Spooky Season at Pretend City

Pretend City Children's Museum turns October into a month-long costume party. Spooky Season brings Halloween-themed play days, trick-or-treating stations and special family nights to the Irvine museum, so your little ones can practice their trick-or-treat manners in a friendly, indoor setting.

Highlights include Baby Steps Costume Day for babies 18 months and younger, a sensory-friendly Neurodivergent Family Halloween Night with the lights dimmed and the sounds turned down, and a full Costume Week with themed activities, storytimes and music. Halloween's Eve on October 30 adds dancing, trick-or-treating and a puppet show, and a Halloween-edition Meet the Instrument session with the Philharmonic Society closes out the month on October 31.

Some programs require registration, and the Neurodivergent Family Halloween Night is limited to 250 guests, so plan ahead. Pretend City is best for infants through elementary-age kids, and the museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

📅 Dates & Times

Baby Steps Costume Day (ages 18 months and younger, registration required): Tuesday, October 6 and Sunday, October 11, 2026, 8:00 – 9:30 AM

Neurodivergent Family Halloween Night (limited to 250 guests): Tuesday, October 13 and Thursday, October 22, 2026, 5:00 – 7:00 PM

Costume Week: Sunday, October 25 through Thursday, October 29, 2026, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, with music at 11:00 AM and 2:30 PM

Halloween's Eve: Friday, October 30, 2026, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, with trick-or-treating at 10:30 AM, 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM

Meet the Instrument with Philharmonic Society, Halloween Edition: Saturday, October 31, 2026, 11:00 AM, with crafts 12:00 – 2:00 PM

Member's Mini's Monster Mash (members only): Friday, October 30, 2026, 9:00 – 10:00 AM

📍 Venue

Pretend City Children's Museum

29 Hubble

Irvine, CA 92618

👨🏻‍👩🏻‍👦🏻‍👦🏻 Age Requirement

All ages are welcome. The museum is designed for infants through elementary-school children, and Baby Steps Costume Day is for ages 18 months and younger.

🎟️ Tickets/Price

This is a paid event. General admission is $22 per child or adult, $20 for seniors and military, and $5 for EBT/WIC cardholders (Museums for All). Infants under 12 months and museum members are free. Some programs require registration, so check each event page.

Buy Pretend City Children's Museum tickets

🍔 Food

Please check the website for more information.

🚙 Parking

Parking is free in the lot or behind the building.

🌐 Website Link

Pretend City Children's Museum October events

🧭 Directions

Click on the “Google” map for directions.

📢 Disclaimer

Event listings are believed to be accurate at the time of posting, but details are subject to change without notice. Please confirm all details with the event organizer before attending. FUN WITH KIDS IN LA® is not liable for errors, omissions, or changes to listings in our calendar. Some events have paid us to be on our events calendar, and some events contain an affiliate link.