by Terry Johnston
Few people remember it now, but back in the early 1920s on the rocky San Mateo knoll known as Coyote Point, there once stood an amusement park called Pacific City. Modeled after New York's Coney Island, the multi-million dollar tourist attraction featured a roller coaster, a large dance hall, and a sandy beach where flappers could romp in the waters of San Francisco Bay. Today Pacific City is long gone, a casualty of poor attendance and a fire that burned a quarter of it to the ground. But the land where it stood--with its stunning views of the bay, fragrant eucalyptus groves and an excellent environmental education museum--still is a great place to take kids with the summer doldrums.
Our own visit to Coyote Point Regional Park took place on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, just as the fog was burning off the bay. If you'd like to go yourself, start by packing a picnic lunch and some sweatshirts--the breeze can be chilly there. You'll find picnic tables just to the left of the park's main entrance, and a huge grassy field perfect for kicking around a soccer ball or throwing a Frisbee.
Nearby, there's a rocky beach and a popular playground area where my boys had great fun sliding down what looks like a great big concrete volcano (To save wear and tear on the jeans, take along some large pieces of thick cardboard for sledding.)
When your kids tire of this--and it may take a while--walk or drive up the hill to the Coyote Point Museum for Environmental Education. Near its entrance you'll have a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the international airport, just six miles to the north. Toddlers and anyone else who loves the roar of big jets will have a grand time just sitting there, watching the planes swoop down for a landing.
The best part of the day--for my boys, anyway--was spent exploring the museum's Wildlife Habitat, a two-acre zoological garden and aviary filled with badgers, otters, red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, common ravens, turkey vultures, great blue herons and a charismatic little rascal, Heckle the yellow-billed magpie. Though native to the Bay Area, all the animals are unreleaseable, meaning they wouldn't survive in the wild.
There's also a beautifully landscaped hummingbird and butterfly garden, as well as a kid-sized underground "squirrel burrow" where youngsters can see what life might be like from the ground up.
The interior of the museum features an 8,000-square-foot Environmental Hall that simulates a walk from San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Coast, passing through the Bay Area's six major ecosystems: redwood and broad leaf forests, grasslands, chaparral, baylands and coast. The whole place is nicely designed with ramps leading to several levels, making it perfect for strollers and wheelchairs.
Among the best exhibits at the museum are a working bee colony with an earpiece that lets youngsters hear the buzzing insects at work, and a 12-foot-tall fabric sculpture representing the number of rodents, snakes and other small critters that a red-tailed hawk must eat in a year in order to survive. There are also some sobering reminders about the impact humans are having on the planet, including a display on litter and a world population clock that never stops ticking.
The current special exhibit at the museum, Forest Puzzles, is an interactive science display created by the Oregon Museum of Science. Free with regular admission, it explains how varying conditions create different types of forests, and how different parts of a tree are important for different reasons.
Another special exhibit, "The Good, the Bad and the Buggy," will be on display Sept. 19 through Dec. 7. Its displays will teach kids about metamorphosis, aquatic insects, enormous insects, and the creatures that are good or bad for the garden, including butterflies in various stages, diving beetles, striders, dragonfly nymphs, tarantulas, black widows, preying mantises, lacewings, weevils and silkworms.
Throughout the year, the Coyote Point Museum also offers special programs for families, including evening programs for busy working parents. Reservations are strongly recommended.
August programs will include a concert of environmental tunes and magical music from 7:30 to 9 p.m. tonight, Aug. 1 ($6, ages 5 and up); an interactive puppet show on animal appetites from 2 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5 ($5, ages 4-7); a program on tidepool inhabitants from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13 ($5, ages 8-12); a mammal arts and crafts workshop from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21 ($5, ages 6-9), and a Forest Fun for Families program from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27 ($2, ages 5 and up).
Families also may be interested in a benefit "Get to the Point!" 5K/Walk/Run and festival from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, starting at the Marriott Hotel on Old Bayshore Boulevard and following the Bay Trail to Coyote Point Park. The post-race festival will feature live music, beverages and gourmet food donated by participating restaurants. Proceeds will benefit the museum's environmental education programs. To enter, call 342-7755, ext. 102.
Terry Johston's Kids Day Out column appears the first Friday of each month.
Information:To get to Coyote Park from the Palo Alto area, take Highway 101 north toward San Mateo, get off at the Dore Avenue exit, and follow the signs. Vehicle admission is $4 per car. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. (River otter feeding time is at 12:15 p.m. daily.) General admission is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and youth ages 13-17, and $1 for kids ages 4-12. The museum offers free admission to individuals on the first Wednesday of each month. For more information, call 342-7755.
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