The Bay Model in Sausalito

Bay Model in Sausalito, a photo by mehunt on Flickr.

At first sight, the San Francisco Bay Model is utterly overwhelming.

Standing on the observation platform, above the acre-and-a-half scale reconstruction of the Bay Area's waterways, you can scan from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta across San Pablo Bay to the Pacific Ocean. As you descend the ramps to walk closer to the edge of the waterways, you can examine the Port of Oakland and Alameda, or gaze across the Marin Headlands, the Golden Gate and beyond.

This fascinating and unique facility is one of the Bay Area's best open secrets - a remarkable tool that enables visitors to visualize and put the ecology of the bay's watershed into context. It's a terrific way to educate kids about the effects humans can have on our natural water systems. Best of all, it's free...

San Francisco Bay Model, Sausalito on SFGate.

Picklewater Free Circus Festival in Union Square

If you're the kind of kid, big or small, who can't walk past a street circus without stopping, then you might want to amble by Union Square for an afternoon of clowning and acrobatics, as Union Square Live presents the Picklewater Free Circus Festival, a month of free Sunday shows. "There are not a lot of low-cost options for entertainment for families out there," saysAbraham Dover, the founder and producer of the festival, who also clowns himself. "And this is a free afternoon of professional-quality circus entertainment."

 Picklewater Free Circus on SFGate.com