Cayton Children's Museum

What Cayton Children's Museum does

Cayton Children's Museum is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) children's museum (EIN 20-1470992) operating 21,000 square feet of discovery-based exhibits on Level 3 of the Santa Monica Place mall in Santa Monica, California. Founded originally in 1991 as My Jewish Discovery Place, the organization evolved through the Zimmer Children's Museum era into its current Cayton branding, which opened in summer 2019. It serves children ages 0-10 and their families with hands-on, play-based learning experiences spanning core exhibits plus structured programming including field trips aligned with California educational standards, Cayton Classes, an Art Studio, Parents' Night Out childcare events, and birthday party rentals. A signature differentiator is the PLAY4ALL financial-accessibility program, which provides subsidized memberships and admissions to families on Medi-Cal, WIC, CalWORKs, or CalFresh, and currently serves over 1,800 families.

The organization operates a hybrid earned-revenue and contributed-revenue model. Earned revenue streams include general admission tickets ($10-$18 depending on channel and time of day), three annual membership tiers (Launchers $150, Climbers $275, Reachers $399), private birthday party room rentals at $1,000 for two hours, field trips at $10 per LA County student (free for Title 1 schools), Parents' Night Out events, gift cards, gift memberships, and a museum store. Contributed revenue is generated through two anchor annual events — the We All Play pajama-party fundraiser ($84K+ in 2026) and the Playmakers Gala ($425K+ in 2024) — supplemented by corporate brand sponsorships (Babyletto, Cravings by Chrissy Teigen, Melissa & Doug, UPPAbaby, Kyte Baby, Paw Patrol/Spin Master, eeboo, Raising Cane's, Freestyle, Jellypop, gogo squeeze), a 20-plus-member Women's Philanthropy Circle, and the ShareWell parent foundation. Membership also grants access to the Association of Children's Museums reciprocal network of 200+ member museums.

Cayton is governed by a Board of Directors chaired by Carl Freed, with 15 board members and four board advisors drawn from media, entertainment, and civic leadership. Current CEO Thomas Sullivan joined in 2023 following a six-month national search after founding CEO Esther Netter's retirement; Sullivan holds a Master's in Museum Education from Bank Street College and brings prior leadership from DuPage Children's Museum and exhibit-design experience at Liberty Science Center and the American Museum of Natural History. The museum is actively operating Wednesday through Monday, 9AM-5PM, with member early access from 9-10AM.

Name

Cayton Children's Museum

Legal name

Cayton Children's Museum

Website

https://caytonmuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cayton Children's Museum is a Santa Monica-based 501(c)(3) operating 21,000 square feet of hands-on, play-based exhibits and educational programs for children ages 0-10 and their families, funded through admissions, memberships, events, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Museum / Cultural Education

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Museums (THAJADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Kids & Family Learning Workshops (Family Crafts, Junior Maker Classes) (THAJAKAO)

Keywords

• Children's museum
• Discovery-based exhibits
• Play-based learning
• Field trip programs
• Private event rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

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. Museum Admission: Visitors pay admission fees for day access to museum exhibits. Pricing varies by ticket type (walk-in vs online) and time of entry (general vs twilight). Children under 12 months are free.
2. Annual Memberships: Three-tiered annual membership program (Launchers $150, Climbers $275, Reachers $399) providing unlimited visits, guest passes, early access, and store/event discounts. Drives recurring annual revenue.
3. Private Events and Party Rentals: Birthday party room rentals at $1,000 for 2 hours, including museum admission for up to 40 guests, tables, tableware, and event facilitator. Catering packages available from preferred vendors.
4. Gift Cards and Gift Memberships: Digital and physical gift cards sold for museum admission, memberships, programs, parties, and store purchases. Gift memberships provide another entry point for new customer acquisition.
5. Donations and Fundraising Events: Tax-deductible donations support access initiatives. Major annual events include We All Play (pajama party fundraiser) and Playmakers Gala. Corporate sponsorships and partnerships provide additional funding.
6. Field Trips and Educational Programs: School groups pay per-student fees for facilitated field trips including Creativity Lab art projects and museum playtime. Title 1 schools receive free access. Additional programs include camps, classes, and Parents' Night Out events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cayton Children's Museum is a 21,000-square-foot nonprofit children's museum in Santa Monica, California offering discovery-based exhibits and immersive hands-on play experiences for children ages 0-8 and their families. Its core product is paid daytime admission to the exhibit space, layered with annual memberships, school field trips, birthday party room rentals, classes/camps, after-hours Parents' Night Out, and a Museum Store, all subsidized through the PLAY4ALL financial-accessibility program and fundraising events.

Product overview

Cayton Children's Museum is a nonprofit children's museum offering a unified portfolio of hands-on play experiences and educational programming for children ages 0-8 and their families. The museum's core offering centers on general admission tickets providing access to 21,000 square feet of interactive exhibits and daily programming activities. This is supplemented by annual membership programs (Launchers, Climbers, Reachers tiers) and the PLAY4ALL subsidized membership for families in need. Additional revenue streams include birthday party room rentals, field trips, Cayton Classes, Parents' Night Out childcare events, the Art Studio, gift cards, gift memberships, and the Museum Store. Community outreach programs extend the museum's reach beyond its physical walls to underserved populations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PLAY4ALL: Financial accessibility initiative providing discounted memberships and community access programs for families across Los Angeles facing financial hardship.
• PLAY4ALL Membership
• We All Play
• Playmakers Gala
• Vision for the Future of Play

Products and services

• Museum General Admission
• Annual Membership Programs (Launchers, Climbers, Reachers)
• PLAY4ALL Membership
• Birthday Party Room Rentals

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 700,000 visits recorded since opening in 2019
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and supporting.

