From Sacramento Bee writer M.S. Enkoji (menkoji@sacbee.com):

A museum geared for visitors 8 years old and younger could open within a year in Sacramento, becoming the region's only comprehensive children's museum and the latest in a rich collection of regional offerings.

For two years, a group of parent volunteers and other supporters worked to establish a hands-on style museum that will expose young minds to science, the arts and culture.

"We kind of have everything we need but a location," said Mary Teichert Rotelli, board president of the Sacramento Children's Museum.

State legislators have passed a bill that essentially teams the state Department of Parks and Recreation with a nonprofit group in the effort and designates the Old Sacramento area as a location. The bill, which had no opposition, needs to be signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

......A pint-sized grocery store at Berkeley's Habitot Children's Museum gives children the chance to select and buy foods and ring them up at a cash register. Using foam rubber models of cans and bottles, children learn how to sort recycled items.

A visit to Hobitot inspired a Roseville mother of two and former teacher to launch the effort to open a children's museum closer to home.

Kathleen Palley thought the children in the Sacramento area needed the same kind of place.

"I've seen how children learn. They learn quickly by touching, playing and exploring," she said.

Palley enlisted others until she had a 12-member board of directors.

"It will be such a tourist attraction in Old Sacramento. It's going to draw the suburban families downtown," she said.

Rotelli, a mother of two in the target age group of 8 years old and younger, said the museum will develop in stages, with the initial one opening possibly in a temporary location within a year. The first-phase site could be in Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Roseville or Sacramento, she said.

The Sacramento Junior League has pledged money for the museum, but Rotelli declined to say how much has been raised for the museum.

Envisioned as large as 40,000 square feet at its permanent stage, the museum is already collecting and storing exhibits, she said.

Rather than focusing solely on science for children in elementary grades and beyond, such as the Explorit Science Museum in Davis, the Sacramento Children's Museum will encompass other disciplines, including the state's rich cultural heritage for younger children.

"It will provide a spark for lifelong learning," Rotelli said.

Shades of Fairytale Town which was started by a group of parents with the assistance of the Junior League in 1959 and continues as a very special place for the young children of Sacramento. And a great example of how a small group of citizens working together can make a big difference.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen