By Jenni Martin
These days, it seems the national conversation is about how we need to have more honest and truthful conversations that acknowledge our different perspectives, honor our various experiences, and build bridges for understanding and healing, so that we can find common ground.
Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose’s initiatives titled Breaking Ground and Common Ground are designed to do just that.
More than 120 languages are spoken in Silicon Valley where immigrants from hundreds of countries work, live, and raise their children together. While our audience development efforts have been wildly successful, resulting in an audience that mirrors the valley’s diversity—we wanted to go deeper. In 2013, we launched Breaking Ground with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, to work with our area’s five largest immigrant communities—Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Mexican, and Vietnamese.
Knowing that cooking and the sharing of meals is such a ubiquitous experience infused with cultural traditions, we decided to ground our outreach with a series of dinners. Community partners helped us identify families to invite. With a goal of sparking conversation among families through the connections of cultural identity, food, and immigrant experiences, we were off and running.
Ancient Tradition of Gathering
During gatherings at the museum, held monthly for three months in a row, we convened at long tables to share a meal and talk. Each dinner featured the tomato, prepared in five different ways to represent the cultural cuisines of each immigrant group. Following dinner, the children played in the museum while adults gathered for the facilitated part of the evening.
Jumpstarting a Conversation
How do you facilitate conversation among people who don’t know each other, may not speak the same language, and may not be comfortable in a museum setting?
We did what museums do best—we started with objects.
We chose familiar cooking objects to evoke positive feelings and create a safe environment for sharing. Beautifully colored ceramic bowls, pitchers, placemats, spatulas, grinding tools, baskets and many other items were laid across the tables. Participants were invited to find an object that reminded them of their childhood home. Our guests talked about how they used the objects in their kitchens, what they missed about their homeland, and how they hoped their children were learning important traditions. They noticed similarities and differences between their own kitchens and discovered objects from other places.
As the facilitated conversation continued, people began sharing more intimate details. They expressed how they missed their homelands, where neighbors would watch out for their children. They laughed together when they discovered their common surprise at the large portions served in U.S. restaurants. And they lamented the difficulties of getting certain fruits and vegetables common from their own childhoods.
At the end of the dinners, a common theme had emerged—the shared hopes and dreams each parent has for their children in this new place they call home.
We Learned a Lot
Many of the participants and staff were inspired to continue the dialogue. One parent reported that after the dinners she talked for the first time with her neighbor, also an immigrant. Participants from one language group wanted to learn from others about how to navigate the U.S. school system. Some folks joined staff in co-creating a semi-permanent exhibition at the museum, The World Market, featuring kitchen tools (made safe and accessible for children) and videos representing the five cultural groups.
We Were Inspired
Breaking Ground allowed us to go deeper in understanding our audience. Next, we wanted to go broader. With additional funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, we launched Common Ground in 2016. This initiative replicated the Breaking Ground dinners with the goal of co-creating a traveling exhibition for our local area to reach both recent immigrants and those whose families immigrated to the U.S. long ago.
Following the three dinners, a community poetry workshop helped surface this exhibition theme: We are each shaped by unique experiences and circumstances and we each dream of a positive future for our children. As participants wrote their poems, using the prompts “I am…,” “I am from…,” and “I dream…,” a beautiful collective poem emerged that represented many images of place, experience, and dreams.
A Seat at the Table Traveling Exhibit
Continuing with the successful theme of cooking and food, kitchen items and scented playdough seemed like the perfect interactive for the exhibition. Titled A Seat at the Table, the pop-up arts space was activated at numerous community festivals and events throughout the summer and fall, inviting children and adults to get creative using molds and playdough and cooking utensils from different parts of the world. Lots of kneading, rolling, shaping and pressing occurred while people talked about the tools, their homeland, and the similarities and differences of what they were creating.
Did This Project Spark an Important Conversation?
We think so. While parents and children talked about kitchen tools and the smells of different spices, they also remembered and honored our cultural traditions and discovered new ones. The conversations reinforced the notion that while all of our paths and journeys are different—we all have hopes and dreams for our children.
Perhaps the idea that everyone should get a seat at the table and the opportunity to dream can help us delight in our differences and find our common ground.
Jenni Martin has served as Director of Education and Strategic Initiatives at Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose for 21 years. Ms. Martin has had a career long focused on community engagement and stewarding the Museum’s audience engagement initiatives with different cultural communities. Ms. Martin is currently the Project Director for CCLI (Cultural Competence Learning Institute), a collaborative national partnership focused on helping museum leaders catalyze diversity and inclusion efforts in their institutions. Follow Children’s Museum of San Jose on Twitter and Facebook.
