childrens museum of manhattan

What childrens museum of manhattan does

Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1973 that operates an interactive children's museum at The Tisch Building (212 West 83rd Street) on Manhattan's Upper West Side, serving children ages 0-6 and their families. The museum delivers play-based early learning through physical exhibits (PlayWorks, Superpowered Metropolis, Inside Art, Dynamic H2O), registered early childhood classes, and school residencies delivered in NYC classrooms. Beyond its main facility, CMOM operates an extensive community outreach network including 53+ permanent learning hubs in homeless shelters and a first-of-its-kind Family Connections Program with the NYC Department of Correction at Rikers Island, reaching an estimated 500,000+ children and families citywide annually alongside 225,000+ paid visitors to the Upper West Side site.

CMOM's programming rests on research-backed curricula developed with the National Institutes of Health (EatPlayGrow), Johns Hopkins University Science of Learning Institute (All the Way to K), and Robin Hood's Fund for Early Learning (Baby Brain Building). The organization extends its educational content digitally through CMOM at Home, the Bloomberg Connects cultural app (CMOM was the first children's museum on the platform), and a dedicated eMembership Card application, giving the institution a distribution footprint beyond its physical square footage.

Revenue is diversified across admissions, tiered family memberships ($125-$1,000), corporate memberships ($5,000-$100,000 from sponsors including Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bloomberg), the Parent Circle donor circle ($2,500-$15,000), early childhood classes ($430-$2,889 per term), school residencies, special events (Annual Gala and Sunday Funday), and ongoing fundraising from foundations and government sources. The museum is currently in the final phase of a $300 million capital campaign to construct an 80,000 square foot facility at 361 Central Park West, expected to open in 2028 with more than double the visitor capacity and an expanded served age range from birth to age 10.

Name

childrens museum of manhattan

Legal name

The Children's Museum of Manhattan

Website

https://cmom.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Children's Museum of Manhattan is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating an interactive museum on Manhattan's Upper West Side, serving children ages 0-6 through exhibits, classes, school residencies, and a shelter and correctional outreach network reaching 500,000+ children and families annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Museum and Early Childhood Education

NAICS

Museums (712110), 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 industry

Science & Technology Museums (THAJADAD)

Keywords

• Children's museum education
• Early childhood learning
• Play-based exhibits
• Interactive museum programs
• Community outreach initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Admission Fees: Visitors pay for entry tickets to the museum. Online tickets offer $1 discount; on-site tickets also available. Revenue from day-to-day museum admissions from over 225,000 annual visitors.
2. Family Memberships: Multiple membership tiers (Mini $125/3 months, Family $305/year, Premium Family $360/year, Community Builder $500/year, Community Champion $1,000/year) providing unlimited visits and perks. Core recurring revenue stream.
3. Corporate Memberships: Corporate membership tiers from $5,000 (Corporate Friend) to $100,000 (Corporate Leader), providing employee benefits and recognition. Attracts major corporate sponsors like Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg, and others.
4. Parent Circle Memberships: Exclusive donor circle with giving levels from $2,500 (Friend) to $15,000 (Champion), including curated expert conversations, private events, and gala access.
5. Early Childhood Classes: Registered classes for young children including Little Birds (ages 0-2), Preschool Prep, Spanish Immersion Art Club, Science Explorers, with fees ranging from $430 to $2,889 per term.
6. School Residencies: Custom curriculum programs delivered in schools by CMOM educators for grades Pre-K through 5, covering art, STEM, and cultural education.
7. Special Events: Annual Gala (April 2026 celebrating early literacy) and Sunday Funday (annual family carnival) generate significant fundraising revenue.
8. Donations and Fundraising: 501(c)(3) nonprofit relying on charitable contributions. Currently running final phase of $300 million capital campaign for new museum building.
9. CMOM Store: On-site museum store offering merchandise with 15% member discount (20% during holidays).
10. Library Memberships: Special membership tier at $400/year for nonprofit libraries and associations, including 2 circulating membership cards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Children's Museum of Manhattan operates a physical children's museum on Manhattan's Upper West Side delivering hands-on exhibits and educational programs for children ages 0-6 in arts, science, and culture. Beyond its museum location, CMOM runs extensive community outreach programs including 50+ permanent learning hubs in NYC shelters, a Family Connections Program with the NYC Department of Correction at Rikers Island, school residencies, early childhood classes, and accessibility programs for children with disabilities.

