay Area Discovery Museum, meet new friends and have fun too, consider joining the Discovery Council.

The Discovery Council is the Museum’s all volunteer fund-raising auxiliary which organizes annual events in support of the Museum’s programs and exhibitions. We look for energetic people who are able to contribute their time, talent and resources to the three fund-raising events we sponsor each year. This is an opportunity to help an institution and make a difference. As a Discovery Council member you must commit to the following:

1. Serve a minimum of three years
2. Attend monthly meetings at the Museum
3. Serve on an event committee and attend two of the three council events; Goblin Jamboree, Discovery Forum and the Playdate Gala.
   
4. Maintain a $160 Anchor level museum membership or higher. ($125 tax-deductible)

For more information, contact Jackie Broad, jackie_broad(at)yahoo.com.  New Member Orientation is September 3rd.

Connections Gallery

Have you noticed anything new in the gallery between the Art Studios? The Bay Area Discovery Museum is proud to present our new Connections Gallery, featuring recently acquired works by some fine emerging artists. Children participating in Connections have explored the subject Building, both at the Museum and in their classrooms, and this process has been documented in the gallery.

 We believe children’s creations are equally valid representations of artistic process and understanding of the world as that of any artist hung on the walls of the world’s great museums. The pieces are intentionally hung at the eye level of the artists, allowing all children to directly engage with the artwork. Through ongoing projects in the Art Studios, as well as our educational and community outreach programs and activities, the Museum provides a foundation for future innovators and creative thinkers.

When you next visit, lead children through the new installation and ask them to respond to the work. What thoughts and feelings does the artwork evoke? Would they like to try something like this at home or at school? The Connections Gallery is a space dedicated to open-ended discovery by children. Let it inspire you to provide a space dedicated to art and encourage children to explore new materials in your own home or classroom.

Summer Fun Membership Offer

When you buy or renew an Anchor membership ($160), you will receive a free Museum lunch box full of summertime goodies. The Anchor level membership offers early registration for camps and special events, a guest pass for a family of five, two performance tickets, plus admission for six and reciprocal benefits. The passes, along with other summertime surprises, are included in your own metal lunch box.

This offer is only valid for Anchor memberships purchased in person at the Front Desk and only while supplies last.

Discovery Camps Week 3!

I have to warn you that this week there are definately some sneaky pirates, super villains and haunted rock stars hanging around the Museum.  Just ask our campers who have been having a blast excercising their creativity in Super Heroes and Heroines, Treasure Hunt, Summer Time Rock Out and Clay Play.

This week:

Treasure Hunters have been on a mission to discover Black Beard's treasure.

Super Heroes and Heroines are on a mission to space and building their secret headquarters.

The Summer Time Rock Out band has chosen a name, perfected their smash hit and are gearing up for their big performance.

In Clay Play the budding sculptors made masks, built bird's nests and enjoyed the process of using clay.

Make sure to visit our flickr page to see updated pictures from camps as the weeks go on.

Summer Bay Walks!

2:15 - 3:30 p.m.

July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
August 5, 12, 19, 26
September 2, 9

Meet by the seal sculpture in front of Lookout Cove restrooms.

Join us for a (hopefully) sunny summer walk!  Don't be shy; ask your well-informed guide questions about the local flora and fauna. Please bring your walking shoes and a water bottle as we go outside the Museum fence to explore the wilds of Fort Baker!

 

Tykes on Bikes!

San Francisco Pride Parade

We had a fabulous day celebrating families of all compositions at the SF Pride Parade this year! Our Tykes on Bikes contingent had 60 marchers, riders, and strollers – a record!

One of the participants said: "I wanted to thank you for all the work you put into Sundays  march. We had a great time even though Keeping Cooper behind the banner  became the  most difficult thing ever.....sorry. We will wear our shirts with pride for our museum we love!"

Click here to see more pictures on Flickr!

Discovery Camps Week 2

Wow, what an exicting week it's been at camp!  (So busy in fact it's been hard to keep up with my blogging.)  Here's a little of what each camp has been up to today:

On the Bay:

Learned about plants and planted some seeds.

Treasure Hunt:

Became Archaeologists and hunted for artifacts.

It's Yoga Kids:

Practiced their Lion pose and roars.

Summer Time Rock Out:

Worked on perfomring their hit songs.

Super Heroes and Heroines:

Built their secret headquarters and made slime.