| Summary This section will give you information to help you plan a field trip to the San Francisco Bay Model. The Bay Model is a working three-dimensional model of the San Francisco Bay and Delta areas. It fills 3 warehouse sized buildings and students who visit get a guided tour, observing the flow of the water, learning about how scientists use scale models, and leaving with the impression that the Bay is a very big place. |
Time
2 hours at the Visitor Center plus travel time
Planning Guide
According to the Bay Model Visitor Center:
“The Bay Model is a three-dimensional hydraulic model of San Francisco Bay and Delta areas capable of simulating tides and currents. The Model is over 1.5 acres in size and represents an area from the Pacific Ocean to Sacramento and Stockton, including: the San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun Bays and a portion of the Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta.”
According to my kids:
“It’s HUGE!”
“Wow.”
“Check out how shallow the Bay is!”
You need to make a reservation for groups. With your reservation, students are taken on a ranger-guided tour of the facility. I asked my students to fill out a handout as they visited the museum. You can adapt the handout to suit your need by downloading it below.
Time at the Bay model passes quickly. 1 minute = 1 hour and 40 minutes in the real world. Thus, you can see the tides going in and out and watch the currents flow through the Golden Gate.
You can schedule a ranger led tour by contacting the Bay Model at:
Bay Model Visitor Center
2100 Bridgeway
Sausalito, CA 94965
Phone: (415)332-3871
Fax: (415)332-0761
Programs should be booked 3 weeks in advance and are available Tuesdays – Saturdays.
