There's no doubt that education is the key to success and Pretend City Children's Museum, Orange County's newest and most playful educational institution, is challenging our community to stand up for a child's right to learn through play.

What do we mean learn through play? Why learn through play? At Pretend City, each of our exhibits and programs are specifically designed to educate children through interactive learning experiences and purposeful play in a fun environment. This means by simply pretending to purchase items from our grocery store or calling our dispatch facility children are learning math and problem solving skills, all while playing.

Through everything from our educational classes and workshops to our developmental screenings and scholarship programs, we are preparing the children of our community to thrive in school, enjoy the learning process and become a leader of tomorrow, all through a tool which they completely understand – play.

But as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we only earn in revenue half of what it costs to provide such a quality educational experience and it is because of the generous support of our donors that we can continue to build the educational platforms which engage children in purposeful play.

Pretend City is calling upon the community to invest. Keep play alive! Keep the tool that all children love and need readily available.

Two prominent Orange County families are standing up by challenging the community to raise $500,000 by December 31, 2010 and have pledged to match the goal dollar for dollar, totaling $1 million dollars! And once we hit $150,000, build-out of the Pretend City Library begins.

No gift is too small. Collectively every donation benefits the children of our community, so give now!

How every dollar counts:
- 12 Gifts of $10 will provide art materials for an art studio project for 400 children.
- 50 gifts of $20 will provide 100 visits to underserved children.
- 75 gifts of $50 will provide enough sanitization products to clean the museum for three months.
- 30 gifts of $100 will pay for two special autism night programs at the museum.

"I have witnessed my own children learning as they play in this wonderful facility and then carry those lessons back into the outside world. Educational breakthroughs really do happen every day before our eyes in this very extraordinary place." - Bill H. Lyon

"Pretend City has offered our family an opportunity to learn and grow together in a real-world educational environment. Nothing like this exists in our commuinity, and to be able to help promote this great project is truly special." - Jon Marashi, DDS