de Young Museum254

Founded in 1895 in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the deYoung Museum has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city for over 100 years.

In October 2005, the de Young reopened in a state-of-the-art new building that showcases the museum's collections of American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries, art from Central and South America, and from the Pacific and Africa, as well as a diverse collection of textiles.

The museum's features targeted toward young ones include the Kimball Education Gallery - with multi-media installations related to the collections, the Artist Studio Program which features artists whose projects involve active participation of visitors of all ages, two outdoor sculpture gardens which are great for kids, a family audio tour, family tours of the galleries, and hands-on workshops.

The de Young Museum hosts a free, drop-in family program Doing & Viewing Art (for ages 4-12) on most Saturdays from 10:30am-12n. Family tours are followed by related hands-on art projects led by professional artists. Children under 8 years old must be accompanied by an adult.

The museum also offers a series of after-school classes for children in 1st through 8th grade. Art After School offers an in-depth exploration of world cultures through the museum's extensive collections of art from Africa, Mesoamerica, Oceania and North America. There is a fee and reservations required. Each class includes two sessions.

The de Young offers summer art camps for children entering kindergarten to fifth grade. The five-day sessions run Monday through Friday. Classes include explorations of the museum's galleries, adventures in Golden Gate Park, and visual and performing art activities, as well as instruction by professional teaching artists. Classes take place in the de Young galleries, the Hamon Tower studio classrooms, and selected sites in Golden Gate Park. For more information, please e-mail email elewmorris@famsf.org or call 415.415.750.3658.