By Ashley Meza
The Cayton Children’s Museum at Santa Monica Place has unveiled new events. It is offering a new Parents’ Night Out series and teaming up with Santa Monica Place retailers as a part of a reinvigorated rewards program.
The Cayton Children’s Museum was previously the Zimmer Children’s Museum and moved into the Santa Monica Place in the summer of 2019. The museum primarily focused on children ages infant to 8. The museum has 21,000 square feet of hands-on exhibits and experiential play.
“We have all kinds of spaces for kids to do hands-on play and physical movement, as well as art studios where we have both ongoing public programs as well as specialized classes that take place,” said Jessica Aronoff, CEO of Cayton Children’s Museum. She explained the revitalization of various programming and partnerships in 2024.
One of the newest programs is Parents’ Night Out. This is a pilot program for the museum that allows parents to go out and enjoy a night to themselves while leaving their children in a safe and fun environment for a few hours.
“Our entire organization exists because we believe in the power of play. And there’s research that backs up how powerful play is both for kids but also for adults, too,” Aronoff said.
“It’s an essential part of how human beings connect with each other.” Play is beneficial and essential to the cognitive, educational, social and emotional development of children.
Through the program, children can experience the museum after hours. Kids have supervised access to the whole museum without hundreds of others around.
“Parents’ Night Out really came from a place of adults need play, too,” Aronoff said. “So, what if we gave parents a way to have their night out of doing whatever it is that keeps them sane and happy and able to show up for their kids?”
The children are supervised by the museum’s expert play guides. They are trained employees who are also artists and performers. They are experts in the museum itself and the purpose behind every exhibit who enjoy engaging with and educating kids.
“We staff accordingly. If we have 40 kids, we are going to provide more staff so that it’s safe and engaging and an enriching experience for every kid,” Aronoff said.
Parents’ Night Out is open for members and nonmembers of the Cayton Children’s Museum and costs $50 per child on a first- come, first-served basis. The series will be available every third Saturday of the month April through August and goes from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The program includes food for the children as well.
Children and their parents come together to enjoy the Cayton Children’s Museum ball pit exhibit along with other hands-on exhibits.(Cayton Children’s Museum/Submitted)
“Our hope for this program is that the parents see this as the thing they kind of rely on each month, that they know every month that their kids are going to be happy playing at the Cayton after hours, and they get to have a date night or girls night out or whatever it may be,” Aronoff said. “The kids are having as much, if not more, fun than the parents are.”
The Parents’ Night Out pilot program is set until August but may be extended based on its success.
“We have been really pleased by the response, and it’s fun for our team, too. Our play guides love engaging with kids,” Aronoff said. “It’s just a different dynamic. It’s really fun for our team. They’re doing some really creative projects in our art studios and games.”
Not only does the museum offer a fun night for kids, but it also makes sure that there are safe spaces for any children who prefer a quieter, mellow time. They have a reading nook and other quiet spaces specifically for children who prefer that atmosphere.
The museum’s goal is to have a safe and comfortable environment for kids, which includes making sure there aren’t a lot of older children that may intimidate the younger children. This means that Parents’ Night Out is available for children ages 4 through 10, with the only requirement being that they are potty trained.
The Cayton Children’s Museum is also partnering with Santa Monica Place retailers as a part of their reinvigorated 2024 programming and partnerships. Cayton members can gain access to specially designed offers from nearby participating retailers and restaurants. Some of those retailers include 7 For All Mankind, Aesop, Elie Tahari, Sensible, SofiaMila and Swilling J.A. Henckels.
“So many things disappeared during COVID,” Aronoff said, “but we’re relaunching a program that is special deals for the members of our museum offered by retailers in and around the mall.”
Known as the Cayton Rewards Program, it is exclusive to museum members as an added perk to their membership. Members of the Cayton Children’s Museum also offer unlimited access to the museum, as many visits as desired all year long, priority entrance, members hours, early program enrollment and discounts on parties and the retail store in the museum.
To use the rewards program at participating retailers in Santa Monica Place, members must show their museum membership card, which is a digital card they can keep on their phones.
The Cayton Children’s Museum is a part of the Association of Children’s Museum (ACM), a worldwide professional society that supports and advocates on behalf of children’s museums. There are more than 470 members in 50 states and 11 countries.
Another perk of being a member of the Cayton Children’s Museum is that one can use their membership for up to 50% of admission at other children’s museums as part of the ACM. That way, families traveling to other cities can enjoy the community-based environment that the museums provide wherever they go, not just in Santa Monica.
“There’s a term called the ‘third space,’ where the ‘first space’ is the home, the ‘second space’ is school or work and then the ‘third space’ is sort of where community happens outside of those two,” Aronoff said. “That is our vision for the Cayton, is that this is a space where families come to spend time with each other, as well as with other families.”
Parents’ Night Out
WHEN: Every third Saturday of the month April to August
WHERE: Cayton Children’s Museum in Santa Monica Place, 395 Santa Monica Place, Suite 374, Santa Monica
COST: $50 per child
INFO: caytonmuseum.org
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