Family Events 2017

Ongoing

Hands-on activities, participatory readings, performances, movie matinees and other events for children and their families. 

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  • Photo: Sally Mason

  • Photo: Grace Kang

  • Photo: Marisa Darabi

  • Upcoming
    Films
  • Upcoming
    Events
  • Selected
    Objects
  • Past
    Films
  • Past
    Events

Past Events

  • Saturday, December 9, 11:30–1:00 & 1:00–2:30

    Gallery + Studio: Letterform Experiments

    Get inspired by artworks in To the Letter, then explore language and letterforms by making mixed-media collages of your own.

    BAMPFA

    For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

  • Saturday, December 9, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: Dear Miss Karana by Eric Elliott

    Start reading this story of a girl who feels a special connection to the real-life heroine of Island of the Blue Dolphins, and pick up a free copy to keep reading at home.

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)

  • Saturday, November 11, 11:30–1:00 & 1:00–2:30

    Gallery + Studio: Explore ASL in Collage

    See how Martin Wong used American Sign Language in his paintings, then learn about this compelling visual language as you create your own art.

    BAMPFA

    For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

  • Saturday, November 11, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

    Get immersed in the gripping story of a young woman living by herself on a deserted island, and pick up a free copy to keep reading at home.

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)

  • Sunday, October 29, 11 AM–3 PM

    Fall Free Family Day

    Join us for a free day of art, music, and movies! Explore BAMPFA exhibitions, make your own art, groove to a performance by SoVoSó, and check out a screening of short films with a wild side.

    BAMPFA
  • Saturday, October 14, 11:30 AM–1 PM & 1–2:30 PM

    Gallery + Studio: Color Vibrations

    Explore the dreamlike spaces and layered colors in Miyoko Ito’s paintings, then experiment with color by painting designs of your own.

     

    BAMPFA

    For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

  • Saturday, October 14, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

    Read the beginning of this classic book about a widowed mouse and a group of extraordinary rats, and pick up a free copy to keep reading at home. 

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)

  • Saturday, September 9, 11:30 AM–1 PM & 1–2:30 PM

    Gallery + Studio: Automatic Drawing

    Enter into abstraction through an automatic drawing exercise inspired by Charles Howard’s enigmatic works.

    BAMPFA

    For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

  • Saturday, September 9, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan

    Read the beginning of this book about growing up and fitting in, and pick up a free copy to keep reading at home. 

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)

  • Saturday, July 8, 11:30 AM & 1 PM

    Family Fare: Enter the Otherworldly

    Get inspired by Charles Howard’s dreamlike paintings, then make your own surreal compositions.

    BAMPFA
  • Saturday, July 8, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

    Read the beginning of this graphic novel about sisters on a road trip from San Francisco to Colorado and pick up a copy to keep reading at home.

    BAMPFA
  • Saturday, June 10, 11:30 AM & 1 PM

    Family Fare: Vajra: Thunderbolt-Diamond Kid Power Object!

    Explore symbols of power in Indian paintings, then customize cut-paper models to suit your own special powers.

    BAMPFA
  • Saturday, June 10, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

    Read the beginning of this adventurous novel set in 1930s Florida and pick up a copy to keep reading at home.

    BAMPFA
  • Saturday, June 3, 1–5 PM

    Rainbow Afternoon: Drawing Workshops for Kids

    Create colorful drawings of rainbows in an artist-led workshop. Your art could be shown in BAMPFA’s Ugo Rondinone exhibition this summer!

    BAMPFA
  • Sunday, May 21, 11–3 PM

    Family Day: A Free Day of Art & Music

    Bring the family to join in a full day of art making, exhibition tours, and music with the Bug Family Band—all admission free!

    BAMPFA
  • Saturday, May 13, 11:30–1:00 & 1:00–2:30

    Family Fare: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

    Explore the history of the recycle symbol and become an ambassador for the planet while creating your own educational posters.

