The Children’s Museum of Southern Oregon | 413 W Main Street, Medford
Open Tuesday-Saturday 10am–5pm + Sunday 12-5pm
Over 125,000 people visited The Children’s Museum of Southern Oregon in 2023, with more expected in 2024. People bring their children (generally up to age 10) to enjoy indoor exhibits such as the Farm to Table grocery experience, The Makery, and Safe and Sound Medical Center. Across Main Street in “The Annex” children can participate in hands-on Clay Studio and Culinary Studio activities. An outdoor adventure area features natural playscapes, a creek, sand play, musical instruments, a tricycle track, an amphitheater, and more.
Many families come to enjoy the free play; however, an extensive calendar of classes and activities is available and can be found on The Children’s Museum website or picked up onsite.
“The downtown children’s museum is one of my favorite places to take my 2.5-year-old daughter, especially during cooler months or rainy days. We got a membership when she was 9 months old, and it’s been incredible to watch her grow, learn, and develop there over the past couple of years. It’s truly a wonderful space for children to immerse themselves in fun and exploration,” said Sierra Inn.
The Museum also hosts events such as a Hispanic Heritage Celebration that included food trucks that were busy all day long, and a musical event featuring Rogue Valley Symphony, complete with an “instrument petting zoo.” Both were lively family-friendly events that brought large numbers of people to Downtown Medford.
The Children’s Museum is part of the Oregon Center for Creative Leaning. Another part is the Ivy Preschool, which has over 250 children enrolled at the Museum and satellite preschools. Expansion to Grants Pass, is planned in the near future in a downtown building donated by Dutch Bros. Plans are for a preschool downstairs and a museum upstairs in the two-story building at 110 SW 4th Street.
An $8 million expansion of the Medford facility, doubling its size, is also underway, with $5million already raised. Funding for both projects will be accomplished with a combination of grants, private donations, and fundraising.
“It’s a lot to take on, but the need is so important and it’s time sensitive. Kids are only little once … and it’s imperative that we work with them during these early years. … It’s not something we can say, ‘We’ll do it 10 years from now.’ It’s an area with the biggest return on investment and so much at risk if we don’t invest,” said Executive Director Sunny Spicer.
Back to those 125,000+ visitors – Spicer says “We have had visitors from all around the US and other countries. People view The Children’s Museum as a prime destination as families look for quality experiences for their children. The Children’s Museum has become an anchor for downtown. It brings a considerable amount of activity. And . . . The American Association of Museums says that when a family comes to a children’s museum, they will spend three times what they spend at the museum in other places in the downtown area.”
Inspired by the role The Children’s Museum plays in the lives of our children and Downtown Medford? YOU can play a part! Donate to their capital campaign or donate a membership. Admission to the museum is $15 for children and $10 for adults. A 12-month family membership may be purchased (or donated by YOU) for $145.