Led by the Association of Children’s Museums and the University of Washington’s Museology Graduate Program, the Children’s Museum Research Network (CMRN) formed in 2015 with funding from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. For the past year, CMRN has contributed an article to each issue of Hand to Hand to disseminate their findings with the field. The following article was shared in the Spring 2017 issue, “Children’s Museums Go Outside.” Stay tuned to the blog for more articles from CMRN!
By Nicole R. Rivera, Ed.D. and Susan M. Letourneau, Ph.D.
Background:
For the past two years, the Children’s Museum Research Network (CMRN) has been examining how children’s museums define their learning value. CMRN consists of leadership from ACM and the University of Washington’s Museology Graduate Program, and a first cohort of ten children’s museums. In the network’s first study, the group analyzed learning frameworks from five network institutions and conducted interviews with senior staff. These conversations revealed three key issues that museums grappled with in their frameworks: the learning approaches they use, the learning outcomes they might measure, and the role of play in their missions and practices. Of these three issues, play stood out as a critical topic for further study. Although it is a defining characteristic of children’s museum experiences, even the small group of museums within CMRN took very different positions on play—it was central for some but peripheral for others. Based on this initial observation, CMRN wanted to survey a larger sample of museums to look for field-wide trends. The research question for this study was: How do children’s museums conceptualize play and its role in their missions?
Methods:
CMRN members interviewed senior staff at forty-nine children’s museums in the United States. Participating museums varied in geographical region, size, and location (urban, suburban, rural), and the overall sample was representative of ACM’s membership. Staff who took part in the study oversaw the design or implementation of learning experiences at their institutions (including senior education/exhibit staff and executive directors). In order to gain an institutional perspective, interview questions focused on the role of play in each museum’s mission, the ways that museums defined or talked about play in internal conversations and documents, and their institutional perspectives on the connection between play and learning (see inset). After completing the interviews, the network reviewed the transcripts to identify themes in participants’ responses.
Results:
The majority of participants in the study said that play was vital to their mission. The word “play” appeared in the mission statements of 57 percent of the museums, and in 14 percent of other statements (e.g., value statements). Another 31 percent of participants stated that play was implied by other words like “discovery,” “fun,” or “imagination.” When asked to describe the role of play in their missions, interviewees offered a range of perspectives (Figure 1): Some described their museum’s philosophy about play as an avenue for learning and socioemotional development, others described institutional cultures that valued play or created space for children to play, and others described their efforts to raise awareness about play’s importance.
See Figure 1: Role of play in mission
Despite the importance of play to their missions, only 29 percent of participants said their museum had a definition of play they used internally; this definition was written down in just 10 percent of the sample. However, interviewees said their museums had strong beliefs about play that were not necessarily codified in a formal document. When giving more detail about how they talked about play in internal discussions (Figure 2), many said that staff at their institutions tended to describe play as a mechanism for learning (e.g., “children learn about the world through play”), while others said their conversations centered on characteristics or types of play that happen at the museum (e.g., pretend play, open-ended experiences), or the design and educational practices they use to encourage play (e.g., facilitation, hands-on exhibits).
When describing the relationship between play and learning from their institution’s perspective (Figure 3), most said their institutions believed play was a process through which learning happens, while a smaller number said play was a learning process but also a valuable outcome in itself, or that playing and learning were equivalent or inseparable. Participants also described a variety of benefits of play, including cognitive, social, and emotional skills and outcomes.
See Figure 2: Nature of definition of play, whether written or not, and Figure 3: Relationship between play and learning
Implications:
This study showed that the children’s museums represented strongly value play as important to their missions, and consider play to be a mechanism for learning and a way of supporting multiple facets of children’s development. This view closely aligns with existing research on play and its value. Nevertheless, children’s museums seldom defined play or how it leads to learning in a formal way within their institutions.
The network conducted this field-wide study not only to document the breadth of views on play within children’s museums, but also to tap into ongoing discussion about this topic to move the field forward. The Association of Children’s Museums states that “children’s museums are places where children learn through play and exploration in environments designed just for them” (“About Children’s Museums”)—in other words, that play is central to the learning value of children’s museums. This study speaks to the need for museums to articulate how they believe play experiences contribute to different forms of learning and discuss the specific aspects of play they emphasize. Such conversations would help children’s museums argue for their unique learning value and advocate more effectively for the value of play in the communities they serve.
The questions posed in this set of interviews could provide a useful starting point for these types of discussions. For the individuals who participated in this study, reflecting on their institutions’ perspectives prompted concrete action in the following months. The network sent a follow-up survey to participants approximately six months after they had completed the interview to inquire about any activities or conversations that were prompted by the interview. In this follow-up, a majority of participants (57 percent) reported speaking with a coworker about play and their museum, and 58 percent reported taking additional action to seek information or reflect on institutional practices related to play.
