The Oshkosh Kids Museum is a volunteer-driven emerging museum. We are a group of local community members who have come together with one common mission - to give our families an amazing place to engage with one another in the learning process through everyday PLAY.

While creating a place to PLAY is our mission, we understand that kids need more than just that. They also need food, and books, and toys along with tons of love and support from a community that truly cares about them! That's why we're creating more than just another play place. We're creating a safe haven for families through community outreach programs meant to level the playing field for all Oshkosh Kids, ensuring they have what they need both inside our walls (once we have them!) and outside of them. Below are three programs we're planning to launch into our community to ensure we are taking care of Oshkosh kids.

1ST OF THE MONTH FREE BOOKS

The Oshkosh Kids Museum will provide all children ages 0-12 with a free book on the first of the month, every month. The museum will stock a library full of books where kids can come and select their free book on the first of the month themselves. This ensures all children have access to books at home that are of interest to them, an essential element for learning and language development.

PAY-AS-YOU-CAN CAFE

The Oshkosh Kids Museum will have a small cafe area set up at the entrance with refrigerators stocked full of healthy foods for children with tables and chairs for dining. Families can help themselves to the food, eat at the cafe, and pay whatever they are able. There will be no prices marked, and no one staffed to check out families. Instead, there will be a self-checkout where families can select what they will pay for their meal - a little, a lot, or nothing at all. This ensures all children have access to the essential nutrition they need for learning and development.

THE TOY LIBRARY

The Oshkosh Kids Museum will stock a toy library full of developmentally important toys for all children to be able to check out, take home for a month, and then return for new toys. Each new toy can stimulate a child's brain in important new ways and this program ensures that all children have access to rotating toys at home and plenty of opportunities to play outside of the museum. It also reduces waste in our landfills and helps parents experiment with different toys for their children without having to commit to them!

MORE THAN JUST A PLAY PLACE.

CREATING WORLDS OF WONDER EVERY DAY.