Not a bad place to take the kids for a little bit. I wouldn't say it's my favorite kids museum,…read morebut my daughters enjoyed it and that's what matters. It's not very large, but does give the kids a few decent options on what to do. I do think charging kids below the age of 2 seems a bit strange, but it is what it is. Overall, if you're in the area and want the kids to have some fun, this is a good spot. $20 entry fee for everyone BTW. Kids and adults.

Ok. First off, this place is for kids! As an adult did I enjoy myself here, not really. However,…read moreseeing my kiddo having fun, using her imagination, and creating lasting memories made it worth it! The first floor is honestly crafts you could easily create at home and feels more like a daycare style set up. The magic happens on the second floor where kids can create their own music beats, stop-motion movies. That being said this place can get pretty expensive as it was $20 per person so a family of 4 would have to pay $80. I say try it once, as kids will enjoy it, but I probably wont be back. The area is nice as well as there is a ice rink nearby and a fun playground to play and plenty of places to grab a bite. It was clean and felt safe!

Was a little overwhelmed as there were so many children. But I enjoyed looking around. Aquarium was…read morecute. Chef was cute. Rainforest was cute. Unfortunately I didn't get to visit the planetarium as you had to reserve in advance. The planetarium was honestly the main purpose of my visit here. There also isn't a very easy way to reserve the planetarium on their website.

A really spectacular natural history museum. There is a lot to see so you can make a full day of it…read moreif you choose and you have the stamina. You're greeted by a huge T-Rex skeleton at the entrance-spectacular! This was my first time visiting. I especially enjoyed the rainforest recreation (all four stories!) it is humid and balmy- and there are amazing fish, birds, and butterflies to enjoy. There are lots of fish in smaller tanks on the main floor, as well as an aquarium which we just passed by as we arrived late afternoon. There's a shallow "river" with salmon and then in another area a tropical pond filled with manta rays from the Phillipines. My sibkid, who had been before, knew their way around and their favorite stop was the earthquake simulator -you go In a small room with inset bookcases and lamps, to create a "homey" vibe but you know it's not a normal home when they have steel railings to hold onto. and they recreate the 1906 and 1988 Loma Prieta earthquake. It was suitably terrifying and I almost made a run for it when they paused between quakes. We next saw the Africa wing which had amazing stuffed mammals of the continent- and a comprehensive creation of primordial man-or woman- from the iconic "Lucy" to Neanderthal man. They also had African penguins who enjoyed a fish feeding. There's a gift shop replete with stuffed animals and souvenirs and a cafe. They have different areas (grill, sandwich, pizza, coffee/pastries, as well as prepacked grab and go) and complimentary water. The food staff were especially helpful despite managing a lot. My sibkid had the chicken tenders and fries (16.99) and I had some coffee and a croissant ($14) Yes, it's pricey but the food was good and we enjoyed the view from the outdoor dining area overlooking Golden Gate Park. Next time I'd like to see the planetarium and spend more time with the skeletal remains of our forbears.

One of the few places where you can spend almost the entire day with kids without constantly trying…read moreto figure out what to do next. The Bay Area Discovery Museum somehow manages to feel exciting without feeling overwhelming. There are indoor exhibits, outdoor play areas, sensory stations, bubble activities, climbing structures, toddler-friendly areas, and sand play with Golden Gate Bridge views. The layout makes it easy for kids to naturally move from one activity to another without parents constantly redirecting the day. The overall vibe feels chill, playful, interactive, and very exploration-focused instead of overly chaotic or overstimulating. Quick guide below. What really stood out to me was how thoughtfully designed the museum feels for both children and parents. Many activity areas are staffed, which makes the experience feel more interactive and supported instead of parents having to carry the entire outing themselves. One staff member even pulled out a little guitar during one activity, and suddenly kids and parents were all singing together like a tiny spontaneous flash mob It gave the whole place a really warm, community feel instead of feeling like just another children's museum. I also loved the dedicated toddler play areas where bigger kids can't just run through and take over, which made it feel much calmer and safer for little ones still learning to explore independently. ------ QUICK GUIDE What matters: * Free parking available * Designed mainly for kids ages 0-8 * Indoor + outdoor children's activities * Toddler-friendly play areas * Bubble + sensory activities * Sand play area * Large climbing/play structures * Golden Gate Bridge views * Bathrooms throughout * Stroller-friendly paths * Staff throughout activity areas * Open space to roam and explore * Great for both low-stimulation and high-energy kids * Easy place to spend several hours with children ------ Pro tip: if you accidentally forget diapers or wipes, they have diaper backpacks stocked near the bathrooms -- one of those small details that makes the whole place feel genuinely parent-friendly. Adding photos because it was hard to picture the overall layout before going.

