Adding a positive voice to the national narrative around inclusion, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose kicks off its fourth annual Proud of My Family weekend August 18 & 19. Children and adults will enjoy activities designed to celebrate all types of families, especially LGBTQ+ parents, relatives, and friends.
Recognizing that lasting change begins with children, the event supports the museum’s Inclusion and Cultural Competence strategic commitment to build awareness and understanding among people of diverse ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, socioeconomic situations, religions, abilities, and family configurations.
“Our goal is to always make every family feel welcome and celebrated at the museum,” said Marilee Jennings, executive director of Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. “This event helps foster understanding while recognizing that families come in all types of configurations and that what binds us are the shared hopes and dreams for our children and their futures.”
The jam-packed weekend includes festive rainbow art activities, moving and grooving in the Rainbow Dance Zone, getting creative with the temporary art installation around the colors of the Pride flag, and learning from partner organizations who will be onsite sharing resources about the LGBTQ+ community. Award-winning children’s recording artist Tim Cain performs Saturday and the Rainbow Women’s Chorus on Sunday. They’ll be a Drag Queen Storytime at 3 p.m. with a “Meet and Greet” and a Pride Parade at 4 p.m. each day, both sponsored and led by SV Pride.
Proud of My Family Activities
August 18 & 19, 12:00 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Special Performances
Saturday:
- Musician Tim Cain will perform acoustic music at noon.
- Storytime with Todd Parr’s “The Family Book” at 11:15 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
- Drag Queen Storytime at 3 p.m.
Sunday:
- Rainbow Women’s Chorus will perform at 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m
- Special guest caricature artist Hortencia Martin will draw family caricatures
- Storytime with Todd Parr’s “The Family Book” at 12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
- Drag Queen Storytime at 3 p.m.
Ongoing Weekend Activities:
- Create family portraits.
- Join in a Rainbow Dance Party. Stretch, jump, spin and move with colorful streamers, pom-poms, capes and accessories.
- Make rainbow friendship bracelets. Learn to tie knots and enhance fine motor skills by creating colorful yarn bracelets for friends and family.
- Rainbow Reflections. Learn the meaning behind each color of the Pride Flag and contribute to the installation by drawing an interpretation of each color.
- Partners from the LGBTQ+ community will be on-site offering information, resources, and coloring pages.
- Family photo op. Strike a pose and make lasting memories with the colorful backdrop.
- Paint your face with rainbows.
- Explore rainbows and light in the Art Studio.
- Fashion a cornhusk doll with colorful fabrics.
- Create a nature journal. Find all the colors of the rainbow in the museum’s backyard.
Cost of admission: adults: $15; children: $15; seniors: $14; infants and members are free. All activities are included in the price of museum admission.
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About Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
With over 150 interactive exhibits and programs, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose is one of the largest museums of its kind in the nation. Since opening its doors in 1990, the museum has welcomed over 8.6 million visitors and has offered new exhibits each year that respond to children’s diverse educational needs. The striking 52,000 square foot purple building was designed by Mexico City-based architect Ricardo Legorreta and is a beacon of discovery. Encompassing the broad themes of community, connections and creativity, hands-on exhibits invite self-directed, open-ended explorations. For more information about the Museum, visit www.cdm.org.
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