Product overview

Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) operates as a physical children's museum with a portfolio of interactive exhibits (PlayWorks, Superpowered Metropolis, Inside Art, Dynamic H2O), educational programs (Early Childhood Classes, School Residencies), and community outreach initiatives (Shelter Partnerships, Family Connections, Accessibility Programs). The museum serves children ages 0-6 at its Upper West Side location, with plans to expand to serve children birth to age 10 at a new 361 Central Park West facility in 2028. CMOM also offers digital resources through CMOM at Home and a partnership with Bloomberg Connects. The museum provides research-backed curriculum tools including EatPlayGrow (developed with NIH) and All the Way to K, while its Learning Hubs program extends educational experiences into shelters and correctional facilities throughout NYC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Children's Museum of Manhattan Museum Admissions
• Family Memberships

Quantifiable outcome

• 92% of Family Connections program participants leave feeling very hopeful and motivated about their future
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NYC Department of CorrectioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018First-of-its-kind partnership between a children's museum and a correctional department, creating the Family Connections Program. Provides bimonthly workshops at CMOM for incarcerated parents and their children, plus permanent learning hubs at Rikers Island visitation areas. Now in its 7th year, the program has become a national model for similar programs.
• NYC Department of Homeless ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership to provide early learning opportunities for families living in temporary housing. Includes interactive workshops, permanent learning hubs in shelters, and free museum memberships for participating families. Over 55 shelter locations served.
• NYC Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with District 75 serving students with autism and developmental disabilities. Includes dedicated enrichment programs at CMOM for Mickey Mantle School students, school residencies, and Head Start collaborations throughout the city.
• NYC Administration for Children's ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in All the Way to K and Beyond initiative, bringing early childhood education resources to families involved with child welfare services.
• Women In Need (Win)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-year partnership with NYC's largest shelter provider to bring early learning resources to 13 Win shelters serving over 7,000 children annually. Includes 13 new permanent learning hubs and 60+ direct service programs annually.
• Head StartminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of Head Start facilities throughout NYC receiving learning hub installations and educational programming from CMOM.
• Grand Street SettlementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partnership hosting learning hubs and providing access to early learning resources for Lower East Side families.
• Henry Street SettlementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity settlement house partnership hosting learning hubs and providing family programming on the Lower East Side.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with NIH We Can! obesity prevention program to develop the EatPlayGrow early childhood health curriculum, combining NIH science with CMOM's arts and literacy-based pedagogy.
• Johns Hopkins University Science of Learning InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership grounding the All the Way to K early childhood learning framework in language and literacy research from Johns Hopkins.
• Robin Hood FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor nonprofit partner supporting Family Connections Program at Rikers Island. Funded program launch in 2018 and continues to support through FUEL for 50 committee. Joint partnership with NYC DOC to resume and expand off-island family visitation.
• Good+ FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner supporting incarcerated parents and families through programs including fatherhood webinar series with CMOM's Leslie Bushara.
• FXCollaborativecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitecture firm selected to transform landmarked church at 361 Central Park West into the new 80,000 square foot museum.
• Cool CultureminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCultural access consortium providing free and reduced museum admissions to low-income families through participating member institutions.
• Museums for AllminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational initiative supporting accessibility to museums for low-income families, in which CMOM participates.
• VroomminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly learning resource organization whose Vroom Tips are featured alongside CMOM's Superpowered Metropolis Brain Building resources for families.
• Association of Children's MuseumminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional association providing CMOM members reduced admission to 200+ children's museums through reciprocal Network membership.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Brooklyn Children's Museum: The world's first children's museum (founded 1899), based in Brooklyn and serving NYC families with hands-on exhibits and educational programs. Closest geographic and mission peer to CMOM, with comparable focus on underserved communities and cultural diversity.
• Boston Children's Museum: One of the oldest and largest children's museums in the US, located in Boston. Operates hands-on exhibits, early childhood programs, and school partnerships with a comparable nonprofit membership model targeting families with young children.
• Children's Museum of Indianapolis: The largest children's museum in the world, operating a 472,000 sq ft facility with extensive exhibits, collections, and school programs. Sets the upper bound on scale for the children's museum model and competes for the same foundation and corporate fundraising dollars.
• Please Touch Museum: Philadelphia-based children's museum with hands-on exhibits and early childhood programming in a comparable-sized facility (Memorial Hall). Targets similar family demographics with a play-based learning approach and school group programming.
• Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose: Silicon Valley-area children's museum operating interactive exhibits and early learning programs. Comparable scale and mission, with strong emphasis on early STEM education and serving diverse socioeconomic populations.
• The Strong National Museum of Play: Rochester, NY-based museum dedicated to the history and exploration of play, with strong early childhood programming and family audiences. Comparable scale and a similar Northeast US anchor in the children's museum sector.
• Children's Museum of Pittsburgh: Two-building children's museum in Pittsburgh with hands-on exhibits, MAKESHOP maker programs, and school partnerships. Comparable operating model focused on underserved families and innovative, research-backed programming.
• Kohl Children's Museum: Chicago-area children's museum operating exhibits and early learning programs for young children. Similar nonprofit membership model with focus on underserved populations and school outreach.

Broad incumbents

• American Museum of Natural History: Iconic NYC institution serving families with children across all ages, competing for the same family visitation, school group, and corporate sponsorship dollars as CMOM. Significantly larger scale and broader scientific scope.

Regional players

• New York Hall of Science: Queens-based science museum and education center with hands-on exhibits and school programs targeting NYC families and students. Directly overlaps CMOM's STEM-focused programming and school residencies within the same metro area.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/cmomNYC
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCa8IUY7ziYkFUk2tULwEg7g
• Facebookfacebook.com/cmom.nyc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/childrens-museum-of-manhattan
• Instagraminstagram.com/cmomnyc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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