KidsQuest Children's Museum

Mission

KidsQuest Children's Museum creates learning through the power of play and exploration that connects children to their communities and the world.

Children's museums are founded in the knowledge that play is critical to the healthy social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. Play is essential for children to emotionally process situations around them and continue to grow and learn in changing circumstances.

Description

KidsQuest Children's Museum is an innovative, hands-on institution for learning and exploration in science, technology, engineering, art, and math education (STEAM), serving King County and beyond since 2005. As a non-profit children's museum, KidsQuest is uniquely positioned to serve a broad audience in need of resources and support in understanding and nurturing school readiness skills. KidsQuest welcomes children 0 - 10 years old and encourages learning through play, with an emphasis on whole-family engagement.

KidsQuest serves a broad community of culturally, socially, and economically diverse children and their families, and collaborates with school districts, libraries, and community organizations to ensure vulnerable populations are reached. KidsQuest serves more than 200,000 people annually, with more than 33,000 children and families accessing the Museum through free and reduced admission, programming, and scholarships.

In 2022, over 195,000 visitors were welcomed. Over 24,500 of those admissions utilized the free and reduced admissions and scholarships, which removes barriers in accessing the Museum for qualified individuals. At the same time, children and families who cannot access the Museum still needed reliable outreach opportunities that are engaging and educational. Outreach programs over 22,900 people in 2022.

KidsQuest also continued its critical role of supporting some of the most vulnerable children and families in the community. In addition to providing both digital and in-person programming, KidsQuest gave over 1,200 remote learning kits to children furthest from educational justice. The kits are for children Pre-K through 5th grade and contain enough resources for hours of play and repeated use and are provided at no cost to families in need. They are being circulated by trusted community partners, ensuring direct, critical, and timely distribution.

KidsQuest Children's Museum is an important institution for thousands of families locally and regionally. It is critical that the Museum remains accessible and sustainable as a cultural, educational, and public gathering place for families.