Kids will never be bored in San Francisco with the dozens of activities and attractions in the city throughout the year. You'll find so many interesting and exciting places to take your children that you'll probably have a difficult time deciding what to do. Whether you want to enjoy the outdoors or prefer to stay inside, San Francisco has something to offer kids of all ages.
Animal Attractions
Take your kids on a trip to the San Francisco Zoo, where you'll see hundreds of species of animals. The zoo also a petting zoo, spring and summer zoo camps, a miniature train that takes you around the zoo and a carousel.
The Steinhard Aquarium, part of the California Academy of Sciences, is home to nearly 40,000 animals from all over the world. Exhibits include the Phillippine Coral Reef Gallery, where you'll see aquatic life from the Philippines' coral reefs and mangroves in 212,000 gallons of water; a 100,000-gallon Northern California Coast Gallery with sea life from the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary; five- to 5,000-gallon tanks in the Water Planet Gallery with changing exhibits; as well as Rainforest, African and Swamp galleries.
In the waterfront Aquarium by the Bay, kids will see all the differnt animals that live in the San Francisco Bay, including rays, sharks and jellyfish.
Discovering Science
Children of all ages will enjoy discovering all aspects of science through hands-on exhibits in the Exploratorium. Located in the Palace of Fine Arts, one of the Exploratorium’s main attraction is the “Tactile Dome,” where kids learn about the sense of touch in total darkness.
See exhibits about evolution of life on earth and the maintenance of life on earth in the Academy of Sciences’ Kimball Natural History Museum, featuring exhibits on Africa's ecosystems, the islands of Madagascar and the Galapagos, the dangerous effects of climate change, and recent scientific discoveries. The museum also has a Foucault pendulum, which shows kids proof of the Earth's rotation.
Don’t forget to take the kids to the Morrison Planetarium, also in the Academy of Sciences and where kids can watch shows about space and the universe in the largest all-digital dome in the world.
Recreation
Ride a ferry with your kids to Angel Island State Park, where you can rent bikes, go on a tram tour, enjoy a picnic, see wildlife, walk on trails, and go fishing and swimming.
Give your kids the chance to run around and play in Golden Gate Park’s Children's Playground. The playground features different play areas including TreehouseVillage, Adventure Play Yard, Hidden Hollow, and a carousel that was originally made in 1912.
See San Francisco with your kids on a guided bike tour of the city. Tours with guides such as Bay City Bike, Blazing Saddles and Bike and Roll will take you to places such as FortMason, the Palace of Fine Arts, Presidio National Park, Fort Point , the Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito.
When the sun is out, take the kids to any of San Francisco’s beaches to build sandcastles and enjoy other activities. The largest beach in the city, Ocean Beach, is a place where kids can play in the sand or take the dog for a walk. Kids can swim and learn how to windsurf in the beach in Crissy Field. China Beach has picnic areas and shallow waters where kids can play. Children can fly a kite, swim and surf in Baker Beach and go picnicking and swimming in Stinson Beach.
For indoor recreation, join your kids on the ice in the Yerba Buena Ice Skating and Bowling Center, the city’s only year-round ice skating rink. Kids can take figure skating and hockey skating classes and kids and adults can take skating lessons.
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