Hands-on museum for kids rolls along

A museum geared for visitors 8 years old and younger could open within a year in Sacramento, becoming the region's only comprehensive children's museum and the latest in a rich collection of regional offerings.

For two years, a group of parent volunteers and other supporters worked to establish a hands-on style museum that will expose young minds to science, the arts and culture.

"We kind of have everything we need but a location," said Mary Teichert Rotelli, board president of the Sacramento Children's Museum.

State legislators have passed a bill that essentially teams the state Department of Parks and Recreation with a nonprofit group in the effort and designates the Old Sacramento area as a location. The bill, which had no opposition, needs to be signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

A children's attraction will diversify a growing cluster of museums along the Sacramento and American rivers, said Catherine Taylor,a Sacramento district superintendent of the state Department of Parks and Recreation.

Old Sacramento along the riverfront is already home to the California State Railroad Museum and the Discovery Museum and is not too far from the Crocker Art Museum, which is undergoing a threefold expansion. Just across the river from Old Sacramento, the California Indian Heritage Museum will rise on the West Sacramento waterfront.

"The more offerings and the diversity of offerings is critical to building a huge visitation base," Taylor said.

The nation's first children's museum opened in 1899 in Brooklyn, and there are now 219 in the country -- about 20 in California -- according to the Association of Children's Museums. Another 75 are in the planning and fundraising stage, including the Sacramento one.

Unlike other museums, children's museums are not collections of artifacts or art for view; instead, they offer hands-on exhibits designed to stimulate learning in very young children. An exhibit of characters from a popular children's tale could initiate interest in reading, for example.

A pint-sized grocery store at Berkeley's Habitot Children's Museum gives children the chance to select and buy foods and ring them up at a cash register. Using foam rubber models of cans and bottles, children learn how to sort recycled items.

A visit to Hobitot inspired a Roseville mother of two and former teacher to launch the effort to open a children's museum closer to home.

Kathleen Palley thought the children in the Sacramento area needed the same kind of place.

"I've seen how children learn. They learn quickly by touching, playing and exploring," she said.

Palley enlisted others until she had a 12-member board of directors.

"It will be such a tourist attraction in Old Sacramento. It's going to draw the suburban families downtown," she said.

Rotelli, a mother of two in the target age group of 8 years old and younger, said the museum will develop in stages, with the initial one opening possibly in a temporary location within a year. The first-phase site could be in Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Roseville or Sacramento, she said.

The Sacramento Junior League has pledged money for the museum, but Rotelli declined to say how much has been raised for the museum.

Envisioned as large as 40,000 square feet at its permanent stage, the museum is already collecting and storing exhibits, she said.

Rather than focusing solely on science for children in elementary grades and beyond, such as the Explorit Science Museum in Davis, the Sacramento Children's Museum will encompass other disciplines, including the state's rich cultural heritage for younger children.

"It will provide a spark for lifelong learning," Rotelli said.

About 30 million visitors annually pour into the nation's children's museums, said Janet Rice Elman, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Association of Children's Museums. The number of children's museums has taken off in the past 30 years, she said.

Because older elementary school children get caught up in scouting, soccer and other organized activities, the trend is focusing more on younger children, she said.

Children's museums are increasingly sensitive toward ethnic diversity, both in management and exhibit offerings, Elman said. And newer exhibits are promoting healthy nutrition and activity, such as climbing sculptures.

At least 10 percent of the association's member museums are working toward their "green" certification with measures such as motion lights, carpets and paint without toxic fumes and showers for employees who commute by bicycle.

About the writer:

• The Bee's M.S. Enkoji can be reached at (916) 321-1106 or menkoji@sacbee.com.