The Children’s Courtyard is a permanent installation of individual names of children 21 years and younger. Names are inscribed on stone pavers (one name per line in columns) in the Children’s Courtyard at the entrance to the Museum Pavilion. Placement of each name is determined by the date received. .
For a donation of $300 per name, you can create a life-long relationship between a young person and JANM’s mission to preserve and share Japanese American history. Your donation will enable JANM to fulfill its mission to preserve and tell the story of Japanese Americans as an integral part of American history for current and future generations.
Please review the inscription guidelines before submitting your contribution at the bottom of this page.
****IMPORTANT NOTICE – PLEASE READ****
If you wish the Children’s Courtyard gift acknowledgement sent in care of another person, please provide their name and contact information in the “comments” area located at the bottom of the “billing information“ page. Include your name and contact information in the “billing address” at the top of the same page.
If you are including more than one child's name, please increase the quantity of Courtyard inscriptions to reflect the total number of children you wish to honor. If you are honoring more than 3 children, please select quantity 3, list the names of the first 3 children, and click on the button [Add to cart]. Then, return to this page and repeat the process to add the names of the additional children, from 4th through 6th, and so forth.
Guidelines for Inscription
The Children’s Courtyard opportunity is only for kids 21 years and younger. You may honor your children, grandchildren, other relatives and/or friends. Donors designating more than one listing and who would like their honorees’ names to appear together in the Courtyard must submit their registration forms and donation at the same time.
* Acceptable Honoree Formats:
- John A. Smith
- John Akio Smith, Jr.
- Jennifer Lindsay Mariko Tanaka-Smith
- Mary Haruko Tanaka-Smith
- Robert Tanaka, III
* Only One-Name entries are permitted. Two individuals cannot be combined in the same listing. Maximum of 36 characters on one line, including spaces and punctuation.
* No Mr. & Mrs., Mr., Mrs., etc. can be used.
* Jr., Sr., III, etc. may be used.
* English language alphabet letters only are used, with no accent marks.
* Parentheses or quotation marks are not used. John (Jack) Smith or John "Jack" Smith will be entered as John Jack Smith.
* All listings will consist of both upper and lower case letters. Specify upper and lower case letters where necessary (e.g. von Drake, McKay)
* No additional wording or numbers may be permitted. Additional wording includes: birth dates, hometown, generation, etc.
HOW WILL THE NAMES APPEAR?
Each child’s name will appear on one line (36 characters maximum, including spaces and (punctuation). Name placement will be determined by the date received. Inscribed characters are approximately 3/8" tall.
IS THE “CHILDREN’S COURTYARD” ONLY FOR JAPANESE AMERICAN CHILDREN?
No, the Courtyard is for all young people 21 years and younger.
HOW WILL I KNOW THAT THE NAME HAS BEEN REGISTERED?
A confirmation form and acknowledgement will be sent to you by mail. You will also receive a handsome certificate personalized with the name of the child you choose to honor. The next round of engravings will be in July 2024. Donors will be contacted with more information.
Questions about the above guidelines? Please contact the Museum’s Development Office at development@janm.org, or call 213.830.5646.
Thank you for your support of the Japanese American National Museum. Please note that contributions are not discountable.
Want a gift to send to your Honoree?
