Family Days Out in San Francisco
A rainy-day museum and an outdoor sea lion dock cover most ages in San Francisco, and both sit close enough together to do in one day.
California Academy of Sciences and the Exploratorium
The Academy, in Golden Gate Park, packs the Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium and a four-story rainforest dome under one living roof, with African penguin feedings twice daily; check calacademy.org for that day’s dynamic ticket price before you go. The Exploratorium at Pier 15 runs over 650 hands-on exhibits on light, sound and perception, plus a separate-fee Tactile Dome for kids old enough to crawl through it in the dark. Reserve Exploratorium tickets on GetYourGuide to lock in a time slot before a full day of walking.
San Francisco Zoo, lemurs to penguins
The Zoo, at Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway, holds around 2,000 animals across 100 acres, including a lemur forest, an African savanna with giraffes and zebras, and a Magellanic penguin colony. The elephants left for a sanctuary in 2004 and 2005. Admission runs $29 adult and $22 child (sfzoo.org has current hours); inside the park gates, the 1921 Dentzel carousel is a small extra charge and the historic Little Puffer steam train still runs its loop.
Children’s Creativity Museum
At Yerba Buena Gardens, this hands-on museum for ages 2 to 12 runs a claymation studio and a music recording booth, with the 1906 hand-carved LeRoy King Carousel turning in the outdoor garden for $20 general admission.
Golden Gate Park’s free playground
The Koret Children’s Quarter, dating to 1888, is one of the oldest public playgrounds in the country: concrete slides you ride down on a flattened cardboard box, and a 1914 carousel for $2 a rider. Park entry itself is free.
Pier 39’s wild residents
The sea lion colony at K-Dock has occupied the marina since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, with numbers swinging from a few hundred to over a thousand depending on the winter herring run. Viewing from the railing is free; the Sea Lion Center upstairs adds docent talks. Aquarium of the Bay, a few steps away, runs walk-through acrylic tunnels for $35 adult and $25 child.
The verdict
Pair one indoor, timed-ticket morning with one free, outdoor afternoon and most kids will still have energy left over. For an itinerary that strings several of these together, see the multi-day trips guide .
Before you go
Pack a real jacket, not just a sweater: San Francisco’s coldest, windiest months are June through August, the opposite of what most visitors expect from a California summer.