The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) has provided world-class cultural programming for kids since 1973. Now, CMOM is based on 83rd Street on the Upper West Side, but museum officials have their sights set on a historic 7-story church on 96th Street overlooking Central Park for its new center of operations.
Today, 361 Central Park West is home to First Church of Christ, Scientist—completed in 1903 by Carrère & Hastings. (That firm was also behind the main branch of the New York Public Library, Frick Collection, and Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza.) FXCollaborative was tapped to reimagine the 80,000-square-foot building for CMOM’s needs. THG is providing exhibition design services.
“As we bring new life to a neglected landmark, we balance the desire to honor, expose, and converse with this historic building to create something new,” Sylvia Smith, FXCollaborative partner emerita, shared in a statement. “The Children’s Museum of Manhattan will come alive through the intermixing of the new and vital with the historic and venerated.”
FXCollaborative noted that, from the church’s lower level to the top of its spire, CMOM will be a “journey of adventure and discovery” that offers immersive learning environments replete with “engaging, interactive, large-scale artworks designed by and for children.”
The ground floor, designers said, will host welcoming amenities like a seamless stroller check-in area, cafe, museum store, and breakout spaces for making art. Immersive exhibitions and technologies will be located on the second floor. These spaces will introduce young ones to natural ecosystems like coral reefs, rainforests.
The third floor of the church boasts 22-foot-tall ceilings, which FXCollaborative utilized to serve as CMOM’s main area. That space, using the curatorial scheme What Will I Create Today?, will give kids the chance to paint, write, cook, and design.
There will also be coding classes, clay making workshops, and STEAM education on the third floor. Meanwhile, the fourth floor’s barrel vault will be wrapped with seating nooks for children looking to have a bit of privacy. CMOM’s performance space will be located on the sixth floor.
“We know from study after study that the groundwork for a lifelong love of learning and the social, emotional and cognitive development of a child is laid in the earliest years. In fact, 90 percent of a child’s brain development happens before they turn five,” said Laura Tisch, chair emeritus of CMOM.
“Too many children in our city enter school without the foundational skills and experiences they need to thrive in the classroom,” Tisch continued. “The new CMOM will be committed to giving parents and caregivers tools to help set up children for success in school, in life, and in their communities.”
CMOM needs another $50 million to reach its fundraising goal. It’s already raised $200 million, with $46 million coming from New York City.
After this last phase of fundraising, CMOM should open its doors on Central Park West in 2028.
