fun things to do with kids in san francisco california    
  Travel for Kids
  | California | San Francisco
     
   

San Francisco - South of Market St.

Yerba Buena Gardens
 

Yerba Buena Gardens – Yerba Buena Gardens has something for kids of all ages, summer or winter, indoors or outdoors.

    Zeum Zeum art and technology center has hands-on fun for children of all ages. In the Animator's Studio, create your claymation animations (like Wallace and Gromit) and turn them into flipbooks, or design and build your own toy in the Toyz exhibit. Run around the "Metafield Maze" or produce your own movies. Click here for more info.
Yerba Buena Gardens
    Children's Garden – In the Children's Garden, relax in the playground with a climbing structure, slippery slides and tubular slides, a sandbox (with water for your sand creations), a pint-sized hedge maze, and water to play in (don't drink it). Check out the big rubber balls for fun.
      Ice Skating Center and Bowling Center – Older kids will want to try ice skating (year round), or go bowling. The 12 lane Bowling Center has kid-size bowling balls, and bowling classes.
      Historic Carousel – This carousel came from Playland-at-the Beach, an early 20th century amusement park at Ocean Beach. The horses on the carousel have been beautifully restored, down to the horse hair tails on the horses. Fun for the little ones.
Yerba Buena Gardens
    Martin Luther King Jr. Waterfall – On a warm day, this waterfall is a wonderful place to play. Dabble little fingers in the water, trace the water flow from the upper pool, down a series of "cataracts" into the lower pool. Go behind the waterfall several times (you might get a little wet). Next to the waterfall is the Esplanade, a wide grassy area to run around. Bring a picnic and sit out in the sun like lizards.
SF MOMA
  SF Museum of Modern Art – This museum is architecturally fun (be sure to go all the way up to the top floor) and has art works that will appeal to kids. Inside the museum, look for Display Cakes by Wayne Thiebaud, Noel in the Kitchen by Joan Brown, and a magical "box" by Joseph Cornell, entitled Pink Palace. Don't miss the cool corrugated cardboard chair by Frank Gehry or Multiple Grotto by Olafur Eliasson, a sculpture that's like walking into the inside of a stainless steel kaleidoscope. The museum bookstore has an excellent selection of kid's books on art and artists. (Tip: Use your San Francisco CityPass.)
    Afternoon Tea at the Palace Hotel – The Palace Hotel, was the place to stay in San Francisco, until it burned down in the 1906 earthquake. It was rebuilt in 1909, and today, you can experience the gilded age in the Garden Court. Take afternoon tea amidst the potted palms, under a lovely skylight. Tea is served Wed.– Sat., a "prince and princess tea" for kids. Call for reservations.