The New Children’s Museum: Explore Art & Creativity

Our mission:

The New Children’s Museum is a new model of children’s museum whose mission is to stimulate imagination, creativity and critical thinking in children and families through inventive and engaging experiences with contemporary art.

Our vision:

To address a critical need in our society and become a leader in engaging children through contemporary art in order to develop the skills needed for the 21st century.

Our history:

The original Museum opened in 1983 in La Jolla as The Children’s Museum of San Diego.  It moved to a downtown warehouse in 1993 and became Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños. In 2008, the Museum reopened as The New Children’s Museum – with the word “new” signifying their focus on commissioning contemporary artists to create full scale art installations for children to engage with and explore. The Museum is housed in a dynamic space designed by visionary and award-winning architect Rob Wellington Quigley and is one of the first green museums in California. In 2018, the Museum celebrated 35 years in San Diego and 10 years as The New Children’s Museum.

Our building. Opened in 2008, The New Children’s Museum is one of the first green museums in California.

Visionary and award-winning architect Rob Wellington Quigley created our dynamic space, full of natural light and fresh air. His design signals our commitment to environmental sustainability. Our dramatic, multi-level 50,000 square-foot building includes a series of transparent, flexible spaces which visibly expose the building’s construction and design.