About the San Luis Obispo Children's Museum

Floor One - Museum Store, Volcano, Exploration Caves (OPENS 2009)>br> A grand and unexpected surprise awaits children of all ages! As guests enter the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, they find themselves inside a scientific research station. Video monitors overhead show footage of what construction workers discovered when they dug into the soil to prepare the foundation for the new museum. Guests enter a mock elevator that transports them “down” into the earth, opening to reveal an underground cavern that lies below the town overhead. A giant opening through to the third floor provides a dramatic and memorable effect. There is red hot lava running on both the floor and the walls, over 2300 square feet of labyrinth-like caverns run off in every direction and there is steam rising from the focal point of the main cavern – an active volcano!

Floor Two - Zoomtown, Farmers’ Market, Clocktower, Bubblegum Alley
The original museum reborn, the familiar is new again! Guests venturing to the second floor of the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum will discover the town of Zoomtown. Zoomtown updates some of the most beloved elements of the former Museum and is an environment where children will find multiple opportunities to experience a variety of grown-up roles in over 1500 square feet of exhibit space.

Floor Three - Early Childhood Learning Center, Meeting Space
Finally, their own space to marvel and explore! A separate and quiet respite awaits the smallest visitors to the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum. The Early Childhood Learning Center is situated separately on the third floor and features a themed train depot setting with a full-sized and explorable Brio™ Train. Wonder awaits toddlers at several view ports that allow them to look down through the town and into the volcano below. Over 600 square feet of age-specific content including a soft play area, a messy-play table and a reading corner round out the early childhood space.

The San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum inspires learning through play within a rich environment of interactive exhibits and programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Since opening in 1990, we have been committed to offering experiences that both invoke curiosity and imagination about the world and promote active exploration, investigation and creation. Learning becomes fun because it is motivated from within and shared with others.