Saturday is FREE museum day!

Some of my best childhood memories are of going to museums (thanks Mom and Dad!). I absolutely loved going to the California Academy of Sciences to see the albino alligator, two-headed snake and the San Francisco Earthquake machine. While I am really pleased with the new Cal Academy (especially the butterflies in the rain forest exhibit), I really miss that earthquake machine.

I think museums are great ways to spend time with your children and a wonderful way to expand their mind in a fun way. That's why I'm really excited about the Smithsonian Magazine's free museum day on Saturday, Sept. 26. For one day only, over 1,200 museums and cultural institutions across the country will celebrate culture by offering FREE admission.

You can visit http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/venue.html to find participating museums in your area.

Here's a list of places you can visit for free in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento:

Bedford Gallery - Walnut Creek
Blackhawk Museum - Danville
California Automobile Museum (formerly the Towe Auto Museum) - Sacramento
California State Military Museum and Resource Center - Sacramento
California State Railroad Museum - Sacramento
Cartoon Art Museum of California - San Francisco
Chabot Space & Science Center - Oakland
Contemporary Jewish Museum - San Francisco
Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education - San Mateo
Crocker Art Museum - Sacramento
Exploratorium - San Francisco
Explorit Science Center - Davis
Hiller Aviation Museum - San Carlos
Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles - Berkeley
Lindsay Wildlife Museum - Walnut Creek
Maidu Interpretive Center - Roseville
Museum of Craft and Folk Art - San Francisco
Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) - San Francisco
Point Arena Lighthouse - Station #496 - Point Arena
Sacramento Zoo - Sacramento
San Mateo County History Museum - Redwood City
SF Camerawork - San Francisco
Sonoma County Museum - Santa Rosa
Sonoma League for Historic Preservation - Sonoma
Sun Gallery, Hayward Area Forum of the Arts - Hayward
The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts - Sacramento
Zeum: San Francisco's Children's Museum - San Francisco

~ Nicole