Rediscovering the Children's Discovery Museum in Sausalito

I wonder if in retrospect our disappointing trip to Happy Hollow was because our visit occurred on the same weekend that we rediscovered the Children's Discovery Museum in Sausalito, also called the Bay Area Discovery Museum. When Xander was a toddler I booked a lot of time at the Toddler Zone of the Children's Discovery Museum, but we haven't been back with two preschoolers.

Well, with two preschoolers (my oldest who is now too tall for the Toddler Zone) the Children's Discovery Museum is awesome.

On Sunday we went to a party for a little girl in Caleb's preschool class. If not for the party, I'm not sure if we would have made it there until early Fall. The cost of the Museum is less than Happy Hollow, and at least 10 times more fun.

We arrived at 12:30 pm, and participated in the pre-planned birthday party fun until 2 pm. Then we were on our own.

The playscape with a maritime theme was amazing for both parents and preschoolers alike. The remnants of a pirate ship, a boat, a rock quarry, and a tide pool, and a small Golden Gate bridge, all with a view of the real Golden Gate bridge -- spectacular.

Caleb would have been happy breaking rocks in the hot sun in the quarry, but we decided to explore the rest of the Museum. We took the boys to the Toddler Zone, but at 44 inches, Xander was too tall. Caleb and I went in for about 15 minutes, he liked it (it gave him an opportunity to be three, and not try to be four) but he grew tired of the maritime room and the desert room that Xander had once spent so much time in, and we headed to the other exhibits of the museum.

We met Xander in what other parents have dubbed the train room. Xander bypassed the train, and was fishing for big fish on the fishing boat. Caleb gasped when when he saw the giant train table, and was in heaven for a good hour. When Xander grew tired of fishing, and he wasn't ranking in the small society of train table officiendos either (all the engines were taken), I took him to the wave room.

Xander's favorite part of the museum was the wave room. You can press a button and make waves... you can also design a boat that will ride faster, farther and more aerodynamically on the waves. Xander loved this exhibit.

When it was time to go, we had no meltdowns. The boys loved their visit. There was enough time to explore everything, but the boys were never in sensory overload either. We heart the Children's Discovery Museum in Sausalito, and we will be back again soon.