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. [1]
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In response to the infamous Crown Heights Riot in 1991 and the terrorist killing[2] 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.