From its world-famous zoo to SeaWorld, San Diego has always offered numerous recreational opportunities for children. The construction of a new San Diego Children's Museum will lock this reputation solidly in place.

The museum plans to build a 50,000-square-foot facility by 2005. Construction on the museum began in May. The facility will be located on a portion of the block at Island Avenue and First Avenue, located in the Marina District of downtown. The museum had previously occupied the entire block, but it will now share space with a high-rise condominium.

The redevelopment timeline has three phases. Phase 1, preparation, began in January 2001 and ended with the groundbreaking in May 2003. Phase 2, construction, will end in December 2004. Phase 3, the museum opening, will take place in January 2005.

One level of the museum will be below grade with 16-foot ceilings, along with the main level and a second level overlooking the exhibits on the main level. Parking will be underground and shared with the condominium; 75 spots will be available to museum guests.

Attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the San Diego Children's Museum in May were, from left to right, architect Rob Quigley; Mike DeCotiis of Pinnacle International; Kay Wagner, executive director of the San Diego Children's Museum; Hal Sadler, chairman of the board, Centre City Development Corp.; former Councilman Byron Wear; Mayor Dick Murphy; Pam Hamilton, senior vice president of CCDC; Doug Hutcheson, board president of the San Diego Children's Museum; and Martin Poirier, landscape architect.

Inside the museum, visitors will find gallery space, a charter school, a café, museum store, administrative offices, operational and storage spaces, a work shop, a three-story interior atrium with an entrance bridge and a dramatic "saw tooth" roof structure with photovoltaic panels and extensive use of exterior glazing.

The museum will also feature a 1,920-square-foot art studio, six indoor interactive galleries, two outdoor interactive galleries, a play theater and a public programs space to host meetings and performances. In addition, there will be two birthday party rooms, a glass elevator and a garden.

Across from the entrance of the museum, an asphalt lot will be converted into a 1-acre public park specifically designed for children by the landscape architecture firm Spurlock-Poirier. The largest area of the triangular park will consist of an open lawn, and beyond the lawn will be a series of three shade-covered play spaces. One of the spaces will be multilevel for play equipment such as slides, climbing poles and a merry-go-round. The park will also feature public art.

Kay Wagner, the executive director of the Children's Museum, said that the idea of building a museum arose about four years ago.

"The old museum was wonderful in many ways," Wagner said. "It was a warehouse. Still, with a warehouse you don't have many walls for showing art. The new museum will have more gallery space."

She added, "With the warehouse, it was always too hot or too cold, and there was no way to regulate that. We also couldn't do as much hands-on work as we wanted to."

The cost of the museum was another factor. "We were paying $24,000 in lease payments to (the Centre City Development Corp.) and we needed to get out from being under that kind of obligation," Wagner said.

She said, "The decision was made to get a deal with the developer, have the developer take a portion (of the land) and pay us for it, and pay off the land later."

Community reaction has been positive. Wagner said about six public meetings have been held, as well as some "study groups" with parents. "We have a program called 'Toddler Tuesdays and Thursdays,' and a lot of those parents had a lot of ideas" for the new museum, Wagner said.

A description of the facility on the museum's Web site listed other San Diego museums as examples of successfully "adopting (a) programming mix" like the Children Museum's. That is, museums such as the Natural History Museum, San Diego Museum of Art, Aerospace Museum and Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park have combined "teaching, creativity, entertainment and fun" in an effort to boost attendance levels and revenues.

In the funding realm, the museum's goal is to raise $20 million over the next 18 months, to construct the building and establish an endowment that will secure the museum's survival.

"We're trying very hard to raise money and we need all the help we can get," Wagner said