Clustered around the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park are three outstanding museums and exhibitions guaranteed to entertain every member of the family. You can quite easily spend a whole day here. The Steinhart Aquarium is the most diverse aquarium in the world, housing some 14,000 specimens, including amphibians, reptiles, marine mammals, penguins, and much more, in 189 displays. A huge hit with the youngsters is the California tide pool and a "hands-on" area where children can touch starfish and sea urchins. The living coral reef is the largest display of its kind in the country and the only one in the West. In the Fish Roundabout, fast-moving schools of fish swim in a 100,000-gallon tank that surrounds visitors.

The Morrison Planetarium presents daily seasonal and ongoing light shows. Sky shows offer guided tours through the universe projected onto a 65-foot domed ceiling. Approximately four major exhibits, with titles such as "Stargazer's Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Living Universe," are presented each year. Call for general information, show schedules, prices, and sky-watching tips (tel. 415/750-7141).

The Natural History Museum includes several halls displaying classic dioramas of fauna in their habitats. The "Wild California" exhibition includes a 14,000-gallon aquarium and seabird rookery, life-size battling elephant seals, and two larger-than-life views of microscopic life forms. In Wattis Hall, visitors can walk through an exhibit of nearly 1,500 different skulls, exploring the tremendous range of information uncovered by scientists. Hohfeld Hall allows visitors to experience a simulation of two of San Francisco's biggest earthquakes, determine what your weight is on other planets, see a real moon rock, and learn about the rotation of the planet at a replica of Foucault's pendulum (the real one is in Paris).