A commitment to accessible learning experiences for all children is one of the cornerstone values of The New Children’s Museum and a driving force behind our educational partnerships.

School-in-Residence Program
In fall of 2008, The New Children’s Museum launched a pilot School-in-Residence educational program that provides hands-on, meaningful and guided projects to students from downtown San Diego.

Through this program, fifty third-graders and their teachers from Washington Elementary spend three weeks on-site at NCM, taking their regular classes in the Museum’s Arts Education Center. They participate in a specially designed curriculum to enhance and encourage creativity. Goals of the program include building community within the school; encouraging students to examine objects in new ways and ask questions; promoting the art-making process and empowering students to view themselves as artists. Ultimately, the Museum’s School-in-Residence program will partner with schools from all over San Diego county.

After School Partnership with Monarch School and A.R.T.S. (A Reason to Survive)
NCM is proud to partner with Monarch School and A.R.T.S. for a weekly after school program. The Monarch School provides education and basic needs to homeless or at-risk children, and A.R.T.S. offers free art activities to children facing serious life difficulties. Children from both groups spend one afternoon per week in the Museum, taking part in artist-led studio activities in addition to free play in the Museum’s galleries. These weekly visits provide students with a creative outlet for expression, and consistent exposure to the arts. They also educate students about careers in the arts through direct contact with local artists and museum staff.