The Bay Area boasts several options for getting up-close and personal with finned, furred and feathered friends.
The San Francisco Zoo (sfzoo.org) offers over 250 species of wildlife for your viewing pleasure, including rare endangered animals like black rhinoceros, snow leopards and condors. Located right on the Pacific Ocean, this beachfront zoo offers you the chance to visit animal friends in a stunning location.
Over the bridge in Oakland, the Oakland Zoo (oaklandzoo.org) is located in a 525-acre park and features over 660 native and exotic animal species. In addition to the zoo's featured African Savannah exhibit, the zoo's Rain Forest area was completed in 2001 and offers an opportunity to see tigers, anacondas and macaws in their natural habitat.
If you're looking to see some sleek sea life, there are several opportunities in the San Francisco area to do so.
The California Academy of Sciences (www.calacademy.org) is an unusual place to visit. Touted as the only museum in the world to combine a natural history museum, a planetarium, an aquarium and a world-class research facility; the Academy is conveniently located in lovely Golden Gate Park, so you can visit and then go do some exploring of your own.
If the finned crowd itself is more your thing, you'll want to check out the Aquarium of the Bay (www.aquariumofthebay.org). With hands-on experiences like the touch pool, where kids and adults alike can reach out and literally touch a shark; and 150-foot long tunnels where visitors can actually walk through 700,000 gallons of SF Bay seawater; the aquarium is sure to please those who long to interact.
The Bay Area's mild climate offers many advantages, one of which is the existence of several carousels. If your kids can't get enough of hopping aboard wood-carved steeds, take your own carousel tour and choose your favorites.
Just outside Zeum (a children's museum you may also wish to visit) sits the Yerba Buena Center's (yerbabuenagardens.com) carousel. Built in 1906, it went on its own tour for a bit -- spending time in Long Beach and Seattle before finally settling back in San Francisco.
The Pier 39 (pier39.com) Carousel just happens to be located near the Aquarium of the Bay, making it a cinch to check out after you're finished bonding with aquatic life. Dubbed the "San Francisco Carousel", this one features hand-painted scenes of San Francisco landmarks and nifty sealife steeds like seahorses and dolphins.
Golden Gate Park (sfrecpark.org) has its own carousel as well. Located adjacent to the Koret Children's Quarter playground, the carousel offers children a chance to sit down for a bit after they've fully exhausted themselves on the playground's climbing wall.
San Francisco's Exploratorium (exploratorium.edu) offers kids and adults alike a chance to enjoy hands-on science fun and learning. For wee ones who are at least 7 years old, check out the Tactile Dome, a pitch-black mazelike exhibit that insists you use senses other than sight to make your way through.
The Discovery Museum (baykidsmuseum.org) in nearby Sausalito is a favorite of younger children. Geared to those from crawling to age eight, this museum features a train area, a sea-life exploration area, a wealth of rotating special exhibits and an outdoor play area.