CMRN’s goal is to foster the field’s capacity for research. An important part of research is the dialogue that emerges as result of the process. Just as the research process stimulated conversation and further action for many participants, all children’s museums can also benefit from starting similar conversations in their own institutions.
| Sample interview questions from the CMRN study
• Is play in your museum’s mission statement? What is the role of play in your museum’s mission? |
Nicole R. Rivera, Ed.D., assistant professor of psychology at North Central College, participates in the Children’s Museum Research Network as the DuPage Children’s Museum’s Academic Research and Evaluation Partner.
Susan M. Letourneau, Ph.D., research associate at the New York Hall of Science, studies family interactions and learning through play in museum settings, and previously held a collaborative research and evaluation position with Providence Children’s Museum and Brown University.
To read other articles in Hand to Hand, subscribe today. ACM members also receive both digital and printed complimentary copies of Hand to Hand.
The following post appears in the latest issue of Hand to Hand, ACM’s quarterly journal. The article is a case study of The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (TCMU) in Greenville, SC, and its satellite museum, TCMU-Spartanburg. The Q&A was conducted between Mary Maher, editor of Hand to Hand, and David Wood, chief operating officer of TCMU.
TCMU-Spartanburg includes 6,000 square feet of indoor exhibit space with seven exhibits designed specifically for children ages birth to five. The two-story site also includes a large classroom, sales area, small office, restrooms, and an elevator.
The museum is located in downtown Spartanburg and is attached to other historic storefront businesses. The venue is easily accessible with street-level access in the front and a large public parking lot directly across the street.
Why did you open a satellite?
In 2016, The Children’s Museum of the Upstate (TCMU) launched a five-year strategic plan that included the goal of “developing outreach experiences that engage regional communities and invite them to visit TCMU.” Through partnerships and programming for communities within a forty-five-minute drive of our flagship museum in Greenville (TCMU-Greenville), we considered not only outreach activities but possible satellite locations outside of Greenville County.
Where is it? Describe the community in which it is located.
TCMU-Spartanburg is thirty-five miles, or within a forty-five-minute drive, from TCMU-Greenville. The “Upstate” region includes ten counties in the commerce-rich I-85 corridor in the northwest corner of South Carolina, home to the cities of Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson. As of 2016, the area includes a population of 1,347,112 people. Situated between Atlanta and Charlotte, the Upstate is the fastest-growing region of South Carolina. Greenville, the largest city in the region with a population of 67,453 and an urban-area population of 400,492, is the base of most commercial activity. Spartanburg, followed by Anderson, is next in population.
Over the last several years, downtown Spartanburg has been undergoing a major transformation, and the growth is evident. However, nearly 55 percent of Spartanburg children ages three to four are not enrolled in preschool, resulting in an enormous deficit in kindergarten readiness. TCMU-Spartanburg’s goal is to aid local families with school—and particularly kindergarten—readiness, as defined by the Spartanburg Community Indicators Project and the Spartanburg Academic Movement.
When did it open?
A ribbon cutting and VIP event was held on May 15, 2018. We opened to the public the following day.
Who initiated the process?
Museum leaders began conversations about the Spartanburg space in late October 2016. The board approved the proposed plan in March 2017 and a final lease agreement was signed the next month. An exhibit design/build contract was signed in early May with Kraemer Design + Production, Inc. The initial design charrette was held that month to gather input from staff and community stakeholders. Building upfit began in June 2017 and all of the exhibit design and fabrication ran concurrently.
Does the satellite have an ongoing partnership with any local entities?
The museum is working with city and county governments, school administrators in multiple school districts, corporations, businesses with local headquarters, and other nonprofits with similar missions to ensure the museum’s development and programming meets community needs. While no formal partnerships were formed, the museum received some funding from the city and additional support from corporate and individual donors.
Do you rent or own the building? What’s the length of commitment?
The museum has a five-year lease with options to extend. We have a graduating discounted rent rate: in year three, the rent will go up by fifty cents per square foot; in year five, it will go up another fifty cents per square foot. At that point we will be at market rate.
Who is the audience?
Families, caregivers, and educators who have or care for children ages birth to five. The flagship museum targets a similar audience but includes children ages birth to twelve.
Is it a scaled down version of the flagship museum? Or does it have a dedicated focus?
TCMU-Spartanburg is designed to accommodate the physical, cognitive, and social needs of children five and under, both in square footage and exhibit scale and design. (For comparison, TCMU’s flagship museum features 80,000 square feet with twenty exhibit spaces.) The museum enables area families to regularly participate in free-with-admission programs that prepare children for academic success. Spartanburg programming is aligned with what has been most successful at the Greenville flagship, including daily Story Time, music and movement programs, the Off the Wall art program, Sensory Friendly Days, and Random Acts of Science. All programs feature lots of cooperative, physical play.
In fall 2018, TCMU-Spartanburg will host field trips for groups of three-to-five-year-olds that will include free play with an option of adding classroom programs that cater to SC State Standards. Beginning in 2019, the museum will host multiple special events that parallel those happening at TCMU-Greenville.
