Museums In Santa Monica Ca
Santa Monica is an incredible place to visit for kids! A short distance from the bustle of Los Angeles, this sunny city is amazing – perfect weather, pristine beaches, very walkable and it is incredibly family-friendly!
Of course, you cant visit this iconic city in Los Angeles without visiting the infamous Santa Monica Pier. Its an amazing place for kids, with yummy treats, an aquariums – even a trapeze school!
Did we mention the pier has an amusement park!? Pacific Pier is THE family place to play with lots of fun rides perfect for the whole family!
Santa Monica is also known for its beach – with over 340 days of sunshine every year, you have plenty of days to get down with the family and enjoy the 3.5 miles of incredible coastline! Get those buckets and spades out!
However, Santa Monica isnt all beach. They also have great attractions and museums, like the Museum of Flying, where kids can even enjoy a fun flight simulator! Amazing!
Get those swimmers and sunglasses ready, because Santa Monica will bring a ton of summer to your family day out!
Where Is The Cayton Childrens Museum
The Cayton Childrens Museum is located on the 3rd floor of the open-air Santa Monica Place Mall, 395 Santa Monica Place, Suite 374. The Mall has convenient, on-site parking, and is also located at the final stop of the Metro Expo line, making public transportation a viable option for getting there.
Check Out Cayton Childrens Museum In Santa Monica
Theres kiddie cultureand more.
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The Cayton Childrens Museum is the exact opposite of any museum experience you ever had as a child. Instead of Dont touch anything! kids are encouraged to touch everythingand we mean everything!
The 21,000-square-foot space is the new version of the Zimmer Childrens Museum, which for the last 20 years was located on Wilshire Boulevard.
We knew we wanted to find a site that had greater accessibility and visibility, so we started looking for a new home, says Esther Netter, founder and CEO of the Cayton.
Located just two blocks from the beach, and on the top floor of the open-air mall Santa Monica Place, the Cayton houses five thoughtfully curated colorful exhibits that are experiential. Kids are able to touch and feel and climb aboardoffering undeniable appeal for the 0- to 10-year-old crowd.
Spaces like the Cayton allow people and families of different backgrounds to gather as a community. This is a place where children can play and practice life skills, shares Esther.
In the exhibit Lets Help, kids can climb onto a full-size helicopter, a Coast Guard Zodiac rescue boat and a vintage fire truckall of which at one time were used by first responders to save lives.
In our fire station, kids put on costumes and create a theater of play by working with and helping others. Thats how children learn skills like empathy, says Esther.
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Cayton Museum Santa Monica
The first museum of its kind in Los Angeles, the Cayton Museum offers 21,000-square-feet of discovery-based exhibits, more than 35 child-directed exhibits, and immersive play and hands-on learning for children for children at Santa Monica Place.
Public programs, workshops, classes, camps and arts, and cultural activities are offered seven days a week. The museum is designed around core universal values, giving children, youth, and families a unique space to practice their best selves.
Admission To Cayton Childrens Museum In Santa Monica
The Cayton has set up a time-entry system to avoid getting too crowded and allow children plenty of time to play during their two-hour time slot.
- Children $14.00
- Children under 1 FREE
- Adult Admission $14.00
- Visitors who participate in EBT and WIC now enjoy FREE admission to the Cayton.
- Active and Retired Military & First Responders receive 50% off admission which is good for up to six people each visit with valid identification.
- Educators receive 20% off admission.
- Special discounted rates for groups of 10+. Please email for more information.
- Membership plans start at $105.00 for unlimited admission for one named adult and one child.
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Find Out What’s Happening In Santa Monicawith Free Real
This decision comes as a result of declining omicron cases in the county and a sign that the surge is now waning, Drati said.
“Given that the majority of students and staff in our district are now vaccinated and that our 5 to 12-year-olds are authorized to be vaccinated, we feel confident that this alignment continues to be in the best interests of students and staff,” Drati said.
New Childrens Museum At Santa Monica Place
A new Childrens Museum at Santa Monica Place opens to the public on Saturday.
The Cayton Childrens Museum is a 21,000 square-foot facility featuring 35 exhibits, a multipurpose room, state of the art theater, art studios, gift shop, and more. The museum is located on the third floor of Santa Monica Place.
Childrens museums are powerful spaces for gathering, for being in community, for celebrating, for playing and for learning, said Esther Netter, founder and CEO of the Cayton Childrens Museum, in a statement. We are so excited to unveil the Cayton in Santa Monica for all the families, children and youth of our great city.
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Children Learn Play And Explore At New Santa Monica Museum
SANTA MONICA, Calif. â Grocery shopping is something a kid may not always want to do, but 9-year-old Stella seems to be having a blast. However, this isnât any old grocery store, it is a mini one at the new Cayton Childrens Museum.
“Tiny kids can learn how to be grown up and actually use all of this stuff,” says Stella.
Stella is at the new Santa Monica childrenâs museum with her sister Phoebe. They love playing together, but they are also able to make friends. The museum has many interactive exhibits that allow children to touch and play.