• Connections for ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2026Cayton Children's Museum partnered with Connections for Children to bring weekly Parent Cafés and Family Math Workshops to Santa Monica. This new Wednesday evening series is designed to support parents and caregivers of children ages 2-5, launching February 18. The partnership enhances community outreach and early childhood education support services.
• Women's Philanthropy CirclecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomen's Philanthropy Circle is a dedicated group of female philanthropists supporting the museum's mission. Co-chaired by Deepika Chopra, Lauren Kleinman with Vice Co-Chairs Katie Durko and Tiffany Fong, the group rallied around an ambitious goal of raising $125,000 to sponsor 500 PLAY4ALL families at We All Play 2026 event.
• BabylettoflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of the We All Play 2026 event. Babyletto provided the sleep-under lounge activation and contributed to the museum-wide daytime pajama party fundraiser. Brand partners collectively contributed products, sponsorship funding for memberships, and programming activities.
• Kyte BabysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partner at We All Play event, contributing products and programming activities to the museum-wide fundraiser supporting PLAY4ALL memberships.
• JellypopsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partner at We All Play event, providing the slipper bar activation and contributing to the family celebration supporting underserved families.
• FreestylesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partner at We All Play event, contributing products and programming activities to the museum-wide daytime pajama party fundraiser.
• Cravings by Chrissy TeigenflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partner at We All Play event, providing the Cravings Café and Cookies & Milk activations. Contributed products, sponsorship funding for memberships, and programming activities to support PLAY4ALL access initiative.
• Association of Children's Museums (ACM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCayton Children's Museum is a member of ACM, the world's foremost professional society supporting and advocating on behalf of children's museums. Members with 3+ people receive ACM reciprocal benefit of 50% off admission for up to 6 guests at any of the 200 member museums in the ACM reciprocal network.
• Title 1 Schools (LA County)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerField trips provided free of charge for Title 1 schools throughout LA County, supporting the museum's mission to bridge the Play Divide and provide access to play for underserved children.
• Paw Patrol (Spin Master)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partner at We All Play event, providing 'Paw Patrol To The Rescue' activation and contributing chase plush plushy as a goodie bag item.
• Melissa & DougsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerIn-kind sponsor at We All Play, providing Sticker WOW! products for the goodie bag station and ice cream/coffee snack vending machine at the event.
• UPPAbabysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerIn-kind sponsor at We All Play, contributing luggage tags as part of the build-your-own goodie bag station experience.
• eeboosupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Parents' Night Out program, supporting after-hours play dates for children ages 4-10 while parents enjoy their own time.
• Raising Cane'ssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerIn-kind sponsor at We All Play, providing the Oversized Magnetic Wall activation experience for the museum-wide event.
• gogo squeezesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Parents' Night Out program, supporting after-hours childcare events at the museum.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Children's Museum of Indianapolis: The world's largest children's museum, offering extensive hands-on exhibits for children and families. Direct peer in nonprofit children's museum model with tiered memberships, school field trips, and major fundraising events.
• The Strong National Museum of Play: Rochester, NY-based museum dedicated to the study and celebration of play. Highly relevant peer with shared mission around play-based learning, comparable exhibits, and educational programming for young children.
• Please Touch Museum: Children's museum in Philadelphia focused on play-based learning for children ages 3 and under through early elementary. Closely comparable mission-driven nonprofit model, similar age range, and event rental programming.
• Kidspace Children's Museum: Children's museum in Pasadena, CA serving children ages 0-10 with hands-on exhibits and outdoor learning environments. Direct Southern California peer operating a similar nonprofit model with comparable age range, school field trip programs, and membership structure.
• Minnesota Children's Museum: Saint Paul-based children's museum offering interactive exhibits across multiple floors for ages 0-10. Comparable nonprofit model with tiered memberships, school programming, and accessibility initiatives.
• Children's Museum of Los Angeles (Formerly LA Children's Museum): Historic Los Angeles children's museum offering hands-on exhibits for young children. Direct LA-area peer serving overlapping family demographic with similar discovery-based play programming.
• Boston Children's Museum: One of the oldest and largest children's museums in the world, serving a similar age range with hands-on exhibits. Comparable as a discovery-based children's museum with membership programs, school field trips, and donor-funded operations.
• Chicago Children's Museum: Navy Pier-based children's museum serving families with children from infancy through elementary years. Direct peer offering hands-on exhibits, party rentals, memberships, and donor-supported community programming.
• Discovery Cube Los Angeles: Hands-on science museum in LA with exhibits for children and families. Comparable as a discovery-based interactive children's museum serving LA-area families and school field trips, though with a STEM focus.

Others

• Association of Children's Museums (ACM): Professional industry association of which Cayton is a member. Not a peer operator but an ecosystem enabler—the ACM reciprocal network drives cross-museum visitation value for Cayton's membership base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/caytonmuseum
• Instagraminstagram.com/caytonchildrensmuseum
• Xx.com/caytonmuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cayton-museum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Cayton Children's Museum