Things to Do
Looking for something to do around the Bay and Beyond, try out some of the options below.
BOOKSTORE STORYTIMES
| Name | Day and Time | Location | Phone |
| Pottery Barn Kids Book Club: Kids of all ages are invited for a story time reading. Contact Debbie for more information. | Every Tuesday at 10 am |
415-927-3558 | |
| Barnes and Noble Children's Story time: Call for more information. | Every Wednesday & Saturday at 11 am | Corte Madera Store | 415-927-9016 |
| Book Passage: Story time with Christopher Smith | Every Sunday at 11 am | 51 Tamal Vista Blvd. Corte Madera |
927-0960 bookpassage.com |
FARMERS’ MARKETS
| Name | Day and Time | Location | Phone | Website |
| San Rafael's Downtown Farmers' Market Festival: The Downtown Farmers' Market Festival returns through September. Call or visit their website for more information. |
Every Thursday from 6 pm to 9 pm | Fourth Street in Downtown San Rafael | 415-492-8007 | sanrafaelmarket.org |
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San Rafael Civic Center Farmers Markets: Open year-round. Homemade goodies, crafts and fresh produce are just a part of the attraction. |
Every Sunday and Thursday 8 am to 1 pm |
Marin Civic Center, San Rafael (take the No. San Pedro Exit off Hwy 101) Website: |
marincounty |
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| Novato Farmers Market: Novato Farmers' Market returns through October 31. | Tuesdays from 4 pm to 8 pm | Grant Ave in downtown Novato | ||
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Farmers’ Market at Town Center Corte Madera: Open year-round. Farm fresh produce and delicious baked goods rain or shine. |
Wednesdays from noon until 5 pm | |||
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Fairfax Farmers' Market: Farm fresh produce and delicious baked goods
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Wednesdays from 4 pm – 8 pm | Bolinas Park in downtown Fairfax |
MUSIC / MUSEUMS / CLASSES / EXERCISE
| Name | Day and Time | Location | Phone | website |
| Bay Model: The Bay Model is a huge model of the bayarea, is a fun place to take your child or children to roam freely and point out different areas of the model with which they may be familiar. | 415-332-1851 |
spn.usace.army.mil/
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| Bay Area Discovery Museum: Hands on interactive museum for children infant to 10 yrs. | 415-339-3900 | baykidsmuseum.org | ||
| Busy Little Hands: An arts and crafts studio just for children! They offer arts and crafts workshops for children 20 months through age 11. In each workshop they use a variety of medias including sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, clay, and crafting with all the materials and equipment supplied by the studio. | 2201 Larkspur Landing Circle in Larkspur Landing Center (adjacent to Bed, Bath, & Beyond) | 415-461-2879 | busylittlehands.biz | |
| Marin History Museum | 1125 B Street, San Rafael | 415-454-8538 | marinhistory.org | |
| Studio Grow: An exciting, educational play space for children ages 0-6 and their families and caregivers. Drop-in any time or come Monday through Friday for a scheduled program | Berkeley | studiogrow.com | ||
| Studio4Art: Personal art instruction classes for children. | 415-596-5546 | studio4art.net | ||
| Wildcare: Free every day. Wildlife Ambassadors may be viewed in the courtyard every day. Visit their website for more information. | San Rafael | wildcaremarin.org | ||
| Fairfax Pavilion: Crawling - 4 years Playgroup, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Drop In Fee is $5/visit or pay $30 for a 10 visit punch card. | 142 Bolinas Rd, Fairfax | 415-453-5928 | ||
| Parents Place: The Parents Place Drop-in play center is a supervised play area for children Birth – 5 years and their caregivers. Call or visit their website for information. | 600 Fifth Ave (corner of Irwin), San Rafael | 415-491-7959 | Parents Place In Marin | |
| Train Town: Enjoy a ride on a miniature train, have a blast on an amusement park ride, explore the old train carts and feed the animals. A complete concession stand is available for snacks. | 20264 Broadway - Highway 12, Sonoma | 707-938-3912 | sonomatraintown.com | |
| Tree Frog Treks: Hold live rescued reptiles and amphibians like Buddy the Iguana and Ivan the Tortoise, examine amazing specimens like a musk ox head or giant emu legs, do hands-on science and art projects, and get out and get dirty while exploring nature. | 2112 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 | 415-876-3764 | treefrogtreks.com |
Museum Free Days - Admission is free on the following days:
Ongoing: Japanese Tea Garden, 1st & last half hour daily
First Tuesday of the month: Palace of the Legion of Honor, Conservatory of Flowers (Golden Gate Park), M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum
First Wednesday of the month: Asian Art Museum, The Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences, SF Aquarium, SF Zoo, de Young Museum
Second Sunday of each month: Oakland Museum
PUBLIC LIBRARY STORYTIMES
| Name | Day and Time | Location |
