Santa Monica : Study on Children’s Museum

The City Council on Tuesday instructed staff to review and make a recommendation on a request for $26,900 in seed money for the Westside Children’s Museum, which organizers plan to set up in a section of the Madison School on Arizona Avenue.

The staff is expected to recommend approval of the funding.

Councilmen David Finkel and Dennis Zane praised the project as a way to benefit both children and the school system.

Councilman Herb Katz expressed reservations about whether all children on the Westside, including about 22,000 in Inglewood, would have equal access to the museum. But he joined other members in asking the staff to advance the project.

On Katz’s suggestion, the staff also will study how traffic generated by the museum will affect neighboring residents.

Councilwoman Christine Reed opposed the motion, saying the request for a grant came “out of the budget cycle.”

Organizers of the museum project a $157,000 first-year budget, most of which they hope to defray with memberships and donations.

Gloria Garvin, a member of the museum’s board of directors, told the council the museum already has $5,000 in the bank and $13,000 in pledges.

“We are very, very pleased with the council’s decision,” Garvin said later. “Meeting further conditions (set by the council) should be no problem. Our main thrust now will be raising matching funds.”

On Dec. 19, museum organizers are staging a performance of “The Nutcracker” for children and a toy-making workshop at the Madison School. Tickets are $2 for children and $5 for adults. Reservations are necessary for the workshop, recommended for children age 4 to 12.