As the need for high-quality educational enrichment continues to grow, so does the demand for our services. With your support, we will continue serving the needs of our community by providing hands-on educational opportunities for ALL children. Please take a moment to view the impact we've already made in the lives of children, families, and educators.
As we reopen our doors and embark on new paths, our success would not be possible without YOU. Thousands of children and families rely on our educational resources and programs to fill the need for high-quality, accessible, and hands-on educational content. Our reach would be nothing without the support of our generous Museum family. Please make a gift today to support our efforts to inspire creativity, curiosity, and exploration for ALL children. Never before has serving our mission and shared community been more critical.
Donate to the Exhibits Fund
Contributions to this fund directly support our efforts to bring high-quality, enrichment learning opportunities to children and families through interactive and informal play spaces.
As the need for high-quality educational enrichment continues to grow, so does the demand for our services. Contributions to this fund will ensure we will continue to serve the needs of our community.
San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution. We rely on generous donations from individuals, businesses, foundations, and government entities to continue providing interactive, educational experiences to children and their families. There are many different ways to support San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum: donate, become a member, or volunteer.
Why does your gift matter?
Research shows self-directed, experiential, and content-rich learning promotes executive function skills that can shape a child’s success in school and life. San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum provides early learning supplemental educational resources to children, parents, and educators.
Contributions make up around 60% of the Museum's total income. We could not exist without the help of partners like you. Our admission and membership sales currently only cover about 40% of our operating costs. The remainder comes from generous community partners who care about our future leaders.
Read our most recent Impact Report to learn about all the ways we are making a difference in San Diego.
Ways to Support San Diego Children's Discovery Museum
Individual Giving
Annual Fund to support hands-on science, art, and world culture activities for over 150,000 annual visitors.
Program and Event Sponsorships opportunities allow individuals and businesses the opportunity to directly impact the Museum’s daily programs and events.
Legacy Giving is the opportunity to honor someone special with a memorial gift or consider a Planned Legacy Gift will ensure the Museum remains a source of lifelong learning and discovery for generations to come.
Employer Matching Gifts can double your impact to the Museum. Many companies match the charitable donations made by their employees. Please ask your company’s Human Resources department about their Matching Gift Policy.
Amazon Smile generously donates a percentage of your purchase to the Museum when you designate the Museum as your nonprofit of choice. Add the Smilematic extension to your browser to be automatically redirected to Amazon Smile every time you shop on Amazon!
Admissions Fund, providing free admission to Active-Duty Military and Veteran Families during spring, summer, and winter school breaks; and around 31,000 free admission passes to community organizations working with at-risk and underserved communities.
Scholarship Fund, providing scholarships for students from Title I and low-income schools to take a field trip to the Museum, or providing scholarships for students to have the Mobile Children’s Museum visit their school free of charge.
Membership Fund distributes around 1,545 memberships to underserved families through community partnerships, and an additional 560 memberships are availably annually for checkout through local schools and libraries.
Corporate Partnerships provide opportunities to support the Museum's exhibits, programs, outreach, and operations, allowing local businesses, community organizations, and corporations to make a difference by supporting out-of-school early childhood education.
Volunteer with the Museum to help organize special events, work in the gardens, or work with one of our departments to provide marketing, development, or educational assistance.
Spread the Word and share San Diego Children's Discovery Museum with your friends!