Celebrating Community

A primary mission of the the Bay Area Discovery Museum is to ensure that children from the diverse and varied communities of the Bay Area have access to the Museum and can participate fully in our many educational programs. We want all families to feel welcome and to have a sense of inclusion, safety and respect while visiting the Museum.

The Museum interacts with the community to achieve this mission through the following three initiatives:

Download our brochure with complete details about Celebrating Community. (PDF)

Connections

Connections is the centerpiece of our Celebrating Community outreach program. Through Connections, the Museum partners with 35 local subsidized preschools through their parent organizations:

Marin Head Start
Marin Community Child Development Program
San Francisco Unified School District Child Development Program
Wu Yee Children’s Services
Contra Costa Head Start

Through Connections, the Museum will facilitate more than 6,000 visits annually by low income, Latino, Asian, and African-American children and their families this year. Each participating school has committed to work with the Museum for three years to provide focused feedback so Connections can meet the needs of the teachers, the children, the families and the Museum.

Visit our Connections page for complete details, including photos and updates on current programming.

For more information, contact Heather Miller at hmiller(at)badm.org or (415) 339-3916.

Festivals and Special Events

Thanks to long-term partnerships with community organizations, the Museum hosts annual events reflecting the Bay Area’s rich cultural diversity.

In fiscal year 2009 (July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009), the Museum welcomed:

13,133 visitors to our Free First Wednesdays
9,406 visitors to our cultural festivals: Kwanzaa, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Chinese New Year, Koret Museum Days, and Asian Pacific Heritage Festival
1,200 complimentary tickets to Goblin Jamboree to families in under-served communities
8,000 visitors received complimentary admission through free passes or our Open Door policy.
3,500 subsidized or free school visits
3,500 preschooler visits and 1,700 parent, teacher and adult caregiver visits through our new Connections program

Family Access Programs

The Museum offers free admission on the First Wednesday of each month - all day long. In addition, many of the Museum’s cultural festivals are free to visitors.

Free coupons are available to community groups upon request by calling Community Programs at (415) 339-3922.

Open Door Policy: It is the Museum's policy that no one be turned away due to lack of funds. Families are welcome to visit the Museum on a pay-what-you-can basis.

The Bay Area Discovery Museum offers classes throughout the year for children and adults. Scholarships are available for summer camps, performances and other Museum programs for families that quality. Please call
(415) 339-3922 for scholarship information.

Donations

The Bay Area Discovery Museum gave passes to over 800 school and community groups who submitted Donation Requests in 2008. Learn more about how to request a donation of passes.

Meet our Park Partners

The Bay Area Discovery Museum is pleased to be a Park Partner with the following organizations located within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area: