Family Events
Ongoing
Hands-on activities, participatory readings, performances, movie matinees, and more events designed for kids and their families.
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Photo: Grace Kang
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Photo: Tillman Lerner-Thomas
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Photo: Tillman Lerner-Thomas
- Upcoming
Films - Past
Films - Past
Events
Upcoming Films
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The Emperor’s Nightingale
Jiří Trnka
Czechoslovakia, 194835mm Archival Print
Recommended for ages 6 & up- Saturday, December 15 3:30 PM
Trnka’s adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a young Chinese emperor enraptured by the song of a mechanical nightingale is awash in lavish storybook imagery. With short Why UNESCO?
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The Gold Rush
Charlie Chaplin
United States, 1925, reedited 1942Recommended for ages 8 & up
- Friday, December 28 2:30 PM
- Saturday, January 19 3:30 PM
A hapless prospector tries his luck in the frozen north in a film that glitters with some of Charlie Chaplin’s most memorable nuggets of comedy.
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Spirited Away
Hayao Miyazaki
Japan, 2001English-language version
Recommended for ages 8 & up- Saturday, December 29 3 PM
In this Oscar-winning animated fantasy, a ten-year-old girl and her parents stumble upon an abandoned theme park that turns out to be a true magic kingdom.
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Past Events
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Saturday, December 8, 11:30–1 PM or 1–2:30 PMGallery + Studio: Experiments in Three Dimensions
Explore the 3-D artistic experiments on view in Dimensionism and create sculptural artworks of your own.
For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, December 8, 3 PMRoundtable Reading: El Deafo by Cece Bell
Start reading the story of a deaf girl who discovers her special powers, and pick up a copy of the book to keep reading at home.
Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
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Saturday, November 10, 11:30 AM–1 PM or 1–2:30 PMGallery + Studio: Pour, Sprinkle, Scrape: Color Experiments Inspired by Harvey Quaytman
Discover Harvey Quaytman’s abstract paintings, then create your own experiments with shape and color.
For ages 6–12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, November 10, 3 PM¡Roundtable Reading Bilingüe! Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel, escrito por Xavier Garza
Join us to start reading in English and Spanish about a boy whose fascination with Lucha Libre leads him to a surprising discovery! Then, take a copy of the book with you to keep reading at home.
¡Acompáñanos! Empezaremos a leer la historia de un niño a quien le gusta mucho la lucha libre y ¡hace un descubrimiento sorprendente! Entonces, llevarse el libro contigo para seguir leyendo en casa.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) -
Sunday, November 4, 11 AM–3 PMFall Free Family Day
Explore BAMPFA exhibitions, make your own art, enjoy a performance by Unique Derique, and check out a screening of animated films by John Canemaker—bring the family and make a day of it!
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Saturday, October 13, 11:30 AM–1 PM or 1–2:30 PMGallery + Studio: Supergraphics: Experiments in Design
Make your own Supergraphics-style design in this workshop inspired by pioneering designer Barbara Stauffacher Solomon’s Art Wall project.
For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, October 13, 3 PMRoundtable Reading: Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Sample this collection of stories about a school where all sorts of strange and hilarious things happen, and take home a copy to finish reading on your own.
Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
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Saturday, September 8, 11:30 AM–1 PM or 1–2:30 PMGallery + Studio: From Dream to Play: The Art of Cecilia Vicuña
Get inspired by Cecilia Vicuña’s work, then work with wood, paint, words, and one another to create art and community.
For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, September 8, 3 PMRoundtable Reading: Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
Start reading this story about a girl, her dog, and her obsessions—and pick up a copy to keep reading at home.
Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
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Saturday, July 14, 11:30–1 PM or 1–2:30 PMGallery + Studio: Inside Out and Outside In
Explore biomorphic forms and fictional characters in Way Bay 2, then create your own colorful sculpture.
For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, July 14, 3 PMRoundtable Reading: Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
Start reading about the adventures of Ulysses the squirrel and human girl Flora, and pick up your own copy of this entertaining novel to keep reading at home.
Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
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Saturday, June 9, 11:30–1 PM or 1–2:30 PMGallery + Studio: Down by the River: Buddhist Scrolls and You
Create a personal handscroll inspired by Buddhist art in Master Traces, Transcultural Visions.
For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, June 9, 3 PMRoundtable Reading: The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Start reading this novel about brotherhood, change, and the power of family, and pick up a copy to keep reading at home.
Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
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Saturday, May 12, 11:30-1 PM or 1-2:30 PMGallery + Studio: Ink-Brush Landscapes
Learn the basics of landscape painting with brush and ink as you make your own scroll inspired by Dreaming the Lost Ming.
For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, May 12, 3 PMRoundtable Reading: A Mystery Bigger than Big / Un misterio más grande que grandísimo by René Saldaña
Our first bilingual Roundtable Reading, in Spanish and English! Start reading about a young detective’s latest case, and pick up a copy of the book to continue reading at home.
Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
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Sunday, April 22, 11-3 PMSpring 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 Alphabet Rockers, and check out a screening of The Red Balloon.
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Saturday, April 14, 11:30 AM–1 PM or 1–2:30 PMGallery + Studio: Through Line: Collaged Portraits/Imagined Spaces
Inspired by figurative works in Way Bay, play with collage and create a portrait of people dear to you in an imagined space that you revere.
For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, April 14, 3 PMRoundtable Reading: Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
Read the beginning of this book about a large-hearted oak tree who holds people’s wishes, and pick up a copy to continue reading at home.
Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
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Saturday, March 10, 11:30–1 or 1–2:30Gallery + Studio: Self-Portraits/Community Portraits
Create mixed-media portraits of yourself and people in your community inspired by Karabo Poppy Moletsane’s Art Wall project.
For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, March 10, 3 PMRoundtable Reading: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Start reading this story of a robot learning to survive on a deserted island, and pick up a copy to continue reading at home.
Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
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Saturday, February 10, 11:30–1 PM or 1–2:30 PMGallery + Studio: Memorial Drawings
Use watercolors and colored pencils to make your own memorial drawings honoring someone important to you.
For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, February 10, 3 PMRoundtable Reading: Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Get into this graphic novel about a girl who finds her inner strength through roller derby, and pick up a free copy to keep reading at home.
Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
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Saturday, January 13, 11:30–1 PM or 1–2:30 PMGallery + Studio: Landscapes Real and Imagined
Use drawing, watercolor, and stamping to create your own landscape inspired by the paintings of Chen Hongshou.
For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
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Saturday, January 13, 3 PMRoundtable Reading: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
Read the beginning of this classic story about a girl who runs away to the Metropolitan Museum, and pick up a free copy to keep reading at home.
Recommended for ages 8 & up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
Past Films
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Jiří Trnka- Sunday, December 9 2 PM
Czechoslovakia, 195935mm Archival Print
Recommended for ages 12 & upThis bewitching stop-motion adaptation of Shakespeare’s romantic tale is a masterpiece of surpassing, balletic beauty that plays out amidst a garlanded, pastel dreamscape. With short The Devil’s Mill.
Introduction by Jan Pinkava
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Winged Migration
Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats- Saturday, October 6 3:30 PM
France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, 2001BAMPFA Student Committee Pick
Recommended for ages 7 & upAccompanying flocks of migratory birds, this documentary “provides such an intense vicarious experience of being a flapping airborne creature . . . that you leave the theater feeling like an honorary member of another species” (New York Times).
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A Hard Day’s Night
Richard Lester- Saturday, September 29 3:30 PM
United Kingdom, 1964Digital Restoration
Following the adventures of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, A Hard Day’s Night perfectly captures the spirit of the times—and, of course, the music is fantastic.
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The Breadwinner
Nora Twomey- Saturday, August 25 3:30 PM
Canada, Ireland, Luxembourg, 2017Recommended for ages 11 & up
This beautifully animated feature-length drama is set in Afghanistan, circa 2001, where an eleven-year-old girl is forced to pretend she is a boy after her father is wrongfully imprisoned by the Taliban.
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The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Judy Irving- Saturday, July 21 4 PM
United States, 2005BAMPFA Collection Print
Recommended for ages 8 & upIrving’s very San Franciscan story of a once-homeless man and the birds he befriended “seduces you with its easy rhythm and unexpected dramatic potency . . . beguiling, moving, and just plain fun” (Baltimore Sun).
Judy Irving and Mark Bittner in Person
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The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.
Roy Rowland- Saturday, April 21 4 PM
United States, 1953Recommended for ages 7 & up
Scolded for not practicing the piano, a nine-year-old boy daydreams himself into a fantastic world where the piano reigns supreme in this funny, clever musical written by Dr. Seuss.
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Films by Sally Cruikshank
- Saturday, March 24 3 PM
BAMPFA Collection Prints
Recommended for ages 7 & upCruikshank’s love of surreal 1930s cartoons is evident in her wildly colorful and wonderfully detailed films, some of which were made for Sesame Street.
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Microcosmos
Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou- Saturday, February 17 3:30 PM
France, Italy, Switzerland, 1996Recommended for ages 7 & up
Marvel at a world barely visible to our eyes in this astounding documentary on the insect kingdom, filmed with specially designed micro cameras and close-up lenses.
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The Wizard of Oz
Victor Fleming- Saturday, January 20 3:30 PM
United States, 1939Recommended for ages 5 & up
What better activity for a Saturday afternoon in winter than a trip down the Yellow Brick Road together with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Woodsman?
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Howl's Moving Castle
- Sunday, August 18 4 pm
Hayao Miyazaki (Japan, 2004) (Hauru no ugoku shiro). English-language version. Ages 9 and up. In an intricately rendered European storybook land, Sophie must help the mysterious magician Howl end both his own curse and an all-too-real war. (119 mins)