Pacific Pinball Museum

Dim sum on Webster Street where carts keep the food arriving, with pineapple buns at the end and big round tables that fit the whole crew.

Alameda's flagship park: side-by-side toddler and school-age structures (covered sandbox, dual tall slides), shade trees, and Crab Cove tide pools an easy walk away.

An 800-gallon aquarium of bay creatures and a station where kids build a crab from the inside out, on California's first estuarine marine reserve.

A massive expanse of shallow water on the bay, with paddleboarding for anyone older.

Pop-in playtime on Monday and Friday mornings, no class to sign up for. Good for the weekday stretch before nap.

Alameda's newest big park: a car-free bike path running its length, a zip line, a huge metal slide, nature play with giant logs, and separate toddler and big-kid zones.