During this time of physical distancing, Kidspace Children’s Museum continues to spark connection, laughter, and inspiration through the Kidspace-At-Home: Virtual Learning & Play Resources initiative. As parents navigate this uncharted territory, Kidspace-At-Home brings hands-on, joyful learning experiences to families every day through their website and social media platforms. “Our Kidspace-At-Home page showcases an assortment of projects, activities, experiments, and resources, all of which can easily be done at home,” stated JJ Leissing, chief programs officer at Kidspace. “To keep with the mission and spirit of Kidspace, our featured activities are designed to be kid-driven, open-ended experiences that emphasize play learning and encourage curiosity, creativity, and exploration.”

 

For the month of April, the museum hosted a live virtual event series with World of the Weasel, the creators of the children’s books “Once Upon a Weasel” and “Wild, Wild Weasel.” Each week sent viewers on a journey with their book’s main animal character. The audience was able to learn how to draw a weasel, enjoy story time, and go behind the scenes with Kidspace’s live animal collection.

 

Kidspace has also partnered with the Tournament of Roses ® to produce the first ever virtual Rosebud Parade, featuring small scaled floats lovingly made at home. For twenty years (1987-2007) Kidspace hosted the Rosebud Parade, which featured family decorated floats – bikes, wagons, strollers, and scooters. When Kidspace moved the event from El Molino Avenue to Lake Avenue in Pasadena, the Tournament of Roses became a key partner. This new format provides the public the opportunity to participate by submitting float videos and/or photos by May 11. The virtual Rosebud Parade will be aired on Facebook live on May 28 to showcase the creativity of young minds.

 

Kidspace’s online Busy Bee Store has recently launched which features select best sellers, as well as museum curated STEM, arts, and activity kits. The museum store seeks to support families during this time by providing merchandise that inspires play and engages family learning. “For more than 40 years, we have been a community resource and though Kidspace may be temporarily closed, the team is as committed as ever to execute our mission,” said Board President and Interim CEO, Mike Bryant. “I could not be more proud of the service Kidspace is providing through virtual programming and now the online store. Kidspace will continue to do our best to adapt to meet the needs of families during this unprecedented time.”

 

To access weekly Kidspace-At-Home programming or the Busy Bee Store, visit kidspacemuseum.org.

 

ABOUT KIDSPACE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

 

Kidspace Children’s Museum, a nonprofit organization, is located at 480 N. Arroyo Blvd., in Brookside Park, Pasadena, CA on 3.5 acres of both indoor and outdoor, interactive environments. The museum is temporarily closed until further notice in accordance to public health mandates, but continues to be a community resource, providing play-based learning opportunities through Kidspace-At-Home: Virtual Learning and Play Resources. The mission of Kidspace is to nurture the potential of all children through kid-driven experiences, inspiring them to become joyful, active learners. For more information, visit kidspacemuseum.org.