Created as a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization in 1992, Habitot spent six years as a traveling museum and raising funds for a permanent location. Over 10,000 families experienced the Waterworks traveling exhibit during this time.
Meet Habitot’s Founder & Executive Director
In 1998, Habitot opened a 4,000 sq. ft. space in Downtown Berkeley. 30,000 visitors walked through the doors that first year, and the museum began 20+ years of building programs and exhibits to serve the community. By 2020, Habitot had expanded to occupy 7,000 sq. ft. with the addition of a classroom annex and administrative offices, and welcomed more than 1.5M visitors, about 60,000 annually. For years, Habitot’s small space and expanding audience encouraged Board and staff to seek a larger and more accessible museum space, a “New Place to Grow.”
Pre-pandemic Exhibits photo gallery
Programs
Early in 2020, Habitot was closed by State-mandate and was forced to relinquish lease agreements it had for its downtown Berkeley location as well as for its hoped-future location in south Berkeley.
Currently, Habitot is a 100% a Mobile Museum, in 2022, touring 20 cities throughout the East Bay with its mobile exhibits, and art, and maker activity stations. Our BoxiTot play and learning kits (with art, STEM and maker activities) are being distributed widely, and pre-recorded demonstration videos and interactive Zoom sessions are offered monthly. Every week, Habitot-at-Home e-newsletters with at-home preschool activities, book recommendations, parenting tips, and updates are delivered to 5,000 households.
Once again, Habitot is touring, fundraising, building excitement and support for a new children’s museum in the East Bay… and we know how to do this! We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again!
We’ve worked with a professional museum design firm to capture parents’ ideas for the new museum. We’re excited share concept sketches and program plans with you. See more
Would you like to be involved in Habitot’s exciting journey? We hope you do. Please, get involved!
