Note: We check the websites listed here periodically to make sure they are up to date. Sometimes, the information changes without us being aware. If you discover a link that doesn't work or information that has significantly changed, please let us know! If you have suggestions or recommendations about a resource, we'd like to hear about them too!
Learning Opportunities around SF Bay Area
Whether your family seeks more science, art, music, technology, math, or language arts to enhance your child's educational experience, you will find a rich variety of suggestions and support at Horizons Home Study. We celebrate learning, and offer diverse lesson connections for our enrolled families.
Posting: 3/18/20, Updated 3/27/20
We highly recommend that all individuals and families to check with and adhere to city and county orders regarding guidance about traveling in public.
Contra Costa County Library System (CCCLib)
The Discover & Go program, available through CCCLib, offers families the opportunity to check out passes to several museums and educational attractions located in the SF Bay Area. Many of these passes allow adults and children either free admission or discounted entry, subject to availability by reservation. We suggest families to explore what this program offers, using the link below, and save some expense at the same time.
Virtual Field Trips List
During any season of the year, students and families can virtually visit museums and attractions located throughout the world. Some links on this list direct you to a YouTube video. Some links direct you to a museum, institution, or attraction that allows a 360-degree view of the venue.
Disclaimer: the Google Docs (links below) were not created by us or by MDUSD. While we have tested most of the links, it is still a good idea for parents to review all sites before students use them, just to be sure that everything is as it should be.
Museum and Attractions around the SF Bay Area
Families, if you choose to make your own family field trip to one or more of the places listed below, we suggest that you please contact museums and venues for updates about hours of operation, location, and admission prices, if any. Please let us know about any errors or out-of-date information due to changes by the venue.
Asian Art Museum
Free - first Sunday of every month, $5 after 5 pm every Thursday
Autodesk Gallery
Free – always
Bay Area Discovery Museum
Free - first Wednesday of every month
Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive
Free - first Thursday of every month
Cable Car Museum
Free – always
California Academy of Sciences
Free - check calendar, SF resident days vary (check calendar)
Cantor Arts Center
Free – always
Cartoon Art Museum
Pay What You Wish – (temporarily closed for relocation)
Chabot Space & Science Center
Free - first full weekend of every month for Bank of America Card Holders, $5 after 5 pm select Fridays, see calendar
Children's Creativity Museum
Free - check calendar
Chinese Historical Society of America
Free – always
Conservatory of Flowers
Free - first Tuesday of every month
Contemporary Jewish Museum
Free - first Tuesday of every month, check calendar, first full weekend of every month for Bank of America Card Holders
$5 - after 5 pm every Thursday.
de Young Museum
Free - first Tuesday of every month, first full weekend of every month for Bank of America Card Holders
Exploratorium
Free - check calendar
GLBT Historical Society
Free - first Wednesday of every month
Japanese Tea Garden San Francisco
Free - every Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9-10 am
LACIS Museum of Lace and Textiles
Free – always
Legion of Honor
Free - first Tuesday of every month,
& first full weekend of every month for Bank of America Card Holders
Musee Mecanique
Free – always
Museo ItaloAmericano
Free – always
Museum of the African Diaspora
Free - check calendar
Museum of American Heritage
Free – always
Museum of Anthropology
Free – (closed until 2017 for renovations)
Museum of Craft and Design
Free - first Tuesday of every month
Museum of Performance and Design
Free – always
Oakland Museum of California
Free - first Sunday of every month, ages 18 & under every Friday 5-9 pm
Half Price - every Friday 5-9 pm.
Randall Museum
Free – always
San Francisco Art Institute
Free – always
San Francisco Botanical Garden
Free - every morning 7:30-9 am,
second Tuesday of every month, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years
San Francisco Fire Department Museum
Free – always
SF Camerawork
Free – always
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Free - always 18 & under
SFO Museum
Free – always
San Francisco Railway Museum
Free – always
San Francisco Zoo
Free - check calendar (residents only)
San Jose Museum of Art
Free - check calendar, first full weekend of every month for Bank of America Card Holders
$5 - after 5 pm third Thursday of every month
San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art
Free – always
San Mateo County History Museum
Free - first Friday of every month
Tech Museum of Innovation
Free - first full weekend of every month for Bank of America Card Holders
Half Price - last hour of every day
Third Thursdays in Yerba Buena
Free - third Thursday of every month, 5-10 pm,
Yerba Buena museums and neighborhood venues
Wells Fargo History Museum
Free – always
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
Free - first Tuesday of every month