This place is so cool! We're always on the hunt for an epic sandbox with a view, and Bay Area…read moreDiscovery Museum delivered. Such an amazing experience, and now that we've been once, we're already excited to plan our next trip to make it more of a full-day adventure. Coming from the East Bay, the drive was nice. Where the Bay Area Discovery Museum is located, you feel you're in a movie set. Gorgeous Bay views, just overall incredibly picturesque. A few notes when planning: check museum times (we ended up arriving close to their closing time, so our tickets were reduced in price which was nice), but we def could have been playing/exploring for longer. Also, there is a safe parking lot adjacent to the museum. We were greeted by friendly staff and given a map of the area. They outlined what could be fun for our kiddo's age range, and we honestly had such a fun time. From bubbles to music, water play to trains, an oversized fruit exhibit to pirate ship, there's so much to see and do, and ground to cover. We also noticed a cafe too with patrons grabbing coffee and whatnot. We have friends that have a membership which would be fun to consider for future. Can't wait for round two already!

I booked a private party for my daughter's 5th birthday party at Peek-a-Boo Factory…read more First, the venue is very clean. They spray down the equipment and vacuum between events. They had 3 people on staff for our party. I brought balloons, snacks, drinks, cupcakes and colorful tablecloths. I wheeled in my items from the car, dropped them off at the front with the team, and they literally did the rest. Super turn-key. The first portion is play time and then you move to the party room for snacks and cake. You can also have some snacks laid out in the front part of the play area. The party room is in the back and I had meant to go in and give them some basic set-up directions prior to us going in, but totally forgot. I ran into the room while folks were already filing in as I hadn't even viewed the room, yet, and it looked amazing! They had laid out all the snacks and drinks; they supplied plates, napkins, basic party tablecloths and a royal birthday chair and birthday banner. I didn't even have cake stands so brought a few plates from home to display the cupcakes, but they had some cute cake stands and took it upon themselves to beautifully display them! Far better than what I would have done! They even took it upon themselves to move the balloons from spot to spot as the party migrated - whatever looked the best! Then they helped pack up the leftovers and clean everything. Easy peasy. They do include 18% gratuity, but with the amount of mental load they took off my plate, it was 100% worth it. And of course, the kids loved it! The only thing I wish they had was a bit longer play time option. The kids LOVED playing and wanted more! The venue and level of service is truly exceptional! The team at Peek-a-Boo in San Francisco are true pros, with a level of customer service that totally surpassed my expectations. Thank you, Peek-a-boo Factory Team!

Last month I was overjoyed to be going into the city for my nephew's birthday party at this fun…read morefactory! Located in the local & city combo vibed Geary neighborhood in San Francisco, Peek-a-Boo packs a lot into a well organized kids space. Although it has limited seating, the entry way contains some retro distraction as you wait to be let into the main play area where your party time begins - those coin operated machines from the 80's that you win a prize from when you turn the slot with 2-4 quarters. My nephew & I played two. Then as his friends and their parents started arriving, it was the official time for his party start time and so our family could walk through the locked gate into the kids world of swings, slides, climbing walls, and colorful tunnels and passageways. For an estimated 90 minutes, about 20 kids ran through the time of their lives as their parents and Auntie looked on in awe haha! A face painter was also setup on one side of that main room who painted next level and intricate animal, tribal, and celestial themed designs on some of the kids' faces while the others played. When the clock ticked to a certain time, the staff made an announcement to head towards the back party room for pizza, cupcakes, and presents. (My brother chose the food options and arranged for them to be delivered ahead of time.) The staff had setup the room perfectly, with a happy birthday banner over the cupcakes on the middle table, then little tables setup on both sides of that table with snacks, drinks, pizza, goodie bags, and long tables setup in the middle for the kiddos to sit at comfortably as they entered the room. Then the staff served them pizza. It was a sweet time - filled with laughter, smiles, birthday song, and full bellies. What a wonderful Sunday afternoon of childhood bliss!

