The Habitot Children’s Museum first opened its doors in downtown Berkley in 1998, and the institution has served over 950,000 residents of underserved communities in the Bay Area since. The 7,000 sq. foot facility is home to exhibits that help teach kids about the value of physical activity, water preservation, and art and culture. The hands-on Museum encourages early childhood education and aims to help support a generation of curious and creative kids.

Stimulation of children’s minds and imaginations in the early years of their life (0-5) is vitally important because this is the time the brain is developing most rapidly. Unfortunately, for many families in the Bay Area the lack of access to educational opportunities threatens this early brain development. Through partnerships with various social service agencies, the Museum is able to reach those most in need of early childhood education. Habitot brings in over 6,000 low income and special needs visitors every year, which include homeless children who rarely get to interact and play in such a habitat, teen parents who can receive parenting tips and advice from classes offered by the Museum, and immigrant families who many times make their first English-speaking friends at the facility.

If families are unable to find or afford transportation to Berkley to go to the Habitot Museum, the organization offers off-site exhibits as well. The staff conducts parent-toddler playgroups throughout high-risk neighborhoods in the Bay Area using the exhibit as a backdrop and teaching mechanism.

Part of the value of the Museum and what makes it so unique is the number of subjects the organization tries to address. They offer a number of classes to parents and children that cover a wide range of subjects, such as the importance of supporting pre-elementary school art, financial aid opportunities in the community, and parent support groups. They also offer teacher training courses for public and private school employees through the T.E.A.C.H. Reach program.

The Museum has provided a number of other benefits to the Bay Area as well. The building serves as a community center where parent-to-parent connections are fostered and daycare services are provided to those who would not be able to afford it otherwise. Due to the national recognition the Museum has received through their numerous awards, the facility attracts visitors that have helped boost the economy of the surrounding neighborhood.

Since its opening, the Habitot Museum has had a profoundly positive influence on the Bay Area and is one of the leading children’s museums in the country. Their unique approach to community-building has proven to be effective, and their work has not gone unnoticed. The Museum has received a great deal of national recognition, including being named Nickelodean’s Parentsconnect.com ‘Best Museum for Little Kids’ and the Bay Area Reader’s Choice Awards ‘Best Museum for Families.’

For more information: http://www.habitot.org/