Randall Museum Friends

Randall School Field Trips: Randall Museum Friends administered hands-on programs focused on science, the natural environment, live animal talks and San Francisco history for schools and other civic groups. Science field trip programs are offered October through May. Field trip choices include Creepy Crawlies, Green & Growing, Air & Wind, Electricity and Electromagnets, Renewable Energy, Science of Sound, Geology, Before San Francisco, Earthquake and Water, Water Everywhere. Annual San Francisco Middle School Science Fair: over four-thousand students from more than thirty schools participated in this citywide science enrichment program. From those schools, approximately two-hundred projects created by sixth, seventh and eighth grade students qualified for the 37th Annual Middle School Science Fair in February 2020. Winners from this fair at the Randall were recognized at a public ceremony and qualified for the regional fair; all projects remained on view to the public for a week.Revitalize the Randall: expenses for capital, ff&e, and program support of the Randall Museum to supplement the renovation of the museum through the California State Nature Education Facilities Program. RMF expenses for this program in this period were for work done, materials and opening expenses provided as part of the renovation of the museum.Animal Exhibit: collection of living animals is used to educate visitors about Californias indigenous wildlife; includes Healthy Oceans and animal skulls.Model Train Exhibit: one of the largest model railroads in Northern California; the model railroad has automated lines and volunteers can run their own cars; now on view whenever museum is open.Riding the Rails Exhibit: includes a scaled-down caboose; a model railway where children play in front of panels about the history of rail systems in San Francisco; and a low-relief of a passenger car that tells the story of the Transcontinental Railroad (dormant during renovation).Earthquake Exhibit: interactive displays include a working seismograph and seismometer, shake tables to try and build earthquake proof structures, earthquake computer games.Hands-on science and cultural programs: thousands of local K-8 school children participate in a variety of science and cultural field trips that supplement school curriculum.Saturdays at the Randall: museums busiest day of the week, often attracting hundreds of visitors; activities include live animal talks, feed the animals, afternoon art, and miscellaneous special programs.Toddler Tree house: a dedicated activity room for pre-school age children and is occupied throughout the day.Teen animal room interns: teenagers, trained by museum staff, helped to care for the animals and answer visitors questions; some volunteer for several years.Animal docent program: dedicated adult volunteers, trained by museum staff, give free animal talks to school groups and the general public.Family event days: Bug Day, Family Halloween, Holiday Crafts Day are the three annual community theme-based days that attract hundreds of families and provide fun, interactive, educational experiences.Astronomy nights and San Francisco Amateur Astronomers: there are both monthly lectures and, weather permitting, stargazing parties that include telescopes for visitors who do not have their own.Young Peoples Teen Musical Theater Company: part of San Francisco Recreation & Parks; the company presented productions of three full musical productions.Musical Theater Works: a theater academy and performance company for younger performers based at the Randall; rental income from MTW helps fund other museum programs; MTW ran classes, held recitals, and presented two full musical productions.Habitat restoration of Corona Heights Hill: volunteers learn about the areas native plants through this monthly program to restore the surrounding hillside.Birding the Hill program: monthly programs on Corona Heights Hill in conjunction with Golden Gate Audubon society; attendees averaged 42 different bird species per walk, with a total of 110 species for the year.Birthday parties: Randall Museum Friends offers parties that include an art project or a private animal room tour.Private event rentals: Randall Museum Friends coordinates rental of the museum spaces for a variety of private events that include recitals and concerts, lectures, meetings, weddings, memorials, and more.Miscellaneous volunteer opportunities: includes animal docents trained by museum staff, event days, hill habitat restoration, and more; the museum has built relationships with several volunteer groups.Miscellaneous programs: throughout the year Randall Museum has lectures, performances, meetings and workshops serving the broader community.Clubs: Randall Museum is the home of a variety of groups including SF Amateur Astronomers, Mycological Society of SF, SF Beekeepers Association, SF Microscopical Society

Randall Summer Camps: Randall Museum Friends administered three summer camp programs for summer 2021 and four programs for summer 2022. Randall Museum Day Camps continue to operate at full capacity. Over two-hundred children, ages six through twelve years, participated in two-week programs that included classes in natural science, art, ceramics, gardening, theater, woodworking, inventions and more. Families had the option of using before and after-care. And Randall partnered with Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary in summer 2022 to run a van camp where campers went to different coastal sites to learn about marine life.

Randall Courses and Classes: The museum offers classes for children, youth, and adults in a variety of media including art, ceramics, woodworking, STEM and science. Over hundreds of children and adults participated together in family or parent-child classes in ceramics, woodworking, toddler art, sensory development and gardening. Young people participated in classes for youth ages six through twelve years including robotics, bicycle repair (physics), Corona Heights Explorers (nature and art), phenomenal physics, gardening, instrument making, woodworking, ceramics, astronomy, renewable energy and kitchen chemistry. The teen animal care class trains teenagers to work in the museums animal room. Adults only classes included evening, weekend, and early-bird classes included ceramics, woodworking, Dobsonian telescope making, and audio electronics. In addition to the four seasonal course sessions, there was the capacity to hold classes during the winter and spring holiday breaks. Registration is done online and at Rec & Park facilities.