Came here last week on a beautiful day and it was super nice outside there were plenty of people…read moreenjoying the sun. Lots of children activities and open spaces for dogs and animals to play and run

Cute park in the southern part of Golden Gate Park. The slides were my kids' favorite part, and I…read morewas relieved that they had extra cardboard for all kids to use. The playground changed from when I was a kid, but the cement slides in the hillside are still there. The kids loved the antique German carousel, and I loved that it was very reasonably priced to buy tickets.

We have three kids: 3yo, almost 5 and 9. Due to their schedule It's appeared to be impossible for…read moreus to jump with all of them together. For 2-5 yo kids there are only few hours on Mondays to jump and that's it! Really disappointing. It wasn't like that 4-5 years ago

What a blast! Great venue for kids and adults (if you like trampolining!) Wonderful customer…read moreservice to help you get started. Best of all: so many employees making sure you and your kids are safe. There's snacks, lockers and a great variety of trampoline experiences. So go yourself, or take the family and jump to the skies!

We visited on Saturday, April 4. We were visiting from Las Vegas and decided to check out the…read moreaquarium for a cool place for my toddler to take a nap. My first complaint is the price - $30 for adults and children 4-12 are $22. Our son is under 2, so luckily we did not need to pay for him. The cost is unreasonable for the experience you end up getting. You also HAVE TO purchase the tickets online - there was no physical ticketing kiosk, so you are forced to pay the online fee. The second strike was that the direct elevator to the aquarium on the second floor of the building, was out. We had to walk our stroller all the way around the attached building and get on the elevator over there. It's not a huge deal, but a hassle for anyone who needs to use an elevator. Third strike was ANOTHER elevator within the aquarium was also out, so there was only ONE working elevator and it was a very busy Saturday afternoon, with a lot of people waiting. It also wasn't made very clear that there were stairs available for those that could use them. The fourth strike was that the exhibits were small and there didn't seem to be very many fish, especially in the tank tunnel. The moving walkway was also not working in the tunnel, so it would get a little backed up, as people would just stand there trying to look at the minimal amount of fish and handful of sharks swimming around. There was a pretty large touch tank for the kids and an otter exhibit. But to add insult to injury, the otters were sleeping, so we didn't even get to see them (not the aquarium's fault, but like I said, it just added to the laundry list of issues we were having with this facility). I hate to compare apples and oranges, but the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay Casino in Vegas is HUGE and has beautiful exhibits. The cost for an adult ticket there is $29, so that's where my expectations were and I was severely disappointed with this aquarium. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY, especially if you have children.