Stella wants to start her own company when she grows up to help people and says the museum is teaching her how to do that.
“I feel like Iâm learning here,” says Stella.
Founder Esther Netter says the Cayton Children’s Museum is where children lead the play. They have free range to explore and learn, with adult supervision.
“Play is important. It is how children learn and we invite adults to show up with their inner child and play and learn,” says Netter.
Netter hopes the museum will create opportunities to teach kids how to be kind, patient, and learn to share. She also says they will be able to see the world from a new perspective.
“It makes it unique in a world where kids are often limited in what they can touch and gauge and play with,” said Netter.
Children can touch the real life fire trucks and helicopters. Stella feels her possibilities are endless.
For ticket information click here.
Need To Know Before You Go
Parking at Santa Monica Place is free for the first 90 minutes. Posted rates apply after that the Cayton does not validate parking. Santa Monica Place is inches from the Expo Line .There is a small, designated snack area with vending machines, in view of a number of the installations.
The Cayton Children’s Museum is ideal for children up to 10 years old, with the sweet spot probably in the 3 -7 range. That said, my 10-year-old enjoyed every last inch of the museum, and will likely continue to do so for some time to come. And along those lines, most of the exhibits are equally enjoyable for adults, except for the few that we might be “too big for, old lady.”
Admission is $14 for adults and children infants under 12 months are free. Advance ticket purchase is advised, although walk-ups can usually be accommodated. Tickets have a designated entry time guests are allotted two hours per visit.
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Into The Magic Of The Cayton Childrens Museum
Picture a place that invokes the wholesome art of imaginative play so effectively, it has the power to flip some of your most fixed perceptions on their head. Santa Monicas new Cayton Childrens Museum is proof that such a place exists and from the young to the young-at-heart, those who step into this portal of learning may step out seeing things a little differently.
Started as the Zimmer Childrens Museum on Wilshire Boulevard and grown through philanthropy, the vibrant learning lab has now bloomed into its permanent perch on the southeast corner of the citys iconic Third Street Promenade. Just blocks from the Fairmont Miramar, the Cayton Childrens Museum offers 20,000 square feet of immersive experiences both whimsical and wise.
This isnt one of those seen-one, seen-them-all childrens museums with a magnetized wall and infinity mirror tunnel. Sure, the Cayton has these things too, but like all of the museums attractions, theyre thoughtfully imbued with a deeper purpose. Deviating from the STEM-based structures of classic childrens museums, this institution is a horse of its own color, brimming with opportunities for self-discovery while focusing on core values like teamwork, community, and empathy.
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Whats Changed At The Cayton Vs The Zimmer
Most obviously, the difference is location, location, location! Whereas the old Zimmer was on the lower floors of the Jewish Federation building in Mid-Wilshire, the new location is on the top deck of Santa Monica Place Mall. The new space fills 21,000 square feet, with a free-flowing layout, as well as natural light coming in through expansive entryway windows and skylights. The new Santa Monica children’s museum inherits all the conveniences of the mall, including ample parking, a wide ranging food court, and proximity of fun shops like the Disney Store and 3rd Street Promenade. If you’re shopping for kid friendly items, you can’t do better than the museum’s own gift shop, with an expertly curated range of gifts, toys, and educational items.
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An Armadillo Porcupine And Onion Walk Into A Museum
Bringing play indoors, the Cayton Childrens Museum was designed as a series of unexpected spaces that inspire kids to learn about and engage in their community. Located steps from Santa Monica Pier, the museum will adaptively reuse part of the upper floor of Santa Monica Place, a retail center originally designed by Frank Gehry, by transforming a former artisanal food hall into the home of the Cayton Childrens Museum.
Imagined as an inclusive space for free and safe discovery, the museums non-linear design relies on a network of freestanding, tactile objects purposefully sited to frame portions of the five exhibit neighborhoods while not revealing the entirety of the museums total offerings all at once. The free plan approach affords each visitor the opportunity to chart his or her own Path of Awesome through the more than 30 exhibits focused on helping kids play their way to a better world.
Acting as waypoints along their path are architecturally scaled objects affectionately referred to as the Armadillo, Porcupine, Onion, Egg, Houses and Drum. These objects shape the exhibit neighborhoods and address the requirements for non-exhibit program such as: entry/ticketing, security, classrooms, flex theater and MUSE the Museums retail frontage in a fun and irreverent way. Nicknamed for their external appearance, these objects solve non-exhibit program requirements while remembering that everything is a teachable moment in a childrens museum.
Cayton Children’s Museum Reopens In August Here Are The Details On Pay
SANTA MONICA, CA Cayton Children’s Museum is reopening its doors with waived admission fees to help promote its PLAY FOR ALL initiative in the pandemic.
The museum opens on August 4 and will add time entry slots for visitors. Museum-goers will also have the museum’s new pay-as-you-wish admission model for Los Angeles County residents, museum officials said.
The new admission model supports the museum’s goal of making play accessible for all kids. The museum will reopen with its popular exhibits designed to inspire young visitors to explore creativity, imagination, community, and self-discovery.
