Founded in 1962, the Friends are a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to supporting and enhancing the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo.

The Friends work closely with the City of Palo Alto to provide a fun and creative environment for kids to learn about science.

Our efforts focus on supporting interactive museum exhibits, providing free educational classes to low-income school-aged children, and improving zoo and museum facilities.

Board Members

• Aletha Coleman, co-President
• David Wright, co-President
• Lisa Gani, Vice President
• Mariela Kleiner, Secretary
• Ed Miller, Treasurer
• Annette Bialson
• Courtenay Corrigan
• Wendy Dransfield
• Leonard Ely III
• Irena Ukalovic Halsey
• Roxy Rapp

Staff

• Molly McAuliffe, Director of Development

History

• 1934 - The Junior Museum was founded by Josephine O'Hara in 1934 in the basement of a local elementary school. It was the first children's museum west of the Mississippi.
• 1962 - Community volunteers formed the "Associates of the Palo Alto Junior Museum" to support the exhibits of the museum.
• 1969 - The Museum added a Zoo in 1969 with a small selection of mostly indigenous wildlife.
• 1990 - The Associates re-organized and created the non-profit 501(c)(3) "Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo" (Federal ID #77-0296155) to support the programs and services of the JMZ.