The New Children's Museum facts for kids
The New Children's Museum is a super fun place in downtown San Diego, California! It's a special museum all about art, made just for kids and families. Their main goal is to help you use your imagination, be creative, and think in new ways through cool, modern art. The museum asks artists to create huge art pieces, sometimes even whole rooms, that kids can play with and explore. It's been working with many artists since it opened in 2008. The building itself is pretty cool too, designed by architect Rob Wellington Quigley, and it's one of the first "green" museums in California, meaning it's built to be good for the environment.
History
The museum has an interesting history! It first opened way back in 1983 in a different part of San Diego called La Jolla. Back then, it was simply called The Children's Museum of San Diego.
How the Museum Grew
After 10 years, the museum moved to a big warehouse in downtown San Diego. Its name changed to Children's Museum/Museo de los Niños. Then, in 2008, it opened again with a brand new name: The New Children's Museum. The word "new" was added to show its fresh focus. This new focus was all about inviting modern artists to create amazing, full-size art installations for kids to interact with and discover.
Exciting Exhibitions and Milestones
The New Children's Museum has hosted many unique art exhibitions and celebrated big moments over the years.
2008: A Grand Opening
The museum celebrated opening its new home in downtown San Diego with a free block party for everyone. The first big art show was called childsplay. This show was inspired by Allan Kaprow, an important artist who had made art for the museum before.
2009: Animal Art Adventures
The Animal Art exhibition opened in 2009. This show featured art installations that explored how and why animals spark our imagination. Imagine art that makes you think about animals in new ways!
2011: Thinking About TRASH
In 2011, the museum launched the TRASH exhibition. This show helped kids think about waste and recycling in a completely new way. It explored how complex the topic of trash can be.
2013: Playing with Your Food
The Feast: The Art of Playing with Your Food exhibition opened in 2013. It featured 13 artists who created art installations all about food. This sounds like a delicious and fun way to learn about art!
2015: Celebrating California
The Eureka! exhibition in 2015 celebrated the great state of California through art. Later that year, something amazing happened: the museum welcomed its one millionth visitor! That's a lot of people exploring art.
2016: The Wonder Sound
In 2016, artist Wes Bruce created The Wonder Sound. This special art piece was made through the museum's artist-in-residence program, where an artist works at the museum for a period of time.
2017: Sketch Aquarium and Cafe
The museum introduced the Sketch Aquarium by teamLab in 2017. This interactive exhibit lets you draw sea creatures that then come to life in a digital aquarium! Also, the Bean Sprouts cafe opened, offering tasty food for visitors.
2018: Big Birthday Celebrations
The museum celebrated two big birthdays in 2018! It was 35 years since the original museum opened in San Diego. It was also 10 years since it became The New Children's Museum. To celebrate, two artists who had worked with the museum before came back. Jason Hackenwerth created Crystal Cortex, and Brian Dick recreated a popular art piece from 2008 called No Rules...Except (2008/2018). At the end of the year, artist Panca created a colorful mural called SMILE for the museum's entrance bridge.
2019: New Art and National Recognition
In 2019, two new art installations opened: Whammock by Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam and tikitiko by Tanya Aguiniga. The New Children's Museum also received a huge honor: the 2019 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Only five museums received this award that year! The museum also started a new partnership called Studio by the Bay at Seaport Village, where families can watch artists work and join workshops.
2020: Adapting to Challenges
The museum received a grant for its Innovators LAB, a creative space where art, design, and science meet. This lab was renamed The Rosso Family Foundation Innovators LAB. As a National Medal winner, the museum also got to work with StoryCorps (which you might hear on NPR) to record interviews with artists and community members. In March 2020, the museum had to close its doors because of the COVID pandemic. Even though it was closed, the museum quickly launched #thinkplaycreatefromhome. This program provided fun, creative online activities for children and families at home. An art piece called Energized by Regan Russell was installed on the museum's Front Street windows. The museum also started offering virtual school visits and learning kits for schools and other organizations.
