museums

Bay seniors concerned that their primary grade grandchildren may be falling behind the tech moguls of tomorrow might want to schedule a visit to Curiodyssey at Coyote Point in San Mateo. Their current exhibit “Backyard Science” is set up in the gardens and includes a giant ear with ambient sound tubes, a “superhuman” vision device […]

Bay seniors, despite lingering pacifist sentiments, might appreciate modest displays of military might in local July Fourth celebrations. In Novato parade organizers traditionally include tanks from the WW II US Military Museum in San Rafael. The collection there spans 65 vehicles including a gun motor carriage as well as historic bunkers, uniforms and equipment. No […]

Bay Area seniors who avoid the twee charms of Carmel might reconsider their attitude with a visit to Tor. Here on a rocky Pacific outcropping is where Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) the Big Sur poet who was so celebrated in his time (the 20‘s and 30’s) that he made the cover of Time Magazine, built his fantasy […]

Bay Area fans of classic California photography are advised to visit the current exhibition at the Monterey Museum of Art. No cheesy seascapes here.  Ansel Adams and Edward Weston’s mastery of the medium is well-represented in a show that runs until next January. There is a permanent collection strong on early California painting (from 1875) […]

Bay seniors who thought they wouldn’t be wandering the galleries of the Met, the Uffizzi or the Hermitage anytime soon, may now go there right now. You’ll find 17 world-class museums at the Google Art Project. Visiting hours are 24/7. There is no admission fee. There is no irksome audio tape telling you you are […]

Anyone who’s visited Cairo has to be alarmed and heartbroken to read of looting at their extraordinary National Museum. Get just a wisp of a hint of those treasures in the current show at UC Berkeley’s Museum of Anthropology. “The Conservator’s Art: Preserving Egypt’s Past”  demonstrates modern day technologies including CT scans that are used […]

A very special gift for your grandkids (ages 6-17) is a private sleepover at the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. It’s for you, too, as adult chaperones are required. Included are personal tours of the Swamp and the Aquarium, a Planetarium show, free parking, late night snacks, story time, breakfast and next day […]

Bundle up the grandkids and take them on one of the geezer’s holiday favorite jaunts – the glittering hourlong evening train ride in Niles Canyon. Every year the historic trains (part of the first Transcontinental Railway built in the 1860’s) are festooned with hundreds of colored lights – it’s more magical than anything concocted by […]