[photo credit: outhern California Children’s Museum]
The next of those sessions is Thursday, August 27. Called Play for All Abilities, it is set aside for children with developmental differences and their families, and the museum has it scheduled from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at its East Colorado Boulevard location in the Playhouse Village district. Admission costs the same as any other day. What changes is the room.
The floor is kept less crowded and the lighting is dimmed during those hours, the museum said. Music and microphones stay off. Staff offer sensory backpacks holding noise-cancelling headphones and sensory toys. A visual guide and nonverbal communication cards are also available. The hours are meant to give families room to meet one another, according to the museum.
The backpacks are not reserved for one day a month. The museum said they are available as a free daily rental any day it is open, from a staff member at check-in.
Regular admission applies to the session, and play passes may be used. General admission is $8 for adults and for children age 1 and over, and free for children under age 1. Families presenting a state-issued EBT card with valid photo identification pay $3 under the Museums for All program. A 10-visit play pass costs $60. The museum raised its general admission price effective March 1, 2026, saying in a statement that rising operating costs drove the change and that it would continue to offer free and reduced-admission opportunities.
Southern California Children’s Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2013 by a group of parents who saw an unmet need for early childhood education in their community. It serves children from birth through age 6 and is expected to serve nearly 24,000 people in 2025.
“We use play to teach them about bigger concepts,” Renee Garcia, the museum’s executive director at the time, said in a 2023 interview with Pasadena Weekly.
The museum is at 459 East Colorado Boulevard, and free parking is in the lot behind the building on Los Robles Avenue, between Colorado Boulevard and Union Street. Hours vary by day, and visitors can confirm them at (626) 657-0357 or at socalkids.org. Two more sessions follow this month’s, on September 24 and October 29.
Then the lights come back up, the music returns, and the museum sounds like a museum again.
