Art for All Ages at the New Childrens Museum
There are dozens of different installations at The New Children’s Museum, and there are new exhibits being added to the museum all the time.
In fact, the museum’s name is actually in reference to the idea that there’s always something new for kids to experience. With the incredible diversity of exhibits offered by the museum, it’s clear just how true the museum’s name really is!
Past exhibits and activities have included: No Rules… Except, where instead of being told not to jump on the bed, you get to do so on one of over 40 mattresses and 150 pillows; Sketch Aquarium, where kids can draw sea creatures and have them displayed on the museum’s virtual aquarium; and Sandbox Gallery, where children can play in an oversized sandbox.
Let’s have a look at what you can currently expect to see when you visit the museum.
Wobbleland
Wobbleland is designed for kids four and younger. The exhibit is designed like a giant kitchen sink, complete with soft, human-sized food sculptures perfect for climbing over, hiding in, and stacking up.
Through play, kids explore this world of giant food and larger-than-life fun.
Tikitiko
Tikitiko is an art installation made entirely of soft materials like yarn, wool, and faux furs.
Kids are invited to practice their empathy skills by caring for replicas of fluffy, fuzzy creatures. Tikitiko is designed exclusively for kids three years old and younger.
Whammock!
This exhibit features a vibrant, unstructured, room-sized hammock. It has holes and ropes that encourage children to climb and crawl around. Whammock! is an elevated sensory play experience suitable for all ages.
The Wonder Sound
This exhibit is a climbable labyrinth with a historic and cultural influence. Natural scenic elements, neighborhood structures, and an original soundscape come together to inspire and intrigue.
Kids can even learn to write their own name in a new language developed especially for the exhibit.
Teatro Piñata
Fun for children of all ages, Teatro Piñata is a caravan theater that creates behind-the-scenes visual worlds using theatrical tricks, dramatic lighting, a soundscape, and manipulatable props.
Kids can discover a ticket booth with a secret tunnel, step on stage and put on a show, dress up in colorful costumes, play with shadow puppets and more.
Smile
Before you even set foot at the museum, you must first cross a colorful 48-foot-long bridge to get there!
This bridge is adorned with a mural of playful eyes and hearts (or are they noses?), scattered throughout lines of color, giving the impression of deconstructed, curious faces.
Ocotillo Sunset
An 81-foot-long mural on the back of the museum, Ocotillo Sunset evokes the seasonal cycles of the San Diego region’s desert landscapes through paintings of its varied ecologies.
Look closely as you see the afternoon light bathing a mash-up of native plants and rocky hillsides, including the desert agave and coastal Torrey Pines.
Energized
A 28’ by 13’ mural on the windows of the museum’s makerspace, Energized explores color, light, and visual communication.
Artist-in-residence Regan Russell designed Energized by studying the movement of the sun, and the placement of its abstract shapes and color palette are deliberate, creating a vibrant color dance around the museum throughout the day as the sun moves from east to west.
Breathing Room
Breathing Room is an inviting, sensory-friendly quiet space meant to help people pause in an otherwise highly active environment.
Knitted sculptures made of repurposed T-shirts mimic the rhythmic up and down movement of breathing cycles, while elements like oversized, stuffed sweater forms with weighted arms and organic knitted forms offer a comforting and calm environment for children to take a breather.
Brian and the Bugs
Inspired by author Katie Ruiz’s illustrated children’s book, Brian the Wallflower, this mural is a visual story of connectedness between flowers, butterflies, crickets and other insects, reminding us that the cycle of life continues, even in the face of adversity.
El Más Allá
Immerse yourself in an imaginary world with El Más Allá! Here you can ride down a 40’ slide and gaze upon multiple vibrant, wall-length murals featuring five unique characters, foam blocks, and geometric sculptures.
Each of the five unique characters represent different human emotions and personalities such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, tears of joy and sadness, and friendship.
Children must be 4 years old or at least 40” to use the slide. Only one person may use the slide at a time.
Interactive Art Studios
In the museum’s many art studios, kids are encouraged to make their own art. They can choose to replicate the styles and art pieces they’ve seen in the museum, or they can get the creative juices flowing and make something entirely new!
Each of the art studios offers kids a new medium to work with. They can sculpt clay, decorate a truck with paints, plant flowers, and engage in various other arts and crafts activities.