Friends Of The Childrens Museum At La Habra Inc

The Children’s Museum at La Habra’s mission is to encourage enthusiasm about learning in a hands-on environment that opens the world to even the youngest child. The Friends of the Children’s Museum at La Habra supports that mission through its fundraising efforts on the Museum’s behalf.

Founded in 1977, The Children's Museum at La Habra (CMLH) has served the community for nearly 50 years. We are proud to be the first children's museum to be opened in the Western US. Our exhibits and activities encourage hands-on learning experiences in the arts, science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and rich cultural traditions which promote the educational philosophy of learn-by-doing. CMLH is proud to present permanent and changing exhibits, and in house and outreach programming effectively utilizing a 10,000 square foot space housed in an original La Habra train depot (circa 1920) located in the City of La Habra, California. Each learning space has learning goals associated with the exhibit. We adapt existing spaces or build new ones to address elevated needs in the community.

CMLH’s priorities include:
1. Providing underserved populations with quality educational, art and cultural programs;
2. Increasing the academic readiness skills of primary school-aged children;
3. Increasing teachers’ ability to provide students with core curriculum learning experiences; and,
4. Providing a central community resource for learning and educational skill enhancement.

The Friends of the La Habra Children's museum exists to raise the much needed funds and awareness for the Children's Museum of La Habra.

The Children's Museum exhibits and programs target children, ages 2-10, through hands-on participatory experiences that promote a methodology of learning by doing. The Museum serves approximately 90,000 annual visitors from Orange County (50%), Los Angeles County (41%), and Riverside and San Bernardino counties (9%) and is the only one of its kind in the area.

The museum includes seven exhibit galleries in 10,000 square feet of active, stimulating space provide Museum visitors with a variety of learning environments. Biannual changing exhibits focus on themes that invite discovery and exploration like the Dinosaur Safari exhibit. These rich, interactive, out of the classroom learning opportunities capture children’s imagination, increase self-confidence in discovered abilities and cement learning in core curriculum subjects. The Museum’s seven galleries include: Nature Walk, Science Station, STEAM Lab, Pre-School Playpark, Family Art Center, Kids On Stage and a historic Dentzel Carousel. Special programs and family performances are presented in CMLH’s multi-purpose room. CMLH offers minority and low-income families a bridge to learning through quality science, art and cultural programs. Museum visitors are 70% minority (50% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 5% African American, and 5% Other) and 30% Caucasian. The Museum’s $12.00 admission fee ($11.00 for La Habra residents) and affordable annual family membership fees are in strong contrast to other children's museums whose membership fees are prohibitive to non-affluent families. CMLH’s Education Outreach Programs have received funding awards from the U.S. Department of Education, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the California Arts Council.

The number of under-resourced families in La Habra is extremely high. Less than half (45%) of La Habra preschoolers are assed (2023 Early Development Index Community Profile) and all of the elementary schools in the city are classified as "Title I". By elementary school, more than 80% of under-resourced students are below proficient in subjects like English and Math, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) instruction is scarce. The Guadalupe neighborhood immediately surrounding the Museum consists of 83% Latino students who live below the poverty line (80%) and are English Language Learners (63%).

The Museum’s Educational Outreach & Public Programs provide quality educational experiences that spark students’ curiosity for learning and build cognitive skills. These programs act as a learning bridge to core curriculum subjects (language arts, math and science) for underserved children.

CMLH’s greatest needs are funding-related and include unrestricted funding that can be directed towards CMLH’s programs, building repairs and our mobile museum program. Our building space is over a century-old and has many updates needed so that we can offer world-class programming.

80% of our visitors reside in Orange County along with visitors from Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

As a child, I have fond memories of attending the children's museum with my family. I am excited to help introduce the next generation of children to the museum and make learning come alive.

Early childhood learning and play is directly correlated to success in school. Our dedicated staff creates cost effective programs and exhibits that promote meaningful learning experiences. Every dollar donated to the Museum is maximized to ensure it impacts those who we seek to serve. Our goal is to promote enthusiasm for learning by making education so fun that our young visitors will want to continue learning throughout their lives. We are proud that many of the staff and visitors who experience the Museum today are the children of those who loved the Museum when they were kids!

Successes and Challenges Facing the Board and the Museum

CMLH has been providing hands-on learning and fun to children in our community for nearly 50 years and have won local and national awards for our innovative programs. We also have a very enthusiastic volunteer base including our guild who help with tours, run our gift shop and fundraisers.

A primary challenge is board development. Our current board members are very dedicated, but we seek new, enthusiastic members who will bring new networks of support to the Museum. We also need to diversify our funding sources. Over the years, we have been over-reliant on special events and a few key donors to fund operations. We have recently hired a new director of development to help with fundraising efforts.