Zeum Museum is awesome...

Zeum Museum is awesome. In fact, it's awesome even before you go into the museum. Just outside there's a fantastic old fashioned carousel enclosed in glass. What kids can resist spinning around on those magical horses from yesteryear. It's like being in Mary Poppins.

Now, inside the Zeum is the opposite of the carousel. This a museum of modern art and technology for kids and their parents - an amazing place to expand your brain and your potential. We spent hours there and only experienced about half of what they offer.

Here's what we did:

1. Played with this supercool interactive maze that is actually a projection on the floor. No idea how it works but it was amazing.

2. Learned about "green screen" technology by acting out scenes in costumes in front green screen and playing back the clip with the superimposed backdrop. My son loved reinacting the fire scene in which he rescues his trapped sister from a blazing fire.

3. Created plastercine characters and then created a stop motion film. Fab for the family as each of us made our little people blobs, the kids dreamnt up the blob storyline and of course, the hubby directed.

4. Made masks from paperbags. Actually my daughter turned hers into a crown but it kept her busy for half an hour.

Alcatraz was amazing...

Alcatraz was amazing. How could visiting the worlds most "legendary prison" be anything but? Experiencing this old jail was thrilling for my son who had just finished reading about the great escape from Alcatraz.

The whole experience was enjoyable and educational for all four of us - even my five year old daughter. Taking the boat to the island was cool (and cold). We were immersed in a huge clouds of fog and suddenly the jail pops into view. The tour includes headsets with stories and sounds from back in the day. The narrator guides you through the rooms and really brings history to life. At one point my daughter Jessie was sure she saw real blood on the cement. (It was rust!), but the experience was that vivid for her.

Being able to walk into A REAL JAIL CELL and see what happened to "bad people" is probably a good lesson for my kids. Stay in school kids or you could end up here...On the way out in the mandatory Alacatraz Gift Shop, one of the original inmates was actually there hawking his book! He wasn't very nice, but my hubby bought his book anyway.

The kids loved Russian Hill...

Next we visited Russian Hill, a visitor-friendly neighbourhood that provides fabulous views from its perch on high. Within it is the 'Crookedest Street' in the world (Lombard Street). According to our cab driver, it is so steep that in order for horse and buggies not to slide down the hill in the "olden days", they created this tiny S shaped road to cope with the incline. Today tourists line up to walk up and down this little paved street. We saw footage of it on American Idol today and my kids screamed with recognition. My little world travellers!

P.S. If you are taking public transportation, the center of Russian Hill is accessible by the Hyde-Powell cable car and two Muni buses, the 41 (weekday rush hour only) and the 45.

Proverbs from around the world...

A child learns quicker to talk than to be silent. (Norwegian)

Every mother's child is handsome. (German)

Better have many children than many riches. (Vietnamese)

Children and fools speak the truth. (English)

The child of a snake is also a snake. (African)

Small children eat porridge,
Big ones eat their parents' hearts. (Czech)