Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, CA 94105

A fairly low-key museum that highlights the art of cartooning. On display are still and animated cartoons. Founded in 1984, the museum is the only place on the West Coast that's dedicated to preserving cartoons in their original form.

Its 12,000 piece permanent collection includes a sampling of Dennis the Menace, Charlie Brown, and Bugs Bunny. This is probably best for kids who are true cartoon buffs; not dynamic enough for the casual observer.

Cartooning classes: The Cartoon Art Museum offers Saturday afternoon cartooning classes from 1pm to 3pm at least once per month. Students learn fundamental aspects of cartooning such as character design, the language of cartooning and storytelling through use of techniques from comic books, comic strips, and animation.

These classes are recommended for cartoonists from the agesof eight to 14, and are $5 per child with paid admission. No reservations are required, but please be advised that the class size is limited to approximately 20 students per week. For more information, contact Gallery Manager Andrew Farago at 415.227.8666, ex 314 or via e-mail: gallery@cartoonart.org.

Cartoon Boot Camp Cartoonist Brian Kolm leads a series of weeklong summer camps for children, ages ten to 14. The camp follows the process of creation from initial concept to final character design - including character creation, rendering of 3-D objects, perspective, layout, and creating a unique personality for characters. Please contact Summerlea Kashar at office@cartoonart.org for more information.