One and nearly all attended the Circus Spectacular, The New Children’s Museum’s sold-out annual fundraising gala, where attendees experienced creativity and played like nowhere else! Guests were dazzled as they moved throughout the museum's multi-level space, delighted as they played in the immersive installations and enchanted as they enjoyed awe-inspiring food, drink, live music, carnival games, Ferris wheel rides, circus performances and so much more!
Proceeds support the Museum’s access programs to ensure that all children can experience art and play, regardless of their circumstances.
In 2022, the leadership team, Board and staff engaged in a strategic planning process that led to updating the mission and vision of the museum:
Mission: To spark creativity, exploration and a sense of belonging through interactive art experiences.
Vision: To be the most innovative, most loved, most inspiring and most sustainable children’s museum in the world.
History: The Museum opened in La Jolla in 1983 as The Children’s Museum of San Diego. It moved in 1993 to a downtown warehouse to become the Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños. The Museum reopened in 2008 as The New Children’s Museum – with the word “new” signifying our focus on commissioning contemporary artists to create immersive art installations for children to explore.
The Building: The New Children’s Museum is a dramatic, multi-level 50,000 square-foot building that includes a series of transparent, flexible spaces which visibly expose the building’s construction and design. Designed by visionary and award-winning architect Rob Wellington Quigley, the dynamic space is one of the first green museums in California.
Commitment: To provide a welcoming space for all families. We believe that diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion are integral to fulfilling our mission and engage children through engaging experiences with contemporary art. View our full DEAI Statement.