San Francisco Pandemic Outings with Kids: The DeYoung Museum

We used to love inviting other people on our adventures pre-pandemic! Right now though, we're still just trying to relearn the ropes for what's safe and what's not. We're trying to head back out to our old haunts, but just with ourselves until we get a feel for what's going on out in the world. Still, I thought it might be handy to share our expeiences as we went so other people could know what to expect.  If anyone else would like to share the places they're going in the outside world, I'd be delighted to get their perspective! 

On Wednesday, we headed to the DeYoung!

Destination: The DeYoung Museum

Starting point: The Excelsior

Route: 44 from Excelsior to Golden Gate Concourse across from the DeYoung

Time of day: around noon on a Wednesday

Transit: If you’re headed towards Mission, either going North or South, the 44 is more crowded than it will be after you get across Mission. When I say crowded, I mean it was impossible to stay six feet away from other people. The roof exit hatch was open along with all the windows though, so there was enough air flow for us to feel safe, but your experience might vary. Next time, we’re going to try taking the BART downtown, then our plan is to take the 5 bus back out. BART is less crowded than the 44, and I’m hoping the 5 will also be less crowded as well. We’re also thinking of leaving earlier—maybe 7 AM—hanging out on the grassy bits of the concourse away from the Ferris wheel and waiting for the museum to open.

Entry to the venue: On our way in, it looked like people were gathered, spaced out, by the central door to the museum by the south side. We went there. After asking if we had tickets, the proctor told us to head on in to present our tickets indoors, and to the left, (West). The line was not tight. The only other people in the line walked into the museum about ten seconds before we reached the proctor. Later in the day, I noticed that the east side door of the museum was also unlocked. People were coming in there, and heading straight to the desk to purchase tickets. The area wasn't crowded at that point.

The venue: The DeYoung was so cool!!! We stuck mostly to the 2nd floor. I did a scouting run last week and found that the special exhibit was nice, but the ceilings were too low for me—the special exhibits are always in the basement—and the crowd was a little too tight for my comfort.

The 2nd floor though? Divine! Every gallery we stopped in was empty most of the time. We were all able to sit down to sketch without worrying about other people at all. The DeYoung has the same policy as the MOMA: kids under 18 are free. The kids were way from me on several occasions and had no issues whatsoever. One of the guards even mentioned we should tell our friends about the DeYoung!

Bathrooms: I didn’t try the first floor bathrooms. Not many people seem to ever realize the second floor bathrooms on the south side of the staircase exist though and Wednesday was no exception. I had the men’s bathroom all to myself, and didn’t notice traffic in or out of the women’s bathroom as the kids and I explored the museum around the entrances.

Nibbles: We grabbed some food after we’d been at the museum for an hour. The 10, 8, and 6 y.o. gang—who are not vaccinated—headed outside to find us a socially distanced table. I headed into the cafeteria. It’s was pretty crowded with people, whom—I assume—were vaccinated. There’s not as much food and drink selection as there once was. The cheese and fruit plate to-go containers are gone, but they still have hot dogs, individual pieces of fruit, cookies, and beer and wine. I was comfortable going in, grabbing stuff, and coming back out because I was vaccinated. Otherwise—for me—yikes.

The table the gang found was awesome. It was way away from everyone. It also wasn’t that hard to come by. The cold weather was keeping most people indoors.

Quality of Masking: Where people were wearing masks in the DeYoung—everywhere but the cafeteria—people were wearing their masks correctly over their noses and mouths.  

There was one person on the 44 return trip who refused to wear a mask. On the 44 their was a single passenger whose maks was constantly edging off their nose, but never made it all the way down.

The ride back: The ride back to the Excelsior was slightly worse than the ride out. There was a passenger at the back of the bus who refused to wear a mask. Just the one, and the air flow was still great, but… yeah… It woulda/coulda been so much nicer.

Conclusions: We loved everything and had a blast! We’re still looking for better routes/times that feel safer. The DeYoung itself though—on a Wednesday afternoon—felt empty and ventilated enough in the areas we stuck to, that we weren’t concerned.  

I'd love to hear about other people's experiences!