ABout us
Who We Are
Our Mission
Cayton Children’s Museum is a nonprofit organization that activates the power of PLAY to enrich the lives of children and their families, build stronger, more connected communities, and create a better world. We strive to nurture children of all backgrounds and abilities to become engaged citizens of the world by facilitating collaborative, experiential learning and creative expression, both in our museum space and through our community programs.
Located in Downtown Santa Monica just blocks from the Pacific Ocean, the Cayton Children’s Museum offers 21,000 square feet of discovery-based exhibits and immersive play. We offer a robust calendar of arts and cultural activities designed for children 0 to 8 and their families, including public programs, festivals, camps, classes, workshops and more.
Beyond museum walls, our community programs bring the Cayton experience into neighborhoods and schools to reach children with limited access to the museum. These experiences, which celebrate the creative, performance and visual arts, are offered throughout the year in partnership with non-profit and community-based organizations that serve parts of Los Angeles County where opportunities for creative, safe, purposeful, and free play are needed most.
While the Cayton Children’s Museum opened to the public in 2019, our organization comes with 30 years of experience in values-based learning. Before we were the Cayton, we were the Zimmer Children’s Museum, serving more than 90,000 visitors a year in our home on Museum Row. Today, building from the heart of the Zimmer and nurtured by the soul of our diverse community, the Cayton is inspiring children and families everywhere to PLAY THEIR WAY TO A BETTER WORLD.
Our Vision
We envision a world where all children, and the adults they grow up to be, experience the transformational and lifelong benefits of abundant, creative and purposeful play.
Our History
Why Play?
Albert Einstein. Plato. Mr. Rogers. What do all three have in common? They all believed in the power of play to improve lives, strengthen communities and shape a better world. Here are just some of the benefits of play:
Play improves academic performance
Play optimizes cognitive development, including critical thinking, problem solving and comprehension, to support learning and improve academic performance. Additionally, play-based learning is shown to enhance “whole child readiness” by helping develop language and early math skills. In fact, as public schools increasingly see cuts to arts education funding, educators are also looking to play to fill gaps where our educational system is lacking.
Play makes our world bigger
Children acquire cultural values, skills, and abilities through play that influence their everyday experiences and interactions with other children and caregivers. Play can also expose us to people that are different from us to promote empathy and create shared understanding. In recognizing, respecting and representing a range of different cultures and perspectives, children develop a sense of identity and belonging.
Play helps children thrive in an ever-changing world
Play is often called “the work of children” because it is through play that children learn how to interact in their environment, discover their interests, and process their surroundings. As our world continues to evolve, play also helps to mitigate a child’s toxic stress and enhance their resiliency so they can more easily adapt to change.
Play builds life skills
Through play, we learn how to communicate with others and self-regulate our emotions to improve our lifelong success. Play also gives us an outlet to explore curiosities in a low-risk environment, building courage and confidence.
Play benefits the economy
Nationally, children’s museums contribute $5.5 billion to the economy each year and are a vital element of the tourism and cultural sector. They also help to improve educational outcomes, attract diverse audiences and transform neighborhoods through community building and local partnerships.
Meet Our Team
Senior Management
Thomas Sullivan
Chief Executive Officer​​
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Cyndi Sorrell
Senior Business Manager​​
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Board Of Directors
Susan Goldsmith
Chairperson
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Aashika Patel
Vice Chair​
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Heather Lindsey
Treasurer
Jasmine Arai
Kevin Beggs
Craig Erwich
Carl Freed*
Spencer Kallick
Andy Kleinman
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Andy Meyers
Courtney Mizel
Liz Polk
Brianne Turtletaub
Grant Withers
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*Past Board Chair
Women’s Philanthropy Circle
Lauren Kleinman
Co-Chair
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Dr. Deepika Chopra
Co-Chair
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Katie Durko
Vice Co-Chair
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Tiffany Fong
Vice Co-Chair
KT Schellenberg Bell
Lily Berg
Annie Chen
Cole Cohen
Alexa Dell
Sarah Dickerson
Bari Goldberg
Halle Hammond
Laura Katzenberg
Mary Kitchen
Pia Mehta
Hillary Newman
Denise Perlstein
Catherine Powers
Tracy Robbins
Maria Sass
Brianne Turtletaub
Chelsea Washington
Jennifer Wexler
Annie Yi
Board Of Advisors
Susan Amster
Barry Cayton
Jennifer Cohen
Kevin Washington
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Financials & Reports
Annual Report
Our Fiscal Year 2024 annual report is currently in progress.
Progress Reports
View our quarterly progress reports and see how the work we’re doing each day is helping us fulfill our mission.
Financial Statements
As a non-profit organization, the Cayton Children’s Museum depends on the generosity of donors and foundations to make our work happen. In an effort to ensure fiscal transparency and accountability with those who generously support our efforts, please find our most recent audited financials and Form 990s below.
If you would like to review earlier financials, please email development@caytonmuseum.org.
Audited Statements
990s:
Contact
Donations
Marketing
Membership
Private Events
Regenerative Initiatives
regen.initiatives@caytonmuseum.org
424-416-8320
Frequently Asked Questions
Check out the FAQ page HERE