San Diego Children's Discovery Museum

Name

San Diego Children's Discovery Museum

Legal name

Children's Museum of Discovery

Website

https://sdcdm.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Museum / Educational Services

NAICS

Museums (712110), Museums (71211), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Museums (THAJADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD), Early Science & Discovery Content (EDAGACAD)

Keywords

• Children's museum services
• Interactive educational exhibits
• STREAM learning programs
• Early childhood education
• School field trip programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Escondido

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. General Admission: Per-person entry fees charged to all non-member visitors. Standard rate is $14.00 per person with discounted rates for military, veterans, EBT/SNAP/CalFresh/WIC cardholders, and group bookings (10+ people). Children under age one and members enter free.
2. Annual Memberships: Unlimited admission passes sold on an annual subscription basis. Members receive free general admission and access to member-exclusive events and discounts.
3. Camps and Workshops: Fee-based summer camps and educational workshops (e.g., garden workshops, STREAM activities) offered to children. Each camp includes museum exhibit access and hands-on programming.
4. Birthday Parties and Private Events: Rental of museum spaces for private birthday parties and events, providing exclusive after-hours access.
5. Donations and Fundraising: As a nonprofit organization, the museum relies on charitable donations from the community. The website prominently features a Donate button and an 'Ignite Their Spark' fundraising campaign.
6. School and Group Visits: Grade-specific workshops and field trip programs for school groups, bookable in advance with group pricing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

San Diego Children's Discovery Museum is a nonprofit children's museum that delivers hands-on STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Math) learning through interactive exhibits, themed camps, school field trips, family events, and birthday party rentals at its Escondido, CA location. It supplements its flagship site with a Mobile Children's Museum that brings exhibits to underserved communities across San Diego County and a Play at Home online resource library.

Product overview

San Diego Children's Discovery Museum (Children's Museum of Discovery / CMoD) is a nonprofit children's museum offering a unified portfolio of hands-on educational experiences. The core offerings include general museum admission with access to interactive exhibits such as Story Time Inventing, The Greenhouse, and Base Camp; annual memberships providing unlimited visits; and structured school and group programs including field trips and grade-specific workshops. The museum operates seasonal camps (summer and day camps), evening programs like STREAM Nights and Science & Engineering Night, and special events including birthday parties and The Play Exchange. Additional offerings include the Mobile Children's Museum outreach program, Play at Home digital resources, sensory accommodations for children with sensitivities, and Jimbo's Garden Workshop nutrition programs. The museum focuses on early STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Math) education for families across San Diego County.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum General Admission Per-person entry to the Escondido museum providing hands-on access to interactive exhibits such as Story Time Inventing, The Greenhouse, and Base Camp. Priced at $14 per person with discounts for military/veterans ($10) and EBT/SNAP/CalFresh/WIC cardholders ($2); children under one year and members enter free. Designed for families with young children seeking screen-free, hands-on STREAM learning.
• Annual Memberships Subscription-based annual memberships granting unlimited museum admission, free general entry, access to member-exclusive events, and member discounts. Specific membership tier pricing is not publicly disclosed. Targeted at local families and repeat visitors.
• School & Group Visits Grade-specific workshops and field trip programs for school groups and organized groups of 10+, bookable in advance at the $12 per-person group rate. Covers STREAM-aligned curriculum content for pre-K through elementary grades. Targeted at teachers, schools, and youth group organizers in San Diego County.
• Camps Fee-based summer and day camps for children featuring hands-on STREAM exploration across themes such as engineering, dinosaurs, and outer space. Each camp includes museum exhibit access and structured programming. Targeted at children of local families seeking engaging, educational summer and break activities.
• Birthday Parties & Private Events Rental of museum spaces for private birthday parties and special events, providing exclusive after-hours access to interactive exhibits. Targeted at local parents and guardians hosting children's celebrations and private family events.
• STREAM Nights Evening family events featuring Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Math activity booths, live demonstrations, and hands-on activities for families. Targeted at local families seeking special-event STREAM experiences outside regular museum hours.
• Science & Engineering Night Special evening event featuring robotics, coding, automotive mechanics, and interactions with real scientists and engineers. Sponsored by corporate partners including ASML, Hologic, and WestPac Wealth Partners. Targeted at local families interested in deeper STEM/engineering exposure.
• Jimbo's Garden Workshop Seasonal garden-themed workshops using local organic ingredients from Jimbo's, teaching children about nutrition and gardening through cooking activities. Targeted at local families and children interested in food, gardening, and farm-to-table education.
• Mobile Children's Museum Traveling museum program that brings hands-on interactive exhibits to communities and events outside the main Escondido location, with a focus on underserved areas across San Diego County. Targeted at schools, community organizations, and families lacking access to the flagship site.
• The Play Exchange Recurring program at the museum enabling children to exchange toys and participate in play-based activities. Targeted at local families and children visiting the museum.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Jimbo'sminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal organic grocery store that provides ingredients for the museum's Trudy Bronner Discovery Garden workshops. Workshops feature seasonal recipes using Jimbo's organic produce, creating a farm-to-museum educational experience.
• KPBS KidsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal public media partner for children's programming. Hosted a Clifford the Big Red Dog event at the museum, generating community engagement and earned media visibility.
• Puzzle Pieces MarketingminorOthersWebsite design and development agency responsible for the museum's website design and development.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The New Children's Museum (San Diego): A children's museum in downtown San Diego offering hands-on art and education programming for young children. Direct competitor for the same family-visit occasion within the same San Diego County market.
• Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose: A children's museum in San Jose, CA focused on early childhood hands-on STREAM learning and school programs. Highly comparable mission, programming mix, and customer demographic to SDCDM.
• Children's Creativity Museum: A San Francisco-based children's museum focused on hands-on creativity, technology, and arts programming for young children. Comparable museum-format offering targeting families and school groups.
• Children's Museum of Pittsburgh: A nonprofit children's museum in Pittsburgh combining hands-on exhibits, maker programs, and arts-focused learning. Comparable operating model, scale, and mission-driven pricing.
• Please Touch Museum: A Philadelphia-based children's museum dedicated to hands-on learning for young children. Comparable mission, audience, and programming including accessibility-focused initiatives.
• Discovery Cube: A Southern California children's science museum with locations in Santa Ana and Los Angeles. Direct competitor for STREAM-focused family field trips and outreach programming.

Broad incumbents

• Boston Children's Museum: One of the largest and oldest children's museums in the U.S. Overlaps SDCDM on exhibit-based early childhood education and family visits, but at significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Children's Museum of Indianapolis: The largest children's museum in the world, with extensive hands-on exhibits and educational programs. Comparable educational mission at substantially larger scale and program breadth.
• Exploratorium: A major San Francisco science/learning institution with a strong footprint in hands-on exhibits and educator resources. Overlaps SDCDM on tactile, inquiry-driven STEM programming but serves an older and broader audience.

Regional players

• Fleet Science Center: A San Diego science center offering hands-on STEM programming and exhibits. Competes with SDCDM for STREAM-focused family visits in the same regional market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/childrensmuseumofdiscovery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about San Diego Children's Discovery Museum