SANTA MONICA—The Zimmer Children’s Museum, which used to be located in downtown Los Angeles, will be moving to Santa Monica Place by the end of 2018.
The museum’s staff announced on Tuesday, January 23 that the museum would be leaving its current location on Museum Row and Wilshire Boulevard, and would be relocating to downtown Santa Monica. The museum was going to open in The Plaza, a mall currently under construction on 4th and Arizona, but staff indicated that the museum needed to leave their current location sooner than the mall would be complete.
The new space is double the size of the one on Museum Row, and will bring all new exhibits including a curated souvenir shop for visitors. The museum is already at work searching for and contracting new architects and designers to work on the space.
The museum will be open in the northeast corner of Santa Monica Place, where the shop, The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories currently sits. That shop will be moved elsewhere in the mall to accommodate the change. This will place the Zimmer Children’s Museum beside luxurious stores in Santa Monica, including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Co., Hugo Boss, Nike and Bloomingdale’s.
The museum first opened in a 600 square-foot space in the Westside Jewish Community Center, but will occupy more than 20,000 square feet in its new location. It is expected to bring in 250,000 visitors a year, and is a non-profit opened to all Los Angeles children.
Zimmer’s Children Museum includes play areas, exhibits and classes for children ages 0-8. The classes have a wide variety, ranging from preparation for school to language classes for toddlers and more.
The museum features a special program, “youTHink,” for middle school and high school students. The program is a part of the organization ShareWell, which specializes in empowering and promoting underserved children and teens.
According to the museum’s website, youTHink “empowers youth to make a difference in their lives and communities though arts-based classroom lessons and a range of arts and youth leadership programs after school hours. These programs empower youth to find their voice, develop their critical thinking skills, engage in creative and meaningful extracurricular activities, and take positive action for social change.”
Admission to the museum is currently $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 2-17. Grandparents get in for free on Tuesdays. Annual memberships, which cost $109 a year, allow for year-round entry for two adults and their children as well as discounts on all classes and camps.