I love aquariums, sea life, and conservation efforts, and Aquarium of the Bay would probably try to…read moreclaim the same thing but it would not be genuine based on their business practices. As other reviewers have mentioned there is a photo opportunity towards the beginning of the aquarium - I've been to other aquariums (the Seattle aquarium comes to mind) and done these photos because sometimes they are fun. However, when we went to see the pictures at the end of our visit, the first image was an AI-generated picture of my partner and I. We asked the employee who let us know that the aquarium has recently started running the pictures through ChatGPT to get such an image. Both my partner and I were extremely put off by this for a couple reasons. For one, we were not told or asked beforehand if we wanted our images rendered by AI. Clarity on such practices should be foundational to a business's use of them, especially when customers' images are going to be entered into open large language models like ChatGPT - if the aquarium continues to wish to utilize AI in their business practices in this way, they should at the bare minimum allow for customers to opt out of their images being submitted to open-LLMs as it is inherently a privacy violation. My other concern with the aquarium's use of AI is that it feels entirely contradictory to their declarations of commitment to sustainability and environmentalism. At this point, there is widespread concern about the environmental sustainability of AI data centers and the amount of clean water that they use is already having detrimental environmental consequences. So while the aquarium as an entire floor dedicated to sharing information about the disastrous impacts of human-made climate change, it feels incredibly performative while they actively participate in systems that are exacerbating negative environmental damage. It is so easy to simply not use AI in this way, even easier to allow your customers the choice to opt out of its use, and easier still to just tell customers before they stand for photos that their images will be run through an open-LLM so that they are at the very least aware. I am not usually one to review businesses, but this is information I wish I'd had before going and definitely before having my picture taken. Additionally, the aquarium itself is very small, the signage isn't very good, and the elevators are very very slow. Overall, a pretty disheartening and disappointing experience. Maybe the California Academy of Science is better!

What an amazingly creative atmosphere! It's a tiny shop filled with magical little things to…read moreinspire creativity of kids and adults alike. All proceeds go to their tutoring program. Definitely stop by and make a purchase or donation and enjoy the woodland vibe. They have a seed bank too!

After our mini golf, delicious food and drinks adventure, we ventured out into the nearby…read moreneighborhood. Our second stop was supposed to be SomiSomi located just steps away from Spark Social, but it isn't open yet. Bummer. But then we saw 826 Valencia - Mission Bay Center Woodland Creature Outfitters, and we both were excited to check it out. We felt the magic as soon as we entered. This place looks like it was built for forest nymphs, magic creatures, and those who believes. Lots of interesting cool products, mix with things you may find from magic potion shops, and artsy workshops. We also learned that this organization is a writing center that serves under-resourced students. And this center is also part of a long-term redevelopment plan for this neighborhood to integrate low-income housing into market-rate housing to become one of San Francisco's most thoughtfully integrated neighborhoods/communities.

Honestly the most amazing playground we've ever been to! They have 2 playgrounds with an area to…read moredig, lots of things to climb on, a historic merry-go-round and even a cafe! Even mama had fun on their huge concrete slides! Bring your own cardboard box cut to fit the length of your body for a smooth ride or grab one from the floor below and get ready for a thrill ride! Carousel tickets are just $1 for kids and $2 for adults, hubby and our eldest enjoyed this classic ride! I would HIGHLY recommend this fantastic park, you could easily spend the whole day here! After visiting our country's oldest playground, take a romantic stroll through the San Francisco Botanical Garden or Japanese Tea Garden and then peddle boat at Blue Heron Lake! And if you love checking out historic landmarks like I do, there are several here!! We'll definitely be back to explore more, we are especially excited to take our kids to the California Academy of Sciences!! SYOY! :-)

Strange park ..overlooking and walking around secret passages and walkways ..open most days…read more..slides and jungle gym..wave structure with turtle ..hang glide to try ..I fit ..walking up the hill hiking ..views ..

Cute little playground right by city hall. What's nice is that it's completely enclosed, although…read morethe enclosure isn't very tall. There are various types of swings, some with harness. There are tunnels and climbing structures, and a tall slide. There's also several benches for parents to sit. What I didn't find were homeless folks taking up the benches. The equipment looked modern and the kids really enjoyed it.

Beautiful park right in front of the beautiful San Francisco City Hall!…read more The fixtures are relatively new and on a pleasant afternoon, this park really shines. There are plenty of clean benches to rest on, a huge slide for the kids to ride down but only after climbing through the multi-layered rope structure, water fountains for hydration, swings for the younger crowd, and artificial turf and wooden steps for the leaping frogs. The whole park is secured with gate and at the time when we attended, there were security personnel at the entrance of the park. After a nice time in the city, this was a nice spot to exert any additional energy before the long ride home.