NAR:
The Jewish Children's Museum is a striking new six-floor building.
On the roof there's a miniature golf course where each hole represents a stage in Jewish life. In the basement kids play TV game shows like Jew-perdy, complete with a Hasidic game show host.
GAMESHOW HOST:
Welcome everyone to the JCM Game Show Theatre. You guys having a good time here today? (children: Yeah!!!) Awesome!
NAR:
The third floor has exhibits about the Sabbath and holidays like Passover.
Push a button and the ten commandments descend from heaven.
There's even a talking tree.
TALKING TREE:
You too have roots, strong and powerful roots, to hold you securely against the challenges you will face in your life.
NAR:
The tree isn't for climbing, but there's a giant challah that is.
CHILD:
I'm climbing…
NAR: (5 sec)
Susan Fruchter is a retired teacher.
She's here with her grandchildren.
FRUCHTER: (12 sec)
It's great because it's interactive. A lot of interactive things for the children to do, and to reinforce what they learn in school, their heritage, and in a very meaningful, experiential way.
NAR: (19 sec)
The museum was designed for Jews and non-Jews alike, and three quarters of its visitors are Jewish. It's the brainchild of the Lubavitcher Hasidic Jews who have their headquarters across the street. Shalom Ber Baumgarten is one of the museum's founders.
He says they got the idea in the early 90s after organizing yearly Jewish expos.
SHALOM BER: (15 sec)
As we were going along and thinking about the museum, we decided that there's nothing like this in the whole entire world. So we decided, if we're going to do this, let's go first class. And in the beginning we thought it was going to be a 5 million dollar project. Then we said it's going to be an 18 million dollar project. Right now it's a 31 million dollar project.
NAR: (24 sec)
Raising that kind of money was a major challenge.
Then, in March 1994, a Lebanese gunman shot up a van of Lubavitch boys on the Brooklyn Bridge and killed 16-year-old Ari Halberstam. Baumgarten says the boy's mother went on a fundraising mission in her son's name.
SHALOM BER: (14 sec)
She decided that hear's an opportunity, we're going to build a museum, and I want my son to be part of it. And she put all her efforts out, that this is a cultural museum, and she went to the city and to the state.
NAR: (4 sec)
She raised about 10 million dollars from the city
and 3 million from the state.
SHALOM BER: (11 sec)
Well they felt this is something that, also to do something positive, to build up something that would be something in his name that children can come and learn, and learn about his heritage, which is the Jewish heritage.
NAR: (19 sec)
With government funds and private contributions,
they're still a few million dollars short.
And with a couple of thousand visitors a week
at ten dollars a head, they're not covering
their two and a half million dollar annual operating costs.
But for Baumgarten, building and running the museum is a mitzvah, a good deed.
SHALOM BER: (8 sec)
We just want people to understand their heritage, understand their religion, and do a mitzvah. One mitzvah will lead to another mitzvah.
SONG: (6 sec)
Let's get busy doing mitzvas, 'cause that's the torah way.
Let's get busy doing mitzvas, 'cause that's the torah way... (fade under narration)
NAR: (3 sec)
I'm Matt Hirshberg, Columbia Radio News.