By Mary Lynne Vellinga -- Bee Staff Writer

Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, May 8, 2006

Sacramento Assemblyman Dave Jones, the father of two young children, is carrying legislation to locate a new children's museum in Old Sacramento.

With his bill, the Democratic lawmaker joins a growing list of prominent supporters working to build a children's museum there, a campaign started a year ago by Roseville mom Kathleen Palley.

"As a parent with young children myself, I've visited a number of children's museums around the country; Sacramento really needs a children's museum," Jones said.

His bill, AB 2782, would authorize the state Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into an agreement allowing Palley's group to build a museum on the site known as the "grassy knoll," an open piece of state-owned land across from the California State Railroad Museum.

State Parks and Recreation has long earmarked the property for a group of storefronts replicating a Gold Rush-era town. Parks spokesman Roy Stearns said a children's museum could be compatible with that idea.

"We don't have an official position on the bill yet because we've just begun the process of reviewing it, but we think it's a creative idea and well worth exploring," Stearns said. "The idea here is to build the 1849 scene and embed the museum inside it."

Jones' bill passed the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee on April 26 and now heads to the Appropriations Committee. If it passes the full Assembly, it will go to the state Senate.

This is the museum group's second attempt to secure a site on the Sacramento River. It had earlier proposed to renovate the historic Pacific Gas and Electric power plant on the bike trail just north of Old Sacramento.

But the City Council instead voted in February to award that property to homebuilding giant D.R. Horton, which proposes to put high-rise condominiums next to the power plant and use some of the profits to help restore the crumbling Beaux Arts-style power station to some as-yet-undetermined use.

"In our search for other locations, we came across the opportunity in Old Sacramento," Palley said. "It seems to be a perfect match. We like the proximity to downtown Sacramento, and we like to be near the river. ... There are only a few places that offer such a large grassy area outdoors, and we want to have a place for children to play outdoors."

While it still lacks bricks and mortar, and money for construction, the nonprofit children's museum group has a 12-member board that includes Patty Mahood, wife of Matt Mahood, president and chief executive officer of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Mary Teichert Rotelli, a member of the prominent Teichert gravel mining family; Shareen Fat of the Fat restaurant family; and lobbyist Louie Brown.

It recently received a $75,000 grant from First 5 Sacramento Commission to help establish a parent resource center.

"We are in the midst of starting a capital campaign," said board member Brown. "We've approached the city and we're going to approach benefactors from around the community. We hope to primarily be funded by private donors."

Brown said the budget is expected to range from $10 million to $20 million. Corporate sponsorships of specific exhibits are also a significant source of funding for children's museums.

Jones said he contacted the museum group shortly after his election to state office, and "was delighted to find they had a strong community base from throughout the region, and a lot of expertise, and were strongly committed to making this happen."

In recent years, children's museums have been a growing portion of the museum market. They take many different forms, but the idea of hands-on, fun learning is a common theme. Nearby examples include museums in San Jose and Sausalito.

There are about 200 children's museums in the United States, up from 38 in 1975, according to the Association of Children's Museums. Annual attendance totals about 30 million people.