California Native Plant Society - Yerba Buena Chapter (CNPS YBC) welcomes its members and members of the general public for a special event celebrating Native Plants. Discover how to feed your ecosystem by using native plants in your garden. Demonstrations and activities explore how native plants support pollinators, reduce insect pests and encourage fungi and microbes that produce healthy soil. Native plant seed packets will be given to participants as long as supplies last.

What: Native Plant Day

California Native Plant Society - Yerba Buena Chapter (CNPS YBC) welcomes its members and members of the general public for a special event celebrating Native Plants.

When: 10am -  2pm, Saturday, January 13, 2024

Where: Randall Museum
199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA
Randall Museum is a facility of the SF Recreation & Park Dept.

Cost: FREE

Ages: All ages welcome; Best for ages 10 and older     

Public Info: (415) 554-9600 or www.randallmuseum.org

Join Susan Karasoff from the California Native Plant Society for a special presentation on Gardening to Feed Butterflies and Caterpillars. Local butterflies are charismatic examples of insects with a caterpillar phase. Discover good gardening practices to welcome these dynamic pollinators into your garden and learn about the native plants and caterpillars that make up the base of our food web.

Susan Karasoff gardens in San Francisco and is a member of the California Native Plant Society - Yerba Buena (San Francisco) chapter. She brings an an “only the easiest plants survive” approach to gardening. Susan grows a buffet of colorful native edible and pollinator plants, specifically gardening to feed caterpillars, bees, hummingbirds and people.

What: Gardening to Feed Butterflies and Caterpillars

Join Susan Karasoff from the California Native Plant Society for a special presentation on how to create a garden with native plants that attract and feed local butterflies and caterpillars.

When: 1pm, Saturday, January 13, 2024

Where: Randall Museum’s Theatre
199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA
Randall Museum is a facility of the SF Recreation & Park Dept.

Cost: FREE

Ages: All ages welcome; Best for ages 10 and older     

Public Info: (415) 554-9600 or www.randallmuseum.org

Food For Thought: Small Choices Big Changes, is a new interactive exhibition exploring how we think about food and what’s going on in the food cycle right here in the San Francisco Bay Area. The exhibition situates visitors at the center of the food cycle—of grow, shop, eat, and compost— helping them to identify what questions to ask at each stop along the way in order to work towards a food system that is better for their health and better for the health of the planet. Designed for visitors of all ages with hands-on activities, tips and information to make better choices about food every day, from packaging, storing, buying and composting, the exhibition aims to inspire communities to make small changes that can have a big impact.
 
“The new exhibit presents fun solutions to food-related issues that all of us can practice through small choices,” explains Marcus Wojtkowiak, Randall Museum Director. “Our visitors can explore produce from local growers, find out how to choose meals that benefit our bodies and the Earth, learn how to grow delicious plants at home, and discover ways to keep plastic waste out of our oceans. We’re hoping that kids and their families walk away with a better understanding of their connection to food and the food cycle, and how their choices can affect the natural world.”  
 
The Randall Museum is a science, nature, and art museum, as well as a facility of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. Its mission is to inspire creativity, curiosity, and a love of learning about the world around us. Its vision is to provide a hands-on community learning center with no entry fee where children and adults can explore STEM, nature, and the arts through engaging exhibits, activities, and classes. Its values are to promote learning, curiosity, creativity, fun, community, inclusivity, and sustainability. Open daily 10am to 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday, admission is free.
 
For further information about the Randall Museum, Food For Thought and its complementary programming, the public may call 415-554-9600 or visit the museum’s website at www.randallmuseum.org. 

CALENDAR LISTING: EXHIBITS/KIDS/FAMILIES

What: Food For Thought: Small Choices Big Changes
An interactive exhibition exploring new ways to think about food and what’s going on in the food cycle right here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Designed for visitors of all ages with tips and information to make better choices about food every day, from shopping, storing, eating  and composting, the exhibition aims to inspire small changes that can have a big impact.
 
When: On Display NOW During Regular Museum Hours: 10am – 5pm, Tuesdays - Saturdays
 
Where: Randall Museum
199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA
Randall Museum is a facility of the SF Recreation & Park Dept.

