For many families, a museum visit that inspires curiosity and opens doors to opportunity has become harder to afford.
According to the 2025 Real Cost Measure published by United Ways of California, a statewide nonprofit association representing local United Way organizations, 35% of California households—approximately 3.8 million—do not earn enough to cover basic living expenses such as housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and taxes. Among households with children under six, that number rises to 54%.
Those pressures continue today. In August 2026, consumer prices in the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim area were 3.6% higher than one year earlier. Grocery prices rose 3%, shelter costs increased 3.8%, and gasoline prices jumped 26.6%. These increases add to the higher costs families have already absorbed over the past several years.
These are overwhelmingly working families. About 97% of households facing financial hardship are already working, but rising costs for necessities leave less money for educational and cultural experiences.
When families must choose between groceries, rent, transportation, and a day at a museum, the museum visit is understandably one of the first things they cut from the budget.
That is why we launched Kids Board Free at Battleship IOWA, home of the National Museum of the Surface Navy for a limited time.
Access to Opportunity Should Not Depend on a Family’s Budget
For many families, a museum visit that inspires curiosity and opens doors to opportunity has become harder to afford.
According to the 2025 Real Cost Measure published by United Ways of California, a statewide nonprofit association representing local United Way organizations, 35% of California households—approximately 3.8 million—do not earn enough to cover basic living expenses such as housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and taxes. Among households with children under six, that number rises to 54%.
Those pressures continue today. In August 2026, consumer prices in the Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim area were 3.6% higher than one year earlier. Grocery prices rose 3%, shelter costs increased 3.8%, and gasoline prices jumped 26.6%. These increases add to the higher costs families have already absorbed over the past several years.
These are overwhelmingly working families. About 97% of households facing financial hardship are already working, but rising costs for necessities leave less money for educational and cultural experiences.
When families must choose between groceries, rent, transportation, and a day at a museum, the museum visit is understandably one of the first things they cut from the budget.
That is why we launched Kids Board Free at Battleship IOWA, home of the National Museum of the Surface Navy for a limited time.
One Visit Can Plant a Seed
We have seen what can happen when a child steps aboard Battleship IOWA for the first time.
A young visitor may arrive expecting to tour an old Navy ship and leave talking about becoming an engineer, sailor, mechanic, ship captain, scientist, or military member. Another may discover an interest in communications, navigation, medicine, cooking, logistics, or one of the many skilled trades needed aboard ships and throughout the waterfront.
Over the years, we have seen those first moments of exposure grow into a deeper interest in education, maritime careers, port-related jobs, and military service. A single visit does not determine a child’s future, but it can plant a seed that changes what that child believes is possible.
Removing the cost of children’s admission allows more families to begin that journey.
From Touring a Ship to Joining the Crew
Through our new Life of a Sailor experience, children do more than walk through a historic battleship. They become sailor recruits for the day (or follow Vicky, our ship’s mascot).
Young visitors receive a sailor assignment, follow orders, hone their skills, complete activities, and learn about the responsibilities carried by members of a ship’s crew. Along the way, they meet sailors who served aboard Navy ships and learn about the many different jobs required to complete a mission.
The experience is built around four ideas:
- Adventure: Explore a real Navy ship and take on a mission.
- Opportunity: Discover careers connected to ships, the waterfront, science, technology, skilled trades, and service.
- Belonging: Learn how people with different backgrounds and responsibilities become one crew.
- Purpose: Understand how every sailor and every job contributes to something larger.
Kids Board Free lets more families share this experience, no matter how much room remains in their budget after paying household bills.
The Poverty Line Does Not Tell the Whole Story
Traditional poverty statistics do not fully reflect what it costs to raise a family in California.
The federal poverty line does not adequately account for regional differences in housing, childcare, transportation, healthcare, and other essential expenses. As a result, many families earn too much to be officially classified as living in poverty or to qualify for assistance, but still do not earn enough to cover all their basic needs.
United Ways of California developed the Real Cost Measure to provide a more complete picture. Its findings show that financial hardship reaches far beyond the relatively small percentage of residents officially classified as living in poverty. It affects millions of working households statewide, with some of the highest concentrations in Southern California’s metropolitan communities.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides additional evidence of the continuing pressure on local families. Rising food, housing, and transportation costs mean even households earning more than a year ago may have less money left after paying for necessities.
Read the 2025 Real Cost Measure from United Ways of California.
Review current Los Angeles-area consumer price data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Bring Your Family Aboard
The best way to experience Kids Board Free is to bring your family aboard Battleship IOWA.
Explore seven decks of a historic battleship, discover more than 75 exhibits and displays, and become a sailor recruit through our new Life of a Sailor experience. Children can receive their orders, hone their sailor skills, follow in the footsteps of a real sailor, and join Vicky the Dog on a shipwide scavenger hunt.
Most families spend two to three hours aboard, making Battleship IOWA an unforgettable day of exploration, learning, and discovery at the Los Angeles Waterfront.
With Kids Board Free, children receive free admission when visiting with a paid adult. Every paid visit also helps preserve Battleship IOWA and supports the educational experiences and community programs offered aboard.
Bring your crew, plan your visit, and give your children the opportunity to discover where one day aboard might lead.
We Cannot Do This Alone
Pacific Battleship Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, operates Battleship IOWA Museum. We are not a government-funded museum. Admission revenue, memberships, grants, donations, and community support fund the ship's preservation and the educational experiences offered aboard.
We launched Kids Board Free because we believe access to inspiration and opportunity is too important to postpone. But we cannot sustain the program indefinitely without donor support.
Every free child admission represents a real cost to the museum—and a real investment in a young person. Donations help us welcome more families, care for the ship, develop hands-on experiences, and introduce children to maritime careers, skilled trades, science, technology, history, and service.
Help Us Keep Kids Boarding Free
A free museum ticket is a small thing. For the right child, however, that first visit can become the beginning of a lifelong interest, an education, a career, or a life of service.
By supporting Kids Board Free, you are not simply paying for a child’s admission. You are helping place inspiration and opportunity within reach.
Help us keep Kids Board Free and introduce the next generation to the opportunities waiting aboard ships, throughout the port, and in service to our country.
Limited time only!
Kids Board Free
In the all-new Life of a Sailor experience, kids become sailor recruits, building their skills, following the story of a famous sailor, and joining Vicky the Dog on a scavenger hunt through Battleship IOWA.
Kids board free with a paid adult.