Teddy Bear Clinic at the Children’s Museum

The community is invited to a Teddy Bear Vaccination Clinic to help demystify doctors’ visits for kids and caregivers. The event will take place on Saturday, August 27 from 11:30 am until 1 pm, and then again from 2 until 3:30 pm at the Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery (MOD) in the Capitola Mall.

The event is free to MOD members and patrons with a paid daily admission to the Museum.

“Shots can be scary!” said Executive Director, Rhiannon Crain. “By providing the opportunity for children to explore the basics of a visit without any threat to themselves, children can learn through play and imagine themselves in certain roles while they practice thinking through the situation in a low-stakes environment.”

Children are encouraged to bring their own stuffed animal to the event, where they will dress up in a lab coat; check-in their “patient;” use measuring tape to monitor the height of the patient; use a thermometer to check temperature; use the otoscope to look into the stuffed animal's ears and eyes; use a needless syringe to give a vaccination; and finally bandage up their stuffed animal.

The MOD’s first Teddy Bear Vaccination Clinic took place on Saturday, August 6 and was a success. “One dad mentioned that his son had just gotten a shot earlier that day, so he was able to draw on that experience during the event,” said MOD Playworker, Natalia Ruiz-Zamora. “The dad thinks that helped him cope.”

The Santa Cruz Children’s Museum of Discovery is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created in 2014 to support local families and provide a safe place for children to learn through play.