Southern California Children’s Museum Programs

Southern California Children’s Museum Programs include play-based activities, exhibits designed to foster excitement and spark a real sense of wonder, and early childhood education programs, exhibits, and play experiences for children and families. The programs also include field trips, community programs, camps, classes, and community-based cultural celebrations, along with exhibits, events, classes, programming, and other opportunities for children to learn about cultural identities.

• Ages: 0–6 years old
• Price: Southern California Children’s Museum is the most affordable nonprofit kids museum in its region.

Southern California Children’s Museum (SCCM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to champion the power of play to cultivate a child’s creativity, spark curiosity, and inspire learning. Exhibits and programs are designed for ages 0–6 to engage head, heart, and hands, and SCCM supports developmental milestone growth for children 0–6 years old through the arts. SCCM places cultural equity and inclusion at the forefront of its mission, creates exhibits and programs for children to learn about cultural identities, and is committed to including people from all cultural backgrounds in its development process. SCCM is committed to serving as a safe place for all children to explore and aims to be a gathering place for children and the adults who care for them, with programs that help build the village every family needs and a focus on being a place where play and connection are treated as rights.

SCCM was founded in 2013 by a group of parents who felt there was an underserved need for public early childhood education in their community, and it has been in existence for 12 years as of the time referenced. In 2025, SCCM served nearly 24,000 people and is described as a museum by the community, for the community. The Board of Directors is all volunteer and is the driving force behind Southern California Children’s Museum, and the Board is committed to creating the region’s premier children’s museum dedicated to Arts, Culture, and the Humanities. The leadership team includes Catherine Mi Welch (Founder and President), Cheryl Liu Mang (Vice President), Jennifer Quan (Treasurer), Maren Hoecker (Secretary), Allison Turner (Director of Grants and Foundation Relations), Amy Belmont McNulty (Director-at-Large), Cindy Shih (Director-at-Large), Valerie Zapanta-Koselke (Director-at-Large), Karen Chan (Director-at-Large), Jessica Riady Cho (Director-at-Large), and Ju-Djuin Csontos (Director-at-Large).

SCCM hosts cultural celebrations that uplift different languages, traditions, and identities so that all children feel celebrated and seen, and it supports local BIPOC authors by providing a platform for them to share their stories with children and families. SCCM partners with cultural organizations to make sure their voice is represented in programming and lessons remain authentic, and it provides reduced pricing for low-income families to remain accessible to all communities. SCCM partners with local schools and organizations to offer field trips, community programs, camps, and classes, and through community partnerships, SCCM is working to ensure that every child in its area has access to quality play experiences. SCCM acknowledges that its museum space occupies land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Tongva, Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, Serrano, Kizh, and Chumash Peoples and is committed to uplifting their stories, culture, and community in its programming.

Last updated July 1, 2026.