Families

  • Movie Matinees for All Ages

    Remember spending Saturday afternoons at the movies when you were a kid? Relive that experience and share it with the next generation at Movie Matinees for All Ages. 

  • It's a Trip

    Nurture curiosity: learn how your school or youth group can visit BAMPFA. 

  • 1 kid + 1 adult =$0

    Admission to the galleries is free for kids 18 & under plus one adult. So bring your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or neighbor to explore the new BAMPFA!

  • Art Lab

    Creative, hands-on art projects for all ages with a focus on drawing, collage, prints, and books. Drop-in and make art Thursdays through Sundays! Hours

Family Events

  1. Art Lab

    BAMPFA

    Drop-in Art Making

  2. Ernest & Celestine

    Saturday, September 28, 3:30 PM

    Nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2012 Oscars, this magical film (inspired by the Belgian children’s books) follows Celestine the mouse, a dentist-in-training, and Ernestine the bear, a musician and poet.

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 8 & up

     Buy Tickets
  3. calligraphy by Tetsugen Doko

    Gallery + Studio: Silvery Waves Pile 1,000 Layers High

    Saturday, October 12, 11:30 AM–1 PM or 1–2:30 PM

    Inspired by works of Zen calligraphy in Meditation in Motion, explore ways of drawing words to visually express their meaning and create fragments of poetry in response to works of art.

    BAMPFA

    For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

     

  4. Abbas Kiarostami: Five Short Films

    Saturday, October 26, 3 PM

    Anyone curious about what episodes of Sesame Street would look like if they were directed by one of the world’s greatest filmmakers should catch this collection of shorts by Kiarostami, made for an Iranian children’s cultural institute.

    BAMPFA

    Digital Restorations
    Recommended for ages 10 & up

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  5. M. Hulot's Holiday

    Sunday, October 27, 2 PM; Friday, November 29, 1:30 PM

    This cinematic postcard from a seaside summer resort is “the most important comic work in world cinema since the Marx Brothers and W. C. Fields . . . an event in the history of sound film” (André Bazin).

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 9 & up

     Buy Tickets

  6. Free Screening: Films by Sally Cruikshank

    Sunday, November 3, 3 PM

    Enjoy the wildly colorful, wonderfully detailed films of animator Sally Cruikshank, including the psychedelic classic Quasi at the Quackadero and her musical animations for Sesame Street.

    BAMPFA

    Free Admission!
    Recommended for ages 7 & up

  7. Fall Free Family Day

    Sunday, November 3, 11 AM–3 PM

    Bring the family for a full day of art, puppetry, stories, and film—it’s free!

    BAMPFA
  8. Joan Miró: Sun, Moon and Stars, 1938; etching and drypoint; 7 1/4 x 10 1/2 in.; BAMPFA, Transfer from the Graphic Art Loan Collection, the General Library, University of California.

    Gallery + Studio: Exquisite Corpse Collage

    Saturday, November 9, 11:30 AM–1 PM or 1–2:30 PM

    Get inspired by art on view in Strange, then use found images and the Surrealist exquisite corpse technique to add fantastically strange elements to artworks of your own.

    BAMPFA

    For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)

     

  9. ¡Roundtable Reading Bilingüe! Gaby, perdida y encontrada / Gaby, Lost and Found by Angela Cervantes

    Saturday, November 9, 3 PM

    This special bilingual edition of Roundtable Reading features a story about a young girl helping shelter animals find homes—and looking for a forever home of her own.

    BAMPFA

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

    Recomendado para las edades de 8 años en adelante (niños menores son bienvenidos como oyentes)

     

  10. My Uncle

    Saturday, November 16, 3 PM

    The wonders of an ultramodern house come in for classic Tati mockery. “Slapstick heaven” (New Yorker).

    BAMPFA

    English Version
    Recommended for ages 10 & up

     Buy Tickets

  11. Exquisite Corpse Workshop

    Saturday, November 16, 1 PM

    To celebrate the centennial of Surrealism, poet Rod Roland and daughter Coco lead an all-ages workshop in creating collaborative drawings and writings using the Surrealist exquisite corpse technique.

    BAMPFA

  12. Black Life: Diamano Coura

    Sunday, November 24, 1:30 PM

    Members of Diamano Coura West African Dance Company lead a course in traditional West African song and dance. All ages welcome!

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Ryanaustin Dennis and Chika Okoye

  13. The Wizard of Oz

    Saturday, November 30, 1:30 PM

    What better activity for a holiday weekend than a trip down the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Woodsman? Experience this enduring classic the old-fashioned way, in a 35mm print.

    BAMPFA

    Recommended for ages 5 & up

     Buy Tickets

Field Trips

 

We offer guided tours for school and youth groups. 

 

Learn More

 

Testimonials

“The arts are critical to making a city vibrant and unique. One of my favorite places to be is the BAMPFA theater lobby, feeling the ‘buzz’ of anticipation before a film. If I could, I would be there every night!"

Jim Reynolds, coffee bean buyer and former BAMPFA Trustee

"My family still talks about the Wolfgang Laib exhibition we saw in 2000, where the artist created an installation with pollen. It has prompted many animated conversations on the enduring question, "what is art?"

Franca Cioria, Director, Via Nova Children's School Berkeley

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I find out more about accessibility for people with disabilities?

For information about wheelchair access, please see our Accessibility page.

Does BAMPFA have a lost and found?

If you think you may have lost an item while visiting BAMPFA, you may check with the admissions staff in the lobby or call (510) 642-0808.

The UC Berkeley campus Lost and Found office is located at 2427 Dwight Way and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Phone: (510) 642-4936.

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