Santa Fe Children's Museum

We work to reduce these impacts and to ensure that the Museum is available to everyone in the community, as reflected in 3 types of programs:

Community Access is ensured by our bilingual staff, who offer economic assistance through::
Discounts every day for 7669 SNAP recipients, military and first responder, teachers and more.
Extended evening hours and free admission for 1811 children after 4:00 pm on Thursdays.
Camp Scholarships this year for 34 kids who receive free or reduced-cost lunch at school.
347 complimentary admissions and 53 free annual memberships through our community partners.
Evening art and science hands-on education at shelters, libraries, schools and community centers.

Schoolchildren Access is promoted to educators who request our offerings so that:
1,236 kids from 31 schools came for free field trips in the 2018-2019 school year
9,586 children enjoyed Stargazer’s innovative bilingual program in 82 schools!
Students who participate in field trips or Stargazer receive a free one-year Student Membership.

Special Needs Access is provided by our bilingual staff, who are trained in sensory-sensitive practices.
Sensory-Friendly Sundays, with dim lights, quiet atmosphere, and other supports occur monthly, plus events such as sensory Easter Egg Hunt presented with our partner organizations.
Sensory-friendly tools are available every day on our website and at the front desk.
Aids for blind and deaf children are planned and coming soon.

Through our Title 1 Field Trips and Stargazer Program, schoolchildren explore science and create art at more than 35 exhibits in the Museum and off-site STEM education through our portable planetarium. Field Trips at the Museum are designed to support the critical educational work that teachers (and parents!) do daily with students. The Museum provides tangible, highly engaging ways for children to apply what they learn in school and for them to be inspired to learn more. Our exhibits and programs are designed by teams of former classroom teachers, disciplinary experts, and exhibit fabricators. Each exhibit is aligned with grade levels in mind.

Stargazer, our portable planetarium, brings innovative STEM education to rural schools throughout Northern New Mexico. In Stargazer, 2,500 Native American children a year explore the Cosmos without leaving their schools. Specifically, Title 1 and Pueblo Schools, K-6 located in Northern NM will benefit from this request. Counties served through this program include: Santa Fe, Pojaque, Santo Domingo Pueblo, Espanola, Albuquerque, Los Alamos, Santa Cruz, Las Vegas, Ribera, Ohkay Owingeh, Chama, Rio Rancho, Pecos, Tohatchi and Las Cruces. Increased funding will allow for expansion into other counties. The short-term goal for 2020-21 is to serve 12,000 school children. The long-term goal is to serve 25,000 kids each year, creating in them a desire to learn which ultimately improves academic success

The Santa Fe Children’s Museum is perhaps the only non-profit educational and cultural institution in Santa Fe committed to serving the needs and interests of children by providing exhibits and programs that stimulate curiosity and motivate learning. The Museum caters to children ages 0-10, providing embedded curriculum in science, art, and humanities in each weekly program, out of school time camp, and self-facilitated learning-through-play experience.

Our target is educational success for all children, but we realize that kids from disadvantaged backgrounds and neighborhoods are likely most affected by the current shortcomings in education.

Because geography plays a significant role, we launched Stargazer, our bilingual portable planetarium, which travels throughout Northern New Mexico, visiting 2 or 3 schools each week. In 2018, 4,805 students experienced Stargazer in almost 40 public schools. An additional 3,295 children and their families flew in Stargazer in the Museum and at partners throughout the community. Altogether Stargazer directly impacts over 10,000 visitors a year!

The below represents how we served our community in 2019 at the Santa Fe Children’s Museum. Our future goals include: increasing funding for our access for all initiative and all operations of the Museum, opening a Southside Santa Fe Museum location and increasing our numbers served overall.

59,000 Visitors

8,344 Free or Discounted Admissions, offered daily, plus
1,811 Kids free on Thursday afternoons

39 Title I Schools hosted for Free Field Trips, and
26 Non- Title I School Field trips which included
1,981 Children, who also received a free student membership for the entire year

10,969 Kids and their adults experiencing Stargazer, our portable planetarium
(22,033 since inception in February 2018)
81 Public Schools throughout Northern New Mexico visited by Stargazer, for free
116 Bilingual star shows presented in Stargazer

159 Kids attended camp
27 Received full or partial scholarships

372 Active Family Memberships
31 Free Family Memberships

17 Partner Organizations in the Community
439 Admissions through these Partnerships
11 Free Birthday Parties

89 Volunteers
3,029 Volunteer Hours

122 Individual Donors
92 Business Donors
31 Foundation Donors

2720 Birthday party attendees