Habitot Childrens Museum in Berkeley, San Francisco Bay, United States | Museum

Welcome to Habitot Childrens Museum, Berkeley, United States. Habitot Childrens Museum was founded by parents and educators in 1992 to meet the unique needs and interests of infants, toddlers and preschoolers in a safe and appropriate community setting. Habitot opened its first facility in downtown Berkeley in 1998, after six years of community outreach and fundraising. Habitot's Mission Habitot's History

Habitot Children’s Museum has become the most popular and award-winning children’s hands on discovery Museum in the East Bay. Habitot founders have created a hands-on play and learning center where young children are the ‘big kids’ -- exploring the arts and culture in a safe setting designed especially for small hands and bodies and growing minds.

Our vision for an expanded home for Habitot Childrens Museum

Today, Habitot Discovery Museum is at a crossroads. Our rented, basement-level Museum in downtown Berkeley is filled to capacity and there is no room to grow. The need is great for a larger, more enriching Museum to serve families with young children.  To fulfill its vision, Habitot must find a new home. Habitot’s board of directors is actively working toward moving the Museum into its own larger, stand-alone facility in the next three to five years. We estimate that it will cost five to seven million dollars to secure and build out the new Museum.

Why is Habitot So Needed in the East Bay?  * No other Bay Area community institution exists  exclusively to meet the needs and interests of infants, toddlers and preschoolers, 0-6 years old.  * 180,000 children under 6 years of age live in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties * Development in the early years depends on young children’s exposure to novel and stimulating experiences, caring, engaged adults, and safe and nurturing communities * Reductions in community services, declining public school budgets, diminished family resources, parents working two jobs and long hours, prevalence of overextended preschools, parents’ reliance on inexperienced child care providers and a host of other societal concerns create a need for a community institution that supports early childhood learning, parenting success and community connection. Habitot benefits young children...

With a year round program of interactive exhibits, hands-on art programs, educational classes, multicultural events and performances, a Child Safety Campaign, a year-round early literacy component, a toy lending library, and daily opportunities for social interaction with other children and with their parents and care givers.