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All About Kidspace
History of Kidspace
In 1979, Kidspace Children's Museum officially launched at the California Institute of Technology. A community project of the Junior League of Pasadena, Kidspace addressed a critical educational need in the San Gabriel Valley: increased access to the arts, humanities and sciences for children. Volunteers created and presented a prototype interactive exhibit, "Making Senses," designed to stimulate the interest and curiosity of children by featuring robotics and neon light displays. Ten thousand young visitors, their parents and teachers participated in the first exhibition during its six-week run, a significantly larger turnout than the 2,000 visitors expected.
Following this success, the Museum opened its doors in 1980 in Rosemont Pavilion on scenic Arroyo Seco parkland with long-term "hands-on" exhibits. Among other organizations, exhibit design and construction were the product of community collaborations with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Art Center College of Design and UNOCAL. Volunteers helping create the new museum included a Pasadena Unified School District superintendent, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory director and an originating director of the Princeton Junior Museum, all of whom provided expertise and guidance as members of the Museum's first Board of Advisors.
In 1981, with burgeoning support, Kidspace leased a larger and more accessible site from Pasadena Unified School District in the heart of Pasadena. Later that year, Kidspace Children's Museum was incorporated as a private, nonprofit children's museum with a mission of enriching the lives of children through an interactive learning environment that is fun for children families. Kidspace remains committed to providing exhibits and programs in the arts, sciences and humanities that promote imagination, exploration and discovery.
Over the next five years, Kidspace introduced participatory exhibits and educational programs that engaged and educated children in the arts, humanities and sciences. Quarterly themes, such as Homes and Habitats, Seasons and Celebrations and Children of the World at Play, provided focus during public programming and school tours.
By the 1990s, Kidspace had established its reputation as an innovative institution in the community. A new school programs coordinator met specific needs of teachers to coordinate curriculum with visits to the museum. In addition, campers enrolled in summer workshops and "Toddlers on the Move" provided popular and effective parenting classes and developmental play. The staff, with the energetic support of community volunteers and the Circle of Friends support group, produced a range of annual events, including the Rosebud Parade (a child-sized Rose Parade), the "creatively creepy" Haunted House, Critter Expo and the Eco-Arts Festival. This period of growth was charted by Kidspace's first comprehensive strategic plan to broaden its reach into the community, fortify its volunteer base and respond to the critical needs of the community's schools, children and families.
In 1996, the Kidspace Board of Directors adopted a strategic plan to grow the museum from a small local attraction to a major Southern California cultural and educational destination. In 2002, Kidspace closed its former site at McKinley School in Pasadena and began renovation of the historic Fannie Morrison Horticultural Center buildings at Brookside Park in the Arroyo Seco.
The new Kidspace features world-class exhibitry and 2.2 acres of outdoor learning environments designed to encourage children to discover the excitement of learning while engaging in the creativity of play. At Kidspace, children can unleash an earthquake, feed giant bugs, craft art through nature and climb raindrops 40 feet into the air. With endless possibilities to create, discover and explore, no two visits to Kidspace are ever alike.
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