Sacramento: ArtBeast

by Elizabeth

There's a lot of fun stuff to do in this city of mine, but one thing I always tell people with kids they must do is to check ArtBeast! It's a crazy cool, old house turned into a "drop in arts exploration space" filled with all kinds of fun stuff for kids ... every art supply you can imagine (and you don't have to clean up after yourself when you're done!), all kinds of surfaces to draw and paint on, and there's an upstairs area filled with squishy foam blocks for babies. The basement area is filled with costumes and puppets, and there's an even an outdoor area with room for water play and musical instruments of the large creative banging variety.

They also have classes, although we've never taken any. Best yet, even though it's a little on the expensive side ($8 a person), the proceeds from ArtBeast fund programs for homeless kids. Every penny raised goes either back into ArtBeast or into Tubman House, a residential community for homeless youth and children.

Plus, read their "Pledge to the Shy." As a parent of a child who was once very shy, I have to admit this made me tear up a bit the first time I read it on their site:

When you come to ArtBeast, we will smile and say hi.
We might say, “I’m glad you’re here today.”
But we promise, we won’t stare until you say hi back.
We won’t pester you with questions about your name
and your age if you’d rather not share.
We won’t get too close or try to make you laugh
Or insist you find us charming.
You can have all the time you want and
All the space you want to get comfortable,
to decide if you want to trust us with your name,
your art, your ideas, and your giggles.
We know you are much more than someone
Who prefers a slow getting to know you.
We know that the quiet we see protects
the loud, feisty, brilliant spirit inside you.
And that’s just fine.

We don't have an actual children's museum in Sacramento, unfortunately, but I have to say that I think ArtBeast fills in nicely for the absence. It's for certain one of my kids' favorite things to do! Next year I'm thinking birthday party for the six year old, in fact.

{Image credit: artbeaststudio.com}