Read this review/guide before you go to the Randall Museum in San Francisco so you know what to expect! This museum is definitely one of the most fun and free things to do in SF with kids!

Overview

 

We’ve mentioned this museum for best places to go on a rainy day and again in indoor places to have birthday parties, but it’s really that cool! What’s best? It’s FREE! The Randall Museum is run by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. There is a $1 suggested donation per person, so if you want to donate, don’t forget to bring cash.

Heads Up: When you walk in, if you didn’t bring your own train and you would think your kid would want to play, then make sure to rent a train it there. I didn’t feel like dragging Henry back up to the reception when we were already at the train tracks down below.

 

Parking & How to Get Here

 

The 37 bus takes you and drops you off at the top of the hill where Corona Heights Park is. From there, you walk down the hill and there are clear signs to lead you to the Museum – you can’t miss it. A 5 min walk tops, even with a toddler that likes to stop at every sight of sticks, rocks, and leaves. You could take other public transportation to Castro or the Haight, but you would be walking up a hill for about 15min or so.

There is a pretty good size parking lot, and when we went on a rainy weekday afternoon, there were plenty of spots. There’s also street parking close by.

Food Options

The Cafe Josephine offers things like local, organic, healthy foods including pastries, sandwiches, salads, and snack boxes in addition to coffee drinks and other beverages. Check out the menu and status of opening here.

What to Bring

Toy Trains

You can rent a toy train for $3 or you can bring your own train(s) from home to play with their train tracks!

Food and Drinks

There is a cafe on site, but just in case, bring your kids favorite snacks. You can’t eat at certain exhibits, but there are plenty of places at the museum to have a snack.

Change of Clothes

We didn’t see anything that would create a big mess, but bring a change of clothes just in case they might be offering an art class or activity!

Stroller/Carrier

The entire museum is basically stroller friendly. At the playroom, it’s best to leave the stroller outside, but besides that, bring your stroller!

Exhibits Highlights

There are more exhibits and what we listed here, but here are our favorites! (Henry is 3, just for reference.) For all of the exhibits – check out their website here.

Live Animals

 

When we were on the way to this museum, Henry was basically only excited because he knew there would be animals. We didn’t know there’s an indoor petting zoo with chickens, rabbits, and hamsters (?)! They had other cool animals like raccoons, snakes, turtles, and fish.

Time spent: About 15 minutes.

Play Room aka Toddler Tree House

 

This is a cute room. If you’ve been to the California Academy’s Curiosity Grove, it’s probably about ⅓ of the size of an area for kids to climb onto the “tree house” with a mural behind it. They also have activity cubes, little bench to sit and read or do puzzles. It’s intended for kids under 4 and although Henry (3) seemed to be having fun, I could tell he was growing out of the room soon.

Time spent: About 15 minutes, but longer if we were with Andrew (1 years old).

Train Exhibits

 

They have a pretty big train section! There is a train car you can ride, a miniature train town (kind of like Miniversum in Budapest), and a play train set! This is when we realized we could rent a train for $3. I didn’t want to walk all the way back up to reception, so that’s where I thought that it would be perfect to just bring your own. They said we could! Hurray!

Time spent: About 10 minutes, but longer if we had a train.

 

Lego Earthquake Exhibit

 

This was the highlight for Henry and me! Henry built a castle. He was so focused and had a lot of fun making it shake. There are three lego plates to work off of, and they were all taken up some of the time, but sometimes Henry was the only one playing. So on a busy day, I could see that kids would have to take turns fairly quickly, but on this rainy weekday, Henry got to play all he wanted.

Time Spent: About 30+ minutes.

Ocean Exhibit

 

This was the last exhibit before going back to the entrance and it was pretty cool! Throughout the museum, there are cards you can pull and learn about animals. Henry LOVED the sea lion skeleton.

Time Spent: About 10 minutes.

Classes & Camps

They have art classes for kids starting at 14 months. Science classes start at 3 years old. Summer camps are for kids 6+. For more information on their camps and classes – check out their website here.

Nearby

Corona Heights Park

Right at the top of the hill where the museum is located is the Corona Heights Park. It has hiking trails and an amazing view of the city.

Playground

Go down the ramp (it’s a little steep) from the parking lot of the museum and there are tennis courts and a playground. The playground is pretty basic – it has swings & slides for big kids and younger kids, and a sandbox. The entire playground is sand, so keep that in mind for what to wear.

Have you been to the Randall Museum? Tell us what you thought of it!