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General FAQs
Monday: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday: CLOSED
Wednesday: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
• Annual maintenance closure (see calendar for dates)
Yes, we are closed on the following holidays:
New Year’s Day
Easter
July 4th
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve Day
Christmas Day
The Children’s Museum has limited parking. On busy days it can fill up quickly. Please only park in our parking lot or on the public streets.
Please do not park in the Charles M. Schulz Museum or Snoopy’s Home Ice parking lots.
Yes, the Children’s Museum is accessible through the Santa Rosa City Bus Route 11. The bus stops directly in front of the Children’s Museum.
• Adults & Children: $16
• Babies 0 – 11 months: FREE
• Members: FREE
• For information on discounts, see the Visit page
During a visit to the Children’s Museum, adults are invited to explore the exhibits together with their little ones. As a not-for-profit organization that subsidizes each entrance, we count on admission dollars to keep the Children’s Museum open.
The Museum does not have free days.
The Children’s Museum does not turn away visitors due to lack of funds. Families are welcome to visit the museum on a pay-what-you-can basis. To participate, tell the front desk staff that you wish to enter under the open door policy.
For safety reasons, adults not accompanied by a child are not allowed in to the Museum unless they have arranged an appointment or tour. Please contact us by phone or email (info@cmosc.org) if you would like a tour.
The Museum is designed for children ages 0 – 10.
Yes, we require 1 adult for every 4 children visiting the Children’s Museum.
The Children’s Museum offers a variety of self-directed, interactive experiences that encourage exploration, experimentation, and discovery. Let the Science & Imagination Gallery fuel your imagination: produce a box office hit in the puppet theatre or play a 3-star menu in the retro diner. Outside, explore Mary’s Garden, take flight in the winged Ornithopter, find fish in the Russian River, or build waterways in the Sonoma Coastline gravel area.
Yes. Events are listed on the Calendar and on the Events page.
Totopia is a multi-sensory experience designed for infants and toddlers only. This exhibit offers crawlers, early walkers, and toddlers a safe and stimulating environment to explore. If you have older children, we recommend bringing another adult to supervise them in the other areas of the Children’s Museum, while you enjoy this space with your wee one.
We encourage all of our visitors to interact and engage with each other and their children. Even if your child is being supervised by other grown-ups, we ask visitors to save their work for another time. Limited space at shared tables also makes laptop use and other similar work an activity best saved for another time and place.
Yes, groups are required to make a reservation ahead of time to receive group rates.
Unregistered groups will be expected to pay full price, and may be turned away at the door due to capacity limits.
Please see the Group Visits page under Visit for more information.
We have two birthday options available: Private Playdates and Picnic Table Parties
Strollers are allowed in Mary’s Garden only. Stroller parking is available at the entrance to the garden.
We offer healthy snacks for sale in our Gift Corner.
There are a number of outdoor picnic tables in Mary’s Garden. Food is not allowed in any of our exhibit areas. Please enjoy all food at our picnic tables only.
Picnic tables are for family dining only and are expected to be shared. Staff may ask families to give up their table after 30 minutes of use if there are others waiting to find seating. Tables cannot be reserved or saved, and birthday parties in the picnic area are not permitted.
Open cubbies are available in the lobby on a first-come, first-served basis. Please do not leave valuables in the cubbies.
No; adult supervision is required for all children at all times.
Yes! Inform the front desk on your way out and you will receive a return sticker.
For information on volunteering and to apply to volunteer, please see the Volunteer page under Give.
The Children’s Museum has a limited number of noise-reducing headphones available to borrow when you ask at the front desk.
The Children’s Museum does not currently have specific nursing areas of the Museum, however we do have a comfy couch in the Family Resource Center (located in the Science & Imagination Gallery), as well as benches and picnic tables in shady areas.
No. For safety reasons, shoes must be worn at all times and in all areas except Totopia.
The water in the Mini Russian River exhibit is not treated with chemicals. Only UV filtration systems are utilized to allow fish and frogs to share the river as it filters into the wetlands area. Putting feet in the river adds germs and pollutants which make the water dirty and unfit for play and creature habitats.
The Loving Ella Foundation generously donated funding to create Ella’s Art studio in memory of Ella Bisbee, a very young artist from Sonoma County.
There will be a limited number of picnic tables available for families to use during their visit. Food and drinks will not be allowed in the exhibit areas.
The Children’s Museum is excited and hopeful for the future. Our plans for the expansion of the Children’s Museum are moving forward as scheduled, including the completion of the Space Odyssey for Galactic Explorers.
Your support is more vital now than ever. Please help us continue our mission to inspire curiosity and creativity through joyful, transformative experiences by donating today.
Yes, donations are tax-deductible in the United States. The Children’s Museum is a registered 501(c)(3), and our U.S. federal EIN is 20-3496878.
We are on the front lines of helping children and families cope with the trauma they have experienced by providing opportunities to play through their experiences. Resources and activities will be updated regularly.
