Five Places to Go for an Educational Winter Break

With two weeks off for winter break, going to a museum may not be on the top of many students’ to-do lists. I can’t blame them for wanting a little down time to let all the information they’ve been learning at school find its permanent place in their brains’ filing cabinets. But if you’re looking for a way to keep those synapses firing, here are a few ideas.

One of the 20th century’s great playwrights lived right off Highway 680. The National Parks Service holds guided tours of Eugene O’Neil’s Tao House. Yes, that Eugene O’Neil. The Eugene O’Neil who wrote Long Day’s Journey into Night. All you need to do is call ahead and a National Parks Service van will take you up to the house—for free! There is a guided tour, and then you’re free to wander. If the weather permits, you can hike around Las Trampas National Wilderness. Click here for more information or call 925-838-0249.

Should walking in the footsteps of an American literary treasure not suit you, try visiting the Oakland Museum of California. Besides great collections of California’s Native Americans and Dorothea Lange’s photography, the museum is exhibiting original art from Pixar films such as Ratatouille, Wall-E and Toy Story 3. If you’re interested, hurry up. The Pixar exhibit ends Jan. 9.

Maybe fine art is more enticing. San Francisco’s de Young Museum is exhibiting art from the Musée d’Orsay until Jan. 18. Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to appreciate a Renoir from just a few feet away? Well, here is your chance to find out. Works by van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Gauguin also are displayed. This may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view late and post-Impressionist masterpieces in person.

In the same vein, San Francisco’s Legion of Honor is exhibiting a collection of Japanese art that focuses on how the the country's aesthetic influenced western art. Take the whole day to visit both museums. Then impress people with your newfound knowledge of 19^th century painting.

Looking for something a little lighter? How about a miniature train through Golden Gate Park’s Conservatory of Flowers? You can walk through the beautiful gardens and exhibits, then, as the Conservatory website states, watch “three separate tracks -- navigating around replicas of ten of the Park’s beloved landmarks.” The windmill near the Pacific is there, along with a miniature bison paddock and a tiny Spreckels Lake.

Isn’t it great living in the Bay Area? So much to see and do. Have a fun (and maybe educational) break.