Thank you everyone- this is great! The ADHD can make things awesome when we have a good balance of engaging activities, but as many if you know these kiddos have a poor tolerance for confining or boring situations. I love all of the ideas and feedback.

SF is a great city for ADHD kiddos! I have 2 and we had a blast there.

Definitely check out the Exploratorium. We spent an entire day there, from open to close.
Cal. Academy of Science, spent hours there too. Walk around the huge park that it's in, check out the Japanese Tea Garden nearby.
Alcatraz, was a hit.
Bike across the GG, have lunch in Sausalito, and ferry it back.
Steps to Coit Tower
Walk around Chinatown and Little Japan.
Walk around the Wharf and check out the seals.
Play at the playground across from the Embarcadero Ferry Station.

Lots of walking, plus fresh cool air was perfect for them and of course the delicious food!

Do not take a cable car ride, because these days the lines are so long. We waited at least 20 minutes to take the Hyde Powell line at Market St. Also, alas, the Ghiradelli factory at the waterfront is no longer there, so no touring the chocolate factory.

Tons of great food, so no problem there. You can take the BART to Berkeley and dine at Chez Panisse (the bistro is upstairs and slightly more casual).

My son loved riding on the cable car when we visited San Francisco. He also liked the Seward Street slides.

We did 3 days in SF 2 years ago with our son, who was 9 at the time. He has ADHD but it was undiagnosed at the time.

He loved Chinatown, although my DH & I could have done with a little less Chinatown. We were staying near there, so we'd walk through it each day.

He also really loved Alcatraz, but he has a fascination with both history and prison. Alcatraz is a great tour, even at age 9.

One day, we rented bikes and biked over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, although that was a bit of a mental challenge. We took the ferry back. He really liked both Sausalito and the ferry ride. (He liked the GGB bike, but was having a bit of a meltdown over random stuff.) We also went to Ghirardelli Square after the ride and got some needed sweets.

FYI, on our first morning in SF, we woke up on Eastern Time and just decided to start the day since no one was able to sleep any longer. We went to the Wharf early and watched the sea lions. It was nice because there wasn't a large crowd and he could run around and burn off some energy. From there, we walked to Lombard Street, Coit Tower, and the Telegraph Hills steps. Maybe something else. We headed over to Tony's Pizza in Little Italy (Stockton Street). There was a great playground right by the restaurant and he ran around more there. From there, we walked to Giants Stadium and watched a baseball game from the outfield peepholes and looked into McCovey Cove at all the kayaks and boats. We are a baseball family, so it was fun telling him about Barry Bonds (except for the steroids part).

Thank you! OP here- I think we're going to try both museums (Exploratorium and CA Academy of Sciences- DS loves science), and spend one or two shorter stints taking in Fisherman's Wharf and Chinatown. Dim sum also sounds like a possibility. That's about all we'll have time for, but it looks like we'll be going back annually (yearly conference in the area). When DS is older, we'll go to Alcatraz and see more sights.

Anonymous wrote:The new Exploratorium down by Pier 39 would be perfect for him. Also the new Steinheart Aquarium is a big hit around here. There are a ton of things here that you'll find. LOTS to do that fit your needs!

Steinhart Aquarium is the aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences, right? We were in the Bay Area this summer, and we went to the CA Academy of Sciences several times - good thing we got a membership. We loved it. It's great for younger and older kids. They have more than the aquarium - there had a three story indoor rainforest and an earthquake simulator, among other things. It's in Golden Gate Park so there's a lot to see in that area.

We didn't go to the Exploratorium this time, but have in the past, and loved it. See if you can plan ahead to do the Tactile Dome - you may need to make reservations. If you do the Exploratorium, check out the food reviews online. The restaurant on site has a healthy menu only, which I don't have a problem with, but it might be an issue depending on how picky your child is. There's always the Ferry Building a few blocks away, which has incredible food choices, but can also get crowded.

We got food to go from the Ferry Building (try Out the Door, the to-go arm of the Slanted Door, also there's an empanadas place that's good) and ate at the Sue Bierman park across the street while the kids ran around at the playground. http://sfrecpark.org/destination/sue-bierman-park/

I've heard good things about the Children's Creativity Museum in the SOMA area (at Fourth and Howard), but it's been some time since I've been there.

The new Exploratorium down by Pier 39 would be perfect for him. Also the new Steinheart Aquarium is a big hit around here. There are a ton of things here that you'll find. LOTS to do that fit your needs!

We were in San Fran this summer (July) for a few days. If you plan on doing Alcatraz get tix as early as possible. We could not get tix. We did the Hop On Hop Off Bus, Trolley, Dim Sum, Dungeness Crab, the Pier. Great time.

I realize that this is ridiculously early, but I am a planner... It looks like DH, DS9, and I will be in San Francisco for about three days late June 2016. We're going to tack it onto a planned vacation.

What activities would you recommend for us? My son has ADHD and needs either something interesting to see, something where he is not too confined, or something hands-on. He gets quickly bored in places that he can only "look" and take too long. He's a super kid-- curious and extremely intelligent. Just not very patient.

He loves (could live there kind of love) the Science and Industry Museum in Chicago if that helps.

A short stint in Chinatown? Anyone familiar with the Exploratorium? We're all three adventurous foodie types- even my son will sit still for a great meal. Restaurant ideas?

Thanks!