| Civic Center Library | Wednesdays, Ages 2-3 10:30 am – 10:50 am; Ages 3 and up 3:30 pm – 4 pm | 3501 Civic Center Drive # 427, San Rafael |
| Corte Madera Library | Wednesdays, Ages 3-6 11 am – 11:30 am | 707 Meadowsweet Drive, Corte Madera |
| Fairfax Library | Tuesdays and Saturdays, Ages 3 and up 11 – 11:30 am | 2097 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Fairfax |
| Larkspur Library | 9 am Toddler and Preschool Storytime | 400 Magnolia Ave Larkspur City Hall, First Floor |
| Marin City Library |
Wednesdays, Ages 3 and up 10:30 am – 11 am, 11 am – 11:30 and 3:30 pm – 4 pm
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164 Donahue Street, Marin City |
| Novato Library | Tuesdays, Ages 18-36 mos 10 am – 10:30 am Wednesdays, Ages 18-36 mos 10 am – 10:30 am; Ages 3 and up 11 am – 11:30 am Saturdays, Ages 3 and up 11 am – 11:30 am Spanish Language Story time: Saturdays, 10 am – 10:30 am |
1720 Novato Blvd, Novato |
| San Rafael Library |
Wednesdays, Ages 18–36 mos 10:30 am – 11 am Tuesdays, Ages 3-6 yrs 3:30 pm – 4 pm Thursdays, Ages 18–36 mos 10:30 am – 11 am |
1100 E St, San Rafael |
| South Novato Library | Wednesdays, Ages 3-5 11 am – 11:30 am | 6 Hamilton Landing, Suite 140A, Novato |
| Tiburon Library |
Mondays, Ages 2 and Under 10:30 am and 11 am; September 10 through November 26; registration required. Tuesdays, Ages 3-5 at 4 pm through April 29 Wednesdays, Ages 2-3 at 11 am through April 30; registration required Wednesdays, ages 7+ at 4 pm through April 30; registration required
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1501 Tiburon Blvd, Tiburon |
| Dial-A-Story | Listen to new stories each week on your telephone | Phone: 415-499-6051 |
PARKS AND RECREATION CENTERS
| Name | Location | Phone | Website |
| Marinwood Community Services District: Offer a wide variety of programs for participants of all ages. In addition to summer camps and aquaticprograms, they offer year-round classes for children, teens, adults and seniors. Visit their website below for more information and schedule of activities. | marinwood.org/ | ||
| McInnis Park Mini-Golf & Batting Cages: The McInnis Park Golf Center, boasts a 9 hole course, driving range, miniature golf, batting cages, clubhouse, pro shop and restaurant | 350 Smith Ranch Rd., San Rafael | 415-491-5995 | mcinnisparkgolfcenter.com/ |
| Muir Woods: Come explore this great forest. Meander along the hiking trails, and watch as your kids are amazed by the 1,000 year old, 260 foot high trees. | Mill Valley, CA | 415-388-2596 | visitmuirwoods.com/ |
| Samuel P. Taylor Park: Enjoy hiking on the network of hiking trails, walking, playing by the creek,etc. Picnic tables and bar-b-que pits through the park allow for meals. | 15 miles west of San Rafael on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. | 415-488-9897 | parks.ca.gov/?page_id=469 |
DAY TRIPS & ON-THE-ROAD STOPS
| Name | Day and Time | Location | Phone | Website |
| Audobon Canyon Ranch (Bolinas) | 415-868-9244 | egret.org | ||
| Mrs. Grossman's Stricker Factory (Petaluma) | mrsgrossmans.com | |||
| The Conservatory of Flowers (SF) | conservatoryofflowers.org | |||
| Six Flags Marine World (Vallejo) | sixflags.com | |||
| The Oakland Zoo | oaklandzoo.org | |||
| The San Francisco Zoo | sfzoo.org | |||
| Children’s Fairyland (Oakland) | fairyland.org | |||
| Coyote Point Museum (San Mateo) | coyoteptmuseum.org | |||
| The Monterey Bay Aquarium | mbayaq.org | |||
| The Nut Tree (Vacaville) | NutTreeUSA.com | |||
| The Hilltop Mall (Richmond) has a large indoor play area | ||||
| Jelly Belly Factory (Vacaville) | ||||
| Jelly Belly Factory (Vacaville) | ||||
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The Jungle Fun & Adventure (Concord & San Jose)
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thejunglefun.com | |||
| Safari Run (San Mateo) | safarirun.com | |||
| Waterworld (Concord) | waterworldcalifornia.com | |||
| Chuck-E-Cheese (Rohnert Park) | 601 Rohnert Park Expressway, Rohnert Park (in Expressway Center near Food for Less) | 707-586-1949 | ||
| Merlin's Magical Kingdom Kid's Playland (Novato) |
Round Table Pizza 1565 S. Novato Blvd., Novato |
415-897-2512 | ||
| Habitot Museum (Berkeley) | habitot.org/ | |||
| Redwood Valley Railway Co (Berkeley) | redwoodvalleyrailway.com/ | |||
| Steinhart Aquarium (SF) | calacademy.org/visit/ | |||
| The Exploratorium (SF) | exploratorium.edu/index.html | |||
| Western Aerospace Museum (Oakland) | westernaerospacemuseum.org/ | |||
| Scandia Family Fun Center (Rohnert Park): | scandiafunland.com/ | |||
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Toobtown (Rohnert Park) Info: Toobtown is an indoor playground for kids age 2-12, Admission prices to play in the indoor playground are $4.95 per child Sunday through Thursday and $6.95 per child Fridays and Saturdays. Socks are required to play in the playground. Adjacent to the playground is a snack bar as well as a restaurant called Paradise Pizza. |
open Sunday through Thursday from 10am - 8pm and Friday and Saturday from 10am - 9pm. | 6591 Commerce Blvd., Rohnert Park | 707-588-5810 |