Please Support Our Discovery Fund

Financial challenges from escalating inflation, Silicon Valley layoffs, and the spiraling costs of living in the Bay Area are facing unprecedented numbers of families, and as a result, we have experienced a 51% increase in the use of our subsidized admissions programs, Museums for All and the Open Door Policy. Because no child should ever be turned away from the unique hands-on, minds-on experiences the Museum offers, these programs provide low-income families – those qualifying for state and federal food and health assistance – with equal opportunities to visit and pay what they can, if anything. Sadly, more than 20% of families who used to pay full fare (more than 25,000 visitors) are no longer in a position to do so, which has decreased our revenue at the gate substantially. Your contribution to our Discovery Fund will help ensure the Museum can continue offering these access programs and serve all children in our community.

Located next to Bill’s Backyard, visitors will enter the new 4,000 square foot Exploration Portal and discover fascinating patterns and symmetry that make up the world around us. Eight interactive exhibits and artistic elements will encourage children to use all of their senses to explore both the natural and human-made world. Three SmartFlowers, solar arrays in the shape of sunflowers, will fascinate children and adults alike as they open as the sun rises in the morning, move throughout the day as they track the sun across the sky, and fold up as the sun sets for the day. It is also being constructed with environmentally sustainable engineering and materials in respect for the nearby Guadalupe River so that it will serve as an educational oasis amidst a densely-urban surrounding.

Even having redoubled efforts to ensure our access programs to serve the growing number of low-income families in the region, there continue to be children who face multiple barriers to accessing interactive learning experiences. To reach and serve these children, the Museum has had long-standing partnerships with several community-based organizations, particularly in east San Jose. With support from Discovery Fund donors, the Museum will continue to offer facilitated workshops and family field trips for families of Educare Preschool, ICAN, and Somos Mayfair tailored to each organization’s priorities. Support also ensures that we can be responsive to new circumstances that may emerge over the next year. Whether there are new refugees from around the world resettled in San Jose or new family support centers opening nearby, the Museum is a valuable educational and enrichment resource.

When parents with children on the Autism spectrum asked for special events during which the Museum welcomes only families with children with special needs, we created Play Your Way with great success. With Discovery Fund donor support, we will offer 3 Play Your Way private events for families in 2024, including a special evening on Halloween. We will also work towards identifying one day per month to host Afternoons for All Abilities and offer a special interactive Story Time appropriate for all ages and sensory engagement.

After a very successful 10-museum tour in cities throughout the United States, Hello from Japan will re-open in our West Wing for a four-month venue. This 2,000 square foot immersive exhibit invites visitors to take a journey to contemporary Japan and get an authentic peek into Japanese culture. Featuring a bustling modern city street inspired by Tokyo’s Harajuku district that bridges to a tranquil Shinto shrine, you’ll see the incredible contrast between modern kawaii aesthetics and traditional motifs and customs. The transition between the two shows how the Japanese culture values history, a society where the past, present, and future harmoniously coexist.