    BAMPFA

    Ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

  • Saturday, May 13, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

    Read the beginning of Blume’s portrait of a boy and his boisterous little brother, and pick up a copy to continue reading at home.

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 8 and up (younger kids welcome as listeners)

  • Saturday, April 8, 11:30–1:00 & 1:00–2:30

    Family Fare: 3-D Posters

    Use inks to create eye-popping 3-D posters of your very own design. 3-D glasses included!

    BAMPFA

    Ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

  • Saturday, April 8, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: The BFG by Roald Dahl

    Read the beginning of Dahl’s warmhearted tale of a lovable giant, and pick up a copy to continue reading at home.

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 8 and up (younger kids welcome as listeners)

  • Saturday, March 11, 11:30–1:00 & 1:00–2:30

    Family Fare: Circular Variations

    After a tour of circular works in Hippie Modernism, create your own art based on concentric circles.

    BAMPFA

    Ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

  • Saturday, March 11, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: Mr. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Horvath

    Read the beginning of this delightful mystery, and pick up a copy to continue reading at home.

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 8 and up (younger kids welcome as listeners)

  • Saturday, February 11, 11:30 AM—1 PM & 1—2:30 PM

    Family Fare: Fabric Collage

    Following a tour of fabric artworks on view in Hippie Modernism, create collages with artist Jennie Lennick using upcycled fabrics. For kids 6–12 and their families.

    BAMPFA

    Ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

  • Saturday, February 11, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 8 and up (younger kids welcome as listeners)

  • Saturday, January 14, 11:30 AM—1 PM & 1—2:30 PM

    Family Fare: Weave Your Own Miniature Tapestry

    Learn how crossed threads become cloth through the process of weaving in a workshop inspired by Terri Friedman's current Art Wall installation. Family Fare is for kids ages 6 to 12 and their families.

    BAMPFA

    Ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

  • Saturday, January 14, 3 PM

    Roundtable Reading: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 8 and up (younger kids welcome as listeners)

Past Films

  • My Neighbor Totoro

    • Friday, December 29 2 PM
    Hayao Miyazaki
    Japan, 1988

    English-language version
    Recommended for ages 4 & up

    Two sisters encounter wood sprites, magical trees, and flying “cat buses” in this enchanting tale that has become one of the most beloved of all family films.

  • A Hard Day’s Night

    • Saturday, November 25 3:30 PM
    Richard Lester
    United Kingdom, 1964

    Digital Restoration
    Recommended for ages 8 & up

    Richard Lester’s hyperkinetic mod documentary captures the Fab Four at the height of Beatlemania!

  • The Circus

    • Saturday, April 22 3:30 PM
    Charlie Chaplin
    United States, 1928

    Recommended for ages 8 & up

    The Little Tramp becomes an accidental clown in this lesser-known but irresistibly funny Chaplin film.

  • Still from Kirikou and the Wild Beasts

    Kirikou and the Wild Beasts

    • Saturday, March 18 3:30 PM
    Bénédicte Galup, Michel Ocelot
    France, 2005

    Recommended for ages 7 & up

    This vibrantly colorful animated sequel to the popular Kirikou and the Sorceress finds little Kirikou using his brains and heart to help his fellow African villagers. With a superb soundtrack by Youssou N’Dour and Manu Dibango.

  • The Adventures of Prince Achmed

    • Saturday, February 18 3:30 PM
    Lotte Reiniger
    Germany, 1926

    Hand-Tinted and Toned 35mm Print

    Recommended for ages 7 & up

     One of the world’s first animated feature films, Lotte Reiniger’s enchanting work uses intricate silhouettes made from cutout cardboard and thin sheets of lead to enact a tale from The Arabian Nights. 

  • The General

    • Saturday, January 21 3:30 PM
    Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman
    United States, 1926

    Digital Restoration

    Recommended for ages 7 & up

    Buster hops on board a train to save both it and his girl in this masterpiece of silent comedy, boasting some of the greatest stunts, spills, and laughs in all of film.