Taking the Kids: Making time for smaller museums
Let's play! In one room the kids are busy making creatures out of clay and then seeing them come to life in a Claymation movie they create with a computer program and different backdrops; in another, they're performing in music videos.
They are working at a LEGO wall and making their faces look silly with Photoshop.
"This doesn't feel like a museum," said Ilan Bachmann, 11. "It's like a big indoor playground."
Welcome to the Children’s Creativity Museum in downtown San Francisco right at Yerba Buena Gardens, which is unlike any children's museum I've ever seen. For one thing, it appeals to all ages. "I love it here," said Rena Victoria, 16, who was busy meeting a challenge, creating something only with the ingredients in a Mystery Box in the Innovation Lab.
"I like how no one has to tell you what to do," said Nyxa Aquina-Thomas, 11. "You let your imagination go free and no one tells you don't touch!"
Sure San Francisco has lots of wonderful museums -- the hands-on Exploratorium (read what I wrote about a recent visit here) and the California Academy of Sciences, among them -- that are always packed with families. But I realized when I stopped at the Children's Creativity Museum near where I was staying, how much fun a visit to a smaller museum can be for visiting families.
You're bound to meet local families. You may learn something about the culture and traditions of the city you are visiting. You won't feel guilty if you duck out after an hour -- if you can get the kids to leave.
Maybe you have one last weekend -- or week -- before the kids start school. Maybe friends or relatives are visiting -- or maybe you're visiting them. Take the time to explore some museums and attractions, based on the kids' interests -- cars, arts, local history, science and math -- and the neighborhoods that surround them. Sign on for a special workshop.
Here are some of my favorites across the country:
In New York, don't miss the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side, the place to learn about the history not only of this neighborhood, but of the pivotal role it has played -- and continues to play -- in New York City's immigrant history. The museum tells the stories of the people who have lived and worked at 97 Orchard Street where the museum is located from the time it was built in 1863. Over the years, it was home to nearly 7,000 immigrants -- Germans, Irish, Italians and Irish among them. Another hit with visiting families is the interactive The Museum of Mathematics.
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