Cartoon Art Museum Youth & Family Workshops and Camps

Cartoon Art Museum Youth & Family Workshops and Camps offers activities such as Saturday Cartooning for Kids, Cartooning for the Whole Family (April), and April Draw and Chill (Online). Participants can attend Cartoon Camp 2026 sessions in June and July, take classes and workshops to produce their own comics and animation, do research into the collection and library, view original cartoon art at exhibitions and screenings, and mix and mingle with professional and aspiring cartoonists. The museum also runs a Cartoonists-in-Residence program that connects visitors with working cartoonists.

• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: General museum hours are 11am to 5pm daily except Wednesdays; Cartoon Camp 2026 sessions run Jun 8–12, 2026 and Jul 6–10, 2026
• Price: EBT, SNAP & MediCal cardholders receive free admission for up to 4 people per cardholder.

The Cartoon Art Museum is a nonprofit educational museum founded in 1984, and it opened to the public at its current location in the fall of 2017 after moving from its 655 Mission Street location, which closed in 2015. Its mission is to ignite imaginations and foster the next generation of visual storytellers by celebrating the history of cartoon art, its role in society, and its universal appeal. The museum houses approximately 9,000 original pieces in its permanent collection and is one of very few museums worldwide with a permanent collection of original animation art, including cels, drawings, background paintings and illustrations from TV series and films produced by Warner Bros., Walt Disney Co., Filmation, Nevlana Studios and Hanna-Barbera. The museum launched the nation’s first Cartoonists-in-Residence program, and visitors can meet and mingle with real cartoonists and produce their own comics and animation at classes and workshops.

The Cartoon Art Museum is a participant in San Francisco Museums For All and took the #OpenToAll pledge to reject discrimination. Scholarships are available to ensure that every child can become easily inspired while enjoying classes. The heart sculpture in the lobby was part of the city-wide Hearts in San Francisco project benefiting San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, and board members offer their professional experience in support of the nonprofit community and assist in fundraising efforts and securing new sources of financial support.

The leadership team includes Executive Director Summerlea Kashar, Curator Andrew Farago, Museum Associate Gladys A. Ochoa, Board Member John Butler, Board Chair Ron Evans, Board Vice Chair Dr. Michael B. Johnson, and Founder/Chair Emeritus Malcolm Whyte. Summerlea Kashar holds an MA in Arts Management from City University, London; Gladys A. Ochoa holds a BFA in Illustration from California College of the Arts and an MFA from San Francisco State University in Museum Studies; Dr. Michael B. Johnson has a Ph.D. in Computer Graphics & Animation and a Masters of Visual Studies from MIT’s Media Lab; and Andrew Farago has curated more than 100 exhibitions of cartoon and comic art and has multiple published books. In 2015, Andrew Farago received the prestigious Inkpot Award from Comic-Con International, and the museum’s Sparky Awards, named for Peanuts creator Charles “Sparky” Schulz, have been awarded to more than 20 cartoonists and other significant contributors to the world of cartoon art.

Last updated March 20, 2026.