The Children’s Creativity Museum commemorated its 25th anniversary with an event that kickstarted a year-long campaign dedicated to securing access to high-quality educational facilities for children.
The campaign launched on Oct. 14 and is open to funding throughout the 2023-2024 year. To conclude the event, there will be a final fundraising event sometime in Oct. 2024.
The museum is located in Yerba Buena Gardens and often sees many lower-income families from districts like the Tenderloin and South of Market (SoMa) in San Francisco.
So far, the museum has reached over 80% of its initial funding goal, thanks to an $800,000 State of California grant backed by local California State Representatives.
“As part of this campaign, we are seeking to raise $1 million to help us continue operating our museum services to low-income families,” said Alexander Major, the Development and Membership Manager at the museum.
In addition, board members have launched a $200,000 Access for Equity campaign to continue funding the 25% of low-income visitors who receive free admission.
These fundraising efforts help support and emphasize the overall mission of the museum: to nurture creativity in all children.
“What makes our museum so unique is its ability to encourage kids to not just be entertained but to create themselves,” Major said.
At every visit, children and parents can always find something new to explore, whether that be the interactive Community Garden or the special weekly activities.
The museum’s variety and constant change in exhibits plays a key role in ensuring the return of its visitors.
“This is our second time,” said Nicole Frazier, a mother and resident of Potrero Hill. “We love it.”
In addition, the museum knows that the parents appreciate the encouragement of cultivating creativity within children and their peers, according to Major.
“Being able to establish those relationships with families is key to ensuring their long-term commitment to our organization, our
However, the museum wasn’t always directly dedicated to children; it initially was called Zeum and was dedicated to an adolescent crowd.
“In 2011, we rebranded to the Children’s Creativity Museum because we sought to reach a younger demographic through more hands-on creativity,” Major, who has been working there since 2008, said.
Since the name change, the educational and enrichment programs drastically shifted due to the age difference of the audience.
Nowadays, the exhibits draw inspiration and are designed to focus on stemming creativity and the learning journey.
“I could tell that they get an emotion of excitement or they get to express what they create, you know, because that helps us build our socio-emotional learning as well as being able to express what they create,” said Mario Jerez, an educator, and the marketing coordinator for the museum.
According to Jerez, it’s also essential for children to learn the creation process through trial and error.
“It’s not going to be 100%,” Jerez said. “It can be 50%, and that’s okay. We encourage that because we learn that creativity itself or innovation or design is a process that doesn’t happen overnight.”
On the campaign’s opening day, visiting children were invited to imagine and design a playground out of LEGO bricks that could manifest in the next 25 years.
The future generations will have today’s children as leaders, regardless of economic status, who need early exposure to enrichment opportunities to “have a lasting impact on families,” Major said.
