Bay Area Discovery Museum
The Bay Area Discovery Museum is a children's museum located in Sausalito, California inside the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which is right at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. The museum's mission is "to transform research in early learning experience that inspire creative problem solving" so that children will gain skills to become the innovative problem solvers of tomorrow.
The museum is geared to children from 6 months to 10 years of age with different areas of the museum tailored to a specific age group. Children have the options of exploring the 6 different sections of the museum: Art Studios, Bay Hall, Discovery Hall, Lookout Cove, Tot Spot, and Fab Lab. Each area is designed in a way to support and further the mission of the museum and provides hands-on, child-directed exploration that ignites creative thinking, flexible problem-solving, and exciting discoveries. All Museum exhibitions, both indoor and outdoor areas, are hands-on and play focused. In fact, Bay Area Discovery Museum is the only children's museum in the country to be located inside a National Park.
Center for Childhood Creativity
The Bay Area Discovery Museum is also home to the Center for Childhood Creativity. The Bay Area Discovery Museum launched the Center for Childhood Creativity in 2011 to pioneer new research, thought-leadership, and teacher training programs that advance creative thinking in all children—extending its impact beyond the Museum. By partnering with academic institutions such as UC Berkeley and Stanford, the Center is able to present research in the latest childhood development research for a wide audience, including local parents who are interested in instilling creative practices in their young children. Throughout the year, the center hosts Creativity Talks and Creativity Forum, both venues to hear and engage with creativity and childhood development pioneers, with the latter being a fundraiser for the Center. The Center has recently rolled out new programs such as Parent PhD, workshops that engage parents with the latest childhood research surrounding topics such as "building creativity" and celebrating "failures" as learning experiences. The Center graciously hosts area teacher and childhood education professional for various classes and training throughout the year, in hopes of helping educators to integrate creative and fun learning methods into area classrooms.
Idea Lab and STEM intensives
The Museum is also reaching out to area classrooms with new STEM programming (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) for young learners. The goal of these programs is to build a strong relationship between the wide variety of STEM topics and fun experiential learning. These STEM-based Idea Labs are workshops aligned to Common Core Math and Next Generation Science Standards for Pre-K through 3rd grade. Idea Labs can be combined with a field trip to the Museum or hosted in your classroom. Facilitated by our dynamic team of Museum educators, Idea Labs provide a playful, hands-on exploration of science and math content. Students, teacher and parents all have a role to play in these active, exploratory workshops. Multi-sensory activities will encourage risk-taking, collaborative problem-solving and creative thinking.
Discovery it Yourself (D.I.Y.) field trips
The Museum also offers D.I.Y. (Discover it Yourself) field trips to the museum for area preschools and day cares. This is self-guided Museum exploration for groups of 3-8-year-old students and their important adults. D.I.Y. Field Trips provide timed entry and departure at a discounted rate for groups of 15-80 children plus chaperones. This option provides up to 2.5 hours at the Museum and the flexibility to explore the exhibits at your own pace. Every student will go home with a coupon for discounted admission for on a future Museum visit. D.I.Y. Field Trips are a great option for preschools, early elementary classrooms, and community organizations who are looking for a shared educational experience for their group.
Admission, hours of operation, and discount programs
The museum is open from Tuesday through Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Saturday and Sunday 9:00 am – 5:00pm. General admission for guests 1 to 64 years old is $13.95, guests 6–12 months and seniors age 65+ are $12.95 and with guests under 6 months admitted free. The Museum has free admission on the first Wednesday of each month, discounts for activity duty military families (Blue Star Museum), as well as for:
Automobile Association of America (AAA): $1 off per visitor, up to 5 people
Association of Children's Museums (ACM): Discounted admission to members of other children's museums may be available depending on your membership level - check your membership card for the ACM sticker.
Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC): The ASTC Passport Program gives members free general admission to over 300 institutions located outside a 90-mile radius of your residence.
California Alumni Association (CAA): $1 off per visitor, up to 5 people
KQED: $1 off per visitor, up to 5 people
UCSF: $1 off per visitor, up to 5 people
Bay Area Discovery Museum | eTips Inc.
