Saturday stargazing at Lawrence Hall of Science

Saturday stargazing at Lawrence Hall of Science: "It's been 400 years since Galileo first pointed his telescope to the sky to look at the stars, and what better way to celebrate this International Year of Astronomy than by having a look at Jupiter, the planet that so mesmerized the great Italian astronomer.

The hills above UC Berkeley offer a fine vantage point for stargazing, and every first and third Saturday of the month, the Lawrence Hall of Science turns down the lights on the main plaza and sets up telescopes so astronomers amateur or professional can enjoy the heavenly show - a terrific opportunity to introduce kids to navigating the night sky and basic constellations."

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Experimental Exploratorium activates awe at 40

Experimental Exploratorium activates awe at 40: "A museum of ideas and playthings, of serious thinking and sheer aesthetics, of raucous shrieks of delight and quiet moments of discovery, the Exploratorium has striven to be more than just a typical science museum, to represent a culture of thinking differently - a place where art and science are not separate categories, but two sides of the same idea: comprehending the world around us.

Nowadays, it's nearly impossible to find a museum or educational institution that isn't employing the buzzwords 'interactivity' or 'hands-on.' But before Frank Oppenheimer opened the doors at the Exploratorium in the fall of 1969, museums were places with 'Do Not Touch' signs posted everywhere. Oppenheimer (the younger brother of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer) believed in learning by doing, in staying endlessly curious and in delighting in what the world had to offer, and much of the character of the Exploratorium is the thoroughly unpretentious character of the founder himself."

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'HallowScreen': Classic spooky Disney cartoons

'HallowScreen': Classic spooky Disney cartoons: "We're looking for the new Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio, and after driving around the Main Post, we spot a pleasant-looking guy waving at us from the porch of a red brick building, indistinguishable from the other red brick buildings next to it, save for the discreet white sign."

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96 Hours: Palo Alto Junior Museum

Founded in 1934 in the basement of the local elementary school, the Junior Museum has since grown into a beloved small gem in Palo Alto. The indoor museum area features rotating exhibits and lots of mechanical activities of the hands-on variety, showing how gears work or letting kids play with air bellows.

If you can pry kids away from the activities, out the back door is a small but highly appealing zoo with a bevy of critters that range from the tame (turtles, snakes and ducks) to the exotic (peacocks) to the wild (bobcats and a leopard shark). Many of the zoo's residents were carefully chosen as representatives of the local wildlife - an effort to foster understanding about the creatures that share the Bay Area with humans. It seems to be working: The kids cluster around the owl and ooh and ahh as it swivels its head 180 degrees. At a larger cage, visitors crane their necks to look at a red-tailed hawk while others brush past to see the fruit bats.

Read more on the SF Chronicle website.

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