Help the New Children’s Museum Add More Room for Learning, Joy, and Creativity

By the end of the year, The New Children’s Museum (NCM) will offer even more opportunities for you to think, play, and create with an 8,600-square-foot expansion that not only provides more gallery space and classrooms but also expands the San Diego-based Museum’s wildly popular art-making studio space.

That is, if the community can help the Museum raise $650,000 by the end of August!

Expanded Studio Space

With over 1,800 visitors coming to the Museum on any given day, slots for the Museum’s current popular art-making studio space, which can only accommodate between 12 to 15 students at a time, fill up within hours of opening.

The expanded studio space will now be able to accommodate +200 people at a time, who will be invited to explore a variety of ideas, materials, and hands-on techniques, including ceramics.

The Museum’s hope? That not only will there be more to do but that older visitors, from seven years old to high school age, will have more to enjoy.

“The New Children’s Museum is really a space for everyone,” says Elizabeth Yang-Hellewell, Executive Director and CEO of The New Children’s Museum.

“As our audiences grow, so must our organization grow to nurture the creative space our visitors need to explore their creativity and fulfill their curiosity at new levels.”

The New Children’s Museum Vision

The New Children’s Museum’s three-story location, which opened in 2008 in the heart of downtown San Diego, was originally designed by Rob Quigley.

Well-respected San Diego-based architect Jim Brown was brought on to create a low-impact design within the original building footprint that honors Quigley’s vision. The expanded studio space and new education commons on the Museum’s upper level will host classes, programs, and events.

“Art plays such a vital role in helping us discover who we are and explore the world around us,” says Gabrielle Wyrick, Chief Curator & Director of Audience Engagement.

“Here at The New Children’s Museum, we believe that all young people deserve access to opportunities to develop their creative potential, and this expanded space will help us provide that access to thousands of youth each year.”

See you there!

Funding has been provided, in part, through grants and private contributions. The New Children’s Museum still needs to raise $650,000 by the end of the year to fully fund its expansion.

You can support the upcoming expansion by visiting their website here. For more updates, follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

See you there, San Diego!