Jewish Children's Museum
Encyclopedia
The Jewish Children's Museum is the largest Jewish-themed children's museum
in the United States
. It aims for children of all faiths and backgrounds to gain a positive perspective and awareness of the Jewish heritage, fostering tolerance and understanding. The permanent collection features exhibits designed to be both educational and entertaining to children, often employing interactive multimedia. At the miniature golf course on the roof, for example, each hole represents a stage in Jewish life.
The Museum is located in the Chabad-Lubavitch
Chasidic community of Crown Heights
at 792 Eastern Parkway
, Brooklyn, New York, near the headquarters of the Lubavitch movement
. The museum opened in 2004. In 2005, the Museum was among 406 New York City
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
.
In response to the infamous Crown Heights Riot
in 1991 and the terrorist killing of 16-year-old yeshiva student Ari Halberstam
on the Brooklyn Bridge
in 1994, the Museum was built to create a teaching tool for local children to better understand their neighbors.
Planning for the exhibit content was done with the input of various religious and secular educators, with the final word being made by the Museum's Orthodox Jewish directorate.
Community activist Devorah Halberstam, mother of Ari, played a major role in the Museum's creation. The Museum is officially dedicated to Ari's memory.
The front of the Museum displays a giant collage of pictures of children. When viewed from a distance they form one giant picture of a child.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It aims for children of all faiths and backgrounds to gain a positive perspective and awareness of the Jewish heritage, fostering tolerance and understanding. The permanent collection features exhibits designed to be both educational and entertaining to children, often employing interactive multimedia. At the miniature golf course on the roof, for example, each hole represents a stage in Jewish life.
The Museum is located in the Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
Chasidic community of Crown Heights
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
at 792 Eastern Parkway
Eastern Parkway (Brooklyn)
Eastern Parkway is a major boulevard that runs through a portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The road begins at Grand Army Plaza and extends east, running parallel to Atlantic Avenue, along the crest of the moraine that separates northern from southern Long Island, to Ralph Avenue...
, Brooklyn, New York, near the headquarters of the Lubavitch movement
770 Eastern Parkway
770 Eastern Parkway is the street address of the central headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, located on Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, in the United States of America...
. The museum opened in 2004. In 2005, the Museum was among 406 New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
.
History
Crown Heights Riot
The Crown Heights Riot was a three-day riot in the United States that occurred August 19–21, 1991. It took place in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn....
in 1991 and the terrorist killing of 16-year-old yeshiva student Ari Halberstam
Ari Halberstam
Ari Halberstam was a yeshiva student from a distinguished family associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, who was killed in a terrorist shooting in New York City....
on the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
in 1994, the Museum was built to create a teaching tool for local children to better understand their neighbors.
Planning for the exhibit content was done with the input of various religious and secular educators, with the final word being made by the Museum's Orthodox Jewish directorate.
Community activist Devorah Halberstam, mother of Ari, played a major role in the Museum's creation. The Museum is officially dedicated to Ari's memory.
The front of the Museum displays a giant collage of pictures of children. When viewed from a distance they form one giant picture of a child.
Key facts
- The Jewish Children's Museum was designed by Gwathmey, Siegel and Associates Architects.
- The cost of construction has been $35 million thus far, with an additional $5 million projected after the completion of the fourth floor exhibits (expected summer of 2011).
- The Museum won the Building Brooklyn Award in 2006 for its design and social impact on the greater Brooklyn community.
- More than 250,000 visitors came to the JCM in its first year of operation
- In addition to its computerized and interactive exhibits, the JCM building includes a Kosher restaurant, gift shop, social hall, 100-seat theater, gameshow studio, arts and crafts center and computer rooms.