Ages: All ages
 
Cost: FREE
 
Info: 415-554-9600 or www.randallmuseum.org
 
Join the Randall Museum’s Birder-in-Residence on the first Friday of each month to explore the hill at Corona Heights and check out its avian residents and seasonal visitors. Birders will circle the hill to look into several habitats, each of which is enjoyed by different bird species. The east canyon, the south cliffs, the north forest, and the hilltop grasslands will all be explored. The walk is geared for beginning to intermediate birders, but all are welcome.
 
The walk lasts about 2 hours and includes several stairs and a steep path to climb. Meet in the Randall Museum’s parking lot at 8 am.
Registration opens two weeks prior to the event date (on the 15th of the preceding month at 9am) on the Golden Gate Audubon Society’s Field Trip List at  https://goldengateaudubon.org/field-trips-info/
 
What: Birding on the Hill
Join the Randall Museum’s Birder-in-Residence on the first Friday of each month to explore the hill at Corona Heights and check out its avian residents and seasonal visitors.
 
When: 8 am, Friday, January 5, 2024
 
Where: Meet in the Randall Museum’s Parking Lot
199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA
Randall Museum is a facility of the SF Recreation & Park Dept.
 
Cost: FREE
 
Ages: Best for ages 10 and older     
 
Register in Advance: at  https://goldengateaudubon.org/field-trips-info/
 
Public Info: (415) 554-9600 or www.randallmuseum.org

Stop by the Randall Museum on Saturday mornings to join in simple science exploration presented through hands-on activities. Kids and their families can explore a different science activity each week. Most classes produce a fun project to take home to continue the discoveries. Classes begin at 10:30 am. Participants are encouraged to arrive early to park and register at the front desk.
 
What: Saturday Science -  Simple Science Activities for Families
Stop by the Randall Museum to join in simple science exploration presented through hands-on activities. Most classes produce a fun project to take home to continue the discoveries. Please arrive 15 minutes early to park and register at the front desk, so class can start on time.
 
When: 10:30 am – 11:30 am, Saturdays in January 2024
 
Where: Randall Museum
199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA
Randall Museum is a facility of the SF Recreation & Park Dept.
 
Cost: $10 per parent-child combo; $5 for extra child
All children under 8 must be with a paying participating adult
 
Ages: 5-years and older with parental help
        
Public Info: (415) 554-9600 or www.randallmuseum.org
 
Venture into the Randall Museum’s live animal exhibit, Wild in California, and join one of the animal keepers in an open discussion about the museum’s wildlife residents. Learn how the keepers care for the animals and how and where these creatures live in the wild. Kids and families will meet some of the animals up-close and can ask the keeper questions to find out more about their favorites. Visitors might meet a snake, check out a desert scorpion, and maybe even touch a tortoise.
 
What: Meet The Animal Keeper – Live Animal Presentations
Learn about the animals that live at the Randall Museum with the people who care for them. Visitors might meet a snake, check out a desert scorpion, and maybe even touch a tortoise.
 
When: 11:30 am, Saturdays in January 2024    
          
Where: Randall Museum
199 Museum Way, San Francisco, CA
Randall Museum is a facility of the SF Recreation & Park Dept.
 
Cost: FREE
 
Public Info: (415) 554-9600 or www.randallmuseum.org
 
Drop by the Randall Museum’s Art Room and get creative with your kids. Art instructors guide a different hands-on art activity each week.
Afternoon Art is a great way to learn about the Randall Museum’s arts and crafts programs. Register at the front desk and drop in anytime before 3:30pm.
 
What: Afternoon Art - Saturday Drop-in Workshops for Families
Get creative with your kids! Join in a different hands-on art activity every week led by museum art instructors. Register at the front desk and drop in anytime before 3:30pm
                  
When: 1 pm – 4 pm, Saturdays in January 2024
   
Where: Randall Museum
199 Museum Way, SF CA
Randall Museum is a facility of the SF Recreation & Park Dept.
 
Cost: Drop-in $10 per parent-child combo; $5 for extra child
All children under 8 must be with a paying participating adult
 
Ages: Best for 5-years and older
        
Public Info: (415) 554-9600 or www.randallmuseum.org