459 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101
Hours:
- Monday-Wednesday and Friday (9:30 AM-4:30 PM)
- Thursday and Saturday (9:30 AM-3:30 PM)
- Sunday (12:30 PM-4:30 PM)
Admission Prices:
- Children under 1 are free
- Adults and children over 1 ($10)
- Seniors 62 and over and military ($9)
- Museums for All – Free (Up to 4 family members with Calfresh EBT card and valid photo ID)
Overview
The Southern California Children’s Museum is yet another creative, imagination based children’s museum in the Los Angeles area. Although this children’s museum feels a bit smaller than some of its California counterparts, it is still a fun and worthwhile stop for children to explore their imaginations. While it pales in comparison to its Pasadena neighbor, The Kidspace Museum, it’s still wonderful. Tons of interactive exhibits are spread among multiple floors. This makes for a great day of exploration for children.
Permanent and rotating exhibits exist here, the same as most museums, so things can often change, leading to new experiences at visit. How much time you spend here is definetly dependent on your kids imaginations and attention spans. A great addition to visiting the Southern California Children’s Museum is to make a fun packed day and also visit the more impressive Kidspace Museum, less than 10 minutes down the road.
Features
This is a smaller Children’s Museum and some exhibits may rotate and change. When I visited the upper floors were closed but below I will give a brief description of what exhibits were present so that others can have a general idea of what the museum offers.
Numerous, interactive and imaginative play areas and opportunities
- Book/reading room
- Imprint table
- Small toddler slide with big play pillows
- Toy car racing table and train table
- Seascape exhibit with surfboard spring jumpers. This is one of the bigger focal points of the museum.
- Wild California ocean town/woods/nature play area. This is probably the biggest exhibit in the museum. Kids will have a blast running and playing around here. A tiny log slide and crawling areas with mats are part of the exhibit as well.
- Play tent and tiny imaginative camping area
Scout’s Story
The last few months have been a bit of a blur. Our daughter, Scout, just turned 2 and the day after her birthday we received the best belated birthday present we could have ever imagined. Almost a year after being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and lots of ups and downs amidst her fight against this horrific disease, Scout’s cancer was placed into remission.
After undergoing an almost 10 hour surgery to remove malignant tumors in her liver (and the entire right half of her liver and gall bladder) and pelvic area, and a subsequent two week stay in the hospital (this has become somewhat the norm through this process), we finally arrived home the day before Scout’s 2nd birthday, followed by receiving pathology results the following day and Scout being placed into remission. This is what we have been fighting for so long for, yet, somehow our anxiety and worries still seem to be as high as ever. The trauma that we have endured over the past year is something that I thought would fade once we heard the word the remission, yet it appears to be as present as ever.
While we struggle to move forward and figure out how to patch together our emotions, we are incredibly thankful for Scout’s current status and are trying to dim the the past darkness by focusing on what we hope is a bright future. Every day and every opportunity we get to experience something new or to re-hash past experiences as a family, is something that we revel in and cherish. From the smallest of things to trips to children’s museums and zoos to hiking and exploring, we are excited for every moment the future brings and can’t wait to soak up every second of whatever it is life brings our way.
Scout’s Day at the Southern California Children’s Museum
After spending the morning at the absolutely amazing Kidspace Museum, just 10 minutes down the street, we decided to make the most of our day (and long drive to Pasadena) by checking out the Southern California Children’s Museum. While we weren’t sure what to expect, we knew Scout would enjoy it. As I already stated above, this museum pales in comparison to the Kidspace Museum. It is, however, still a lot of fun and younger kids will especially enjoy it.
Scout had a blast on the small toddler play slide area where we spent most of our time. The cute nature themed play area was our second stop and where Scout spent the majority of the rest of our visit.
It took Scout a little over an hour to thoroughly explore the majority of the lower floor of the museum. Again, for those who have explored other children’s museums, this one may seem a bit small.
As we were getting ready to head out to grab some lunch, Scout’s face lit up with excitement. Her little feet took her as fast as she would go to the train table that now laid in front of her. I knew lunch would be a little delayed now as Scout played at the train table.
Through Scout’s treatment, trains have become her absolute favorite thing. I mean any and everything train based becomes Scout’s main focus. What a great way to end the morning, with Scout getting to enjoy one of her favorite things.
We had a phenomenal time at the Southern California Children’s Museum. While it may not have blown us away in the fashion that the Kidspace Museum did, it still allowed us a great opportunity to spend some time as a family and make some memories. We couldn’t have asked for a better day trip to Los Angeles.
