Young creativity is blossoming inside this space-age glass and metal cone. The Children's Creativity Museum is the place for budding kid and teen artists to hone their skills while also discovering new ones. Visual, media and performing artists are always on hand to interact with the museum's visitors. Children are encouraged to help with projects, including stop-motion animation, digital photography, and the cutting-edge, new media form of web casting. Do not miss the Charles Loof carousel (circa 1906); its hand-carved wooden animals have been restored to their original baroque perfection. There is also a theater on the premises used for various performances of different genres that stem outside the children's genre. This place is wonderful fun for the whole family.
San Francisco Railway Museum embodies San Francisco's transportation history with everything from a reconstructed portion of a Market St. Railway Co. 100-class street-car to cable car note cards designed by local artists. Enjoy pictures of the famous ferry-building street-car loop, fare boxes and a Wiley birdcage traffic signal, which allows attendees to see how intersections were patrolled over 100 years ago. Striving to be an interactive museum, knowledgeable docents give talks and answer questions while a resourceful database with an audio & video touch screen is on hand to further educate. If the J-street cars or Powell street trolley cars have always been of interest to you, then enter this museum, which explains their evolution and continues to pave their future.
Founded in the year 1976, Treasure Island Museum was originally housed in a time-honored Art Deco building which dates back to the year 1938. The U.S Navy got hold of Treasure Island in the year 1941 during World War II and used it as their administrative center. Originally, the museum exhibited items related to the Marine Corps arm of the country's armed forces. Gradually, it started displaying objects which portrayed the eventful past of the island, including exhibits related to the Yerba Buena isle, Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate International Exposition. A small gallery in Building One's base level chronicles the island's history and evolution.
Run by the SF Recreation Department, this is a children's' museum that provides an array of activities and entertainment. In addition to numerous nature, science, and art exhibits, Randall Museum features an animal room with birds, lizards, snakes, mice, an owl, as well as an operating see-through bee-hive, and a petting area. Topics covered at the weekly education and workshop series for adults and children range from jewelry-making to model trains. On Saturdays it offers one-day classes that start at 1p, for children of all ages.
A spectacular museum narrating ship building history is located at the Mare Island Historic Park Foundation. This a great place to get acquainted with naval history.
The Mount Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway was a beautiful tourist railway established in 1896, which became famous for its gravity cars. The gravity cars carried 30 passengers and transported tourists from East Peak to Mill Valley in the region. While the carriages were discontinued after 1929, the Gravity Car Barn Museum remains witness to their glorious past. The museum is home to a variety of fascinating artifacts like old train tickets, menus, and other memorabilia. An interesting documentary narrates the story of the gravity cars and informative displays lead visitors through their development. The museum also displays a well-preserved gravity car.