Youth Explore Bay Area in Unique Treks

By George McConnell

Susan Edward's knowledge of the Bay Area and her experience working with children has helped make her tour company, The Explorer's Club, a success.

Her passion for exploring - "keeping our eyes, ears and hearts open to the world around us" - has also made it an enjoyable way to make a living.

"This is what I really like to do," Edwards told a small crowd that had come to get ideas about what to do with their kids during the summer, at the Parkside Branch Library June 7.

Edwards started The Explorer's Club eight years ago following a career in teaching. Her company now offers day trips in a 15-passenger van for children and families, students and adults, and customized tours for groups with special interests.

"Our specialties are the natural history, political science, art history and literary history of San Francisco and the Bay Area, but we can design a tour for any curriculum," Edwards said.

The club has not escaped notice, earning the highest rating in Frommers International Travel Guide's "San Francisco with Kids" category, and a "Best In San Francisco" award from San Francisco Magazine. While her familiarity with the area gives her a wide range of places and activities to choose from, she also introduces many interesting people into her stories.

"I like nearby public places that don't cost a lot of money, no further than a 30 to 45 minute drive away," she said. Some of her favorite places include the hidden trails of the Marin Headlands, the beaches and tide pools along the San Mateo coast, Chinatown, the Presidio, and the parks and trails of Mt. Tamalpais. She has programs specially designed for five year olds, 6-9 year olds, and 10-12 year olds. The programs reflect her experience as a teacher with Head Start and as a director of several other children's programs.

"We operate about 30 weeks out of the year, and we work with different school calendars to accommodate their schedules. Some private schools, for example, like the Chinese and French and Jewish schools, have different holidays than the public schools do," Edwards said.

One of her more popular children's tours, called Day Camp, is a one-week program that travels to a different location every day, including visits to the Exploratorium, seal watching at different spots on the bay, the Marine Mammal Center at Fort Cronkite, the Bay Area Discovery Museum in the north bay, Moss Beach and the Fitzgerald Marine Preserve, and Muir Woods. She also does an insider's tour of Chinatown, which includes a visit to a Buddhist Temple, a fortune cookie factory, open markets, herbal and pastry shops, and learning about the history and folklore of Chinatown.

As a former educator, Edwards believes in incorporating learning along with traveling and having fun.

"Our programs are packed with fun, hands-on learning opportunities and time to play. We learn through play and careful observation," she said.

There are various activities, including building a fort, exploring a tide pool, dry pressing flowers and leaves, picking strawberries at an organic farm and kayaking.

"Our groups are small enough, about 13, and with a low teacher-student ratio, we can bring out the creativity and sense of wonder in each child. We teach the children to assume stewardship of the area and how to respect and take care of the environment. Everywhere you go, there is something to teach them," she said.

But The Explorer's Club is not just for children. There is also an array of options for adults and students that can suit a variety of tastes, as well as customized excursions.

"The adult group tours are personalized for travelers without children, and we can provide childcare while the parents tour at an adult pace," she said.

Some of her trips for adults have ranged from visiting art museums, galleries and art supply houses for art aficionados, enjoying an eclectic mix of musical performances, such as symphony, jazz clubs, and coffeehouse bluegrass jams for music fans, and a tour of Bay Area colleges and universities for prospective students.

Summer day camps at The Explorer's Club cost $299 to $369 a week. For more information, call (415) 239-7014 or visit www.eckidsclub.com.