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History Of The Cayton Museum
The Cayton Museum opened its doors in the Santa Monica Place shopping center in June of 2019, but the organization already had a long history and an excellent reputation.
For 20 years, the venue was located in the Jewish Federation Goldsmith Center, where it was known as the Zimmer Childrens Museum. The new name recognizes Andrea and Barry Cayton, whose support enabled the Museum to move to its sunny new beachfront home. The new location is ideal for families since Santa Monica Place is a close neighbor to dynamic family attractions like the Santa Monica Pier and Pacific Park. The move increased the Museums space from 14,000 to 21,000 square feet, and the number of annual visitors is expected to triple.
The Zimmer stretched beyond its Jewish focus during the transition, leaving behind some synagogue play scenes and converting its model Wailing Wall into a more generic Wishing Wall. The new space has been designed to deepen the Museums mission to create a future where young people are nurtured at every age to become compassionate, confident human beings with the power to shape their lives and a desire to make the world a better place.
Whats The Museum Like
The Cayton Childrens Museum is 21,000 square feet of discovery-based fun and hands-on exhibits that kids and adults will love. Their calendar will list arts and cultural events that families will surely love.
The space is designed as five exhibit wings that are meant to inspire visitors to explore core universal values, such as kindness, compassion, respect and hospitality.
Childrens museums are powerful spaces for gathering, for being in community, for celebrating, for playing, and for learning, explains Esther Netter, founder and CEO of the Cayton.
Cayton Childrens Museum Where: 395 Santa Monica Place, Suite 374, Santa MonicaHours: Open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, noon-7 p.m. SundaysAdmission: $14 per person
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Santa Monica’s All New Cayton Children’s Museum Is A Game Changer
The long-awaited Cayton Children’s Museum opened its doors at Santa Monica Place Mall, moving from its former incarnation as the much loved Zimmer Children’s Museum in the middle of the city. While we looked forward to this new museum with great anticipation, we had to wonder: could anything warm our hearts the way the Zimmer did? Spoiler! The Cayton is up to the job!
Keep reading to find out what you can expect on a visit to the Cayton…
How high can you jump? Photo by Matthew Tucciarone
Santa Monica Students Are Still Required To Wear Masks Indoors
SANTA MONICA, CA Masks are no longer required for Santa Monica students outdoors, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District officials announced Tuesday. Masks are still required indoors.
The outdoor mask requirement for schools TK-12 was lifted by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health starting at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, district officials said.
“The SMMUSD School Board has directed us to lift the requirement effective immediately, with some exceptions. Staff and students may voluntarily continue to wear masks outdoors, if they so desire,” Superintendent Ben Drati, Ph.D., said in a statement Tuesdsay night.
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Exhibits Kids Can Touch
The museum’s five wings feature the following themes and highlighted exhibits:
REACH FOR___ inspires children to discover their capacity and ability to achieve.
Visitors can test new height through the Courage Climber, a mesh web of ropes suspended from the ceiling that forms a canopy, allowing children to explore the museum from different vantage points, expanding their perspective and worldview.
LAUNCH YOUR___ invites the youngest visitors to explore what it means to push beyond, in a safe yet exciting way through Skyscape, an exhibit of suspended ceiling sculptures that combine color, movement, and air to stimulate senses and engage young minds.
LET’S HELP ___ teaches children the many ways they can serve and support our communities as active citizens who respond, rescue and help each other. Exhibits include the Help-a-copter where visitors interact with a repurposed helicopter to fly to the rescue our Animal Hospital, sponsored by VCA, where children practice caring for and taking responsibility for their pets in imaginative ways, so they understand the importance of taking accountability for others To the Rescue!, a sea-like ball pit with a recycled Coast Guard rescue boat.
TOGETHER WE ___ encourages collaborative play, communication, and discovery to explore what is possible when we work together in a shared space.
Museum hours of operation are Monday – Saturday from 10 am – 7 pm, and Sunday from 12 pm – 7 pm. To learn more, visit Cayton Museum.org.
What To Do At Cayton Childrens Museum In Santa Monica
The first thing youll notice, as you enter, is the large Courage Climber, a web of ropes suspended on the ceiling that kids and grown-ups who accompany their children under 5 can climb to. This is most probably be the first thing your children, like mine, will want to try. Part of the Reach For Wing, this colorful spider-web gives a different vantage point to the young visitors and help them reflect on the world around them.
In the Lets Help Wing, right under the web, you will find the ball pit, which is always a favorite of my daughters. This is no ordinary ball pit. A real-size lifeboat sits in the middle of the lake made out of blue and white balls and there are life jackets, so children can rescue the poor souls in the water.
The most impressive part, for me, were the realistic helicopter and firefighter truck. Uniforms, helmets and boots are available for children to wear to immerse themselves in that universe and play the part. My daughter became an instant NASA technician and my son turned into a pilot. They had fun touching all the buttons inside the helicopter that would respond with flashing lights.
Do you have a budding vet and pet lover at home? Then, the animal hospital is for them. Grab a scrub and a stethoscope and tend to the ailing animals. This wing is all about helping, as youve already guessed.
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