What is the budget and management structure?
The satellite has two full-time staff, a site director, and a site manager, supported by ten part-time staff. Spartanburg-specific programs and events are managed locally. The flagship runs all other executive, marketing, fundraising, and operations functions. The satellite maintains a site-specific budget that is part of the overall TCMU budget. All revenue is processed through the flagship museum, which also coordinates all fundraising activities. Funds raised on behalf of the Spartanburg location directly support the satellite’s programming and outreach activities.
What about membership/admissions/marketing?
During the first full month of operations, 30 percent of visitors were members. Annual memberships are reciprocal.
TCMU-Greenville admission is $9/child and $10/adult; TCMU-Spartanburg admission is $5 per person (children and adults).
With both museums sharing an overlapping market, a single marketing plan promotes the museum experience and benefits at both locations. We communicate TCMU-Spartanburg-specific programming through a targeted email contact list, developed by leveraging partner relationships, engaging visitors at the door, and through social media and our website. The museum website features a gateway hub page that allows users to select the site they want to visit. Visitors are then routed to site-specific websites that include all of the information relevant to the correct museum location
DO’s:
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To read other articles in the “Satellite Museums” issue of Hand to Hand, subscribe today. ACM members also receive both digital and printed complimentary copies of Hand to Hand. ACM members can access their copies through the Digital Resource Library–-contact Membership@ChildrensMuseums.org to gain access if needed.
David Wood is Chief Operating Officer of The Children’s Museum of the Upstate.
Photo credit: Mark Susko
Thank you to everyone who joined us for “Prescription for Play: What Science Says About the Importance of Play for Children and Families” on Monday, November 19, 2018. In collaboration with Boston Children’s Museum, this was the Association of Children’s Museums’ first-ever webinar geared toward both children’s museum staff and the parents and caregivers they serve.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released new guidelines to empower pediatricians to write a “prescription for play” to every family they see. During the webinar, Dr. Michael Yogman and Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, two of the lead authors of AAP’s report, The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children, joined ACM Executive Director Laura Huerta Migus to present their findings.
Special thanks to Boston Children’s Museum’s Carole Charnow for introducing the webinar and to our speakers, Drs. Yogman and Hirsh-Pasek, for sharing their expertise on the power of play!
Whether you tuned in live or you’re watching later on, check out these resources on the science of play.
The Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) champions children’s museums worldwide. Follow ACM on Twitter and Facebook.
We have completed the first volume of the ACM Trends Reports! As we reflect back on our inaugural volume, we would like to discuss some key highlights the reports have unveiled that are relevant to both ACM and the field. (For those who have not read the reports, we are hoping this will inspire you to give them a read! Find out more here.)
The ACM Trends Reports are possible through a partnership with New Knowledge Organization, LTD (NKO). Collaborating with NKO allows ACM to produce concise, readable reports about trends identified through analysis of a decade of ACM museum member data. Prior to the Trends Reports, ACM provided reports to members based on data collected from the most recent museum membership survey, conducted every two years. These bi-annual reports serve an important purpose—and are not going away! However, they only focus on membership data from one survey year—and therefore lack the contextual references around museum operations and programming.
Why are the Trends Reports important? First, by looking at more than a decade of ACM membership data, these reports share trends in the operational, financial, and programmatic work of the children’s museum field. They also allow ACM to identify areas of strength in the field, such as where museums effectively provide services or efficiently use funding, as well as areas for improvement. By identifying these trends, ACM can work to provide more effective professional development opportunities for members. These trends, backed by data, also allow ACM to have substantive conversations with policymakers and national partners on the strengths of the field.
How do the Trends Reports benefit my museum? One of the most important results from the first volume of Trends Reports was the creation of the expanded size framework. This framework allows museums to identify as small, medium, or large based on four criteria: Total Operating Expenses, Total Staff, Total Square Footage, and Total Annual Attendance. The first four reports in Volume 1 discusses the creation of the size framework, as well as effective programming and operational approaches from the perspective of each size category. The size framework has been used in ACM’s updated Query Reports Service and the ACM 2016 Membership Survey Report (the most recent bi-annual report, mentioned earlier). The framework also provided the structure for a series of investigation sessions at InterActivity 2018 (Birds of a Feather Small, Medium and Large). In short, the updated size framework provides a more concise tool for museums to use in benchmarking (or planning) and in highlight their ongoing work.
| Size Category | Total Operating Expenses | Building Size |
Annual Attendance |
Staff |
| Small | Less than $487,326 | Less than 12,000 | Less than 50,000 | Less than 14 |
| Medium | $487,326 – $2.3 million | 12,000 – 44,040 | 50,000 – 148,667 | 14 – 41 |
| Large | More than $2.3 million | More than 44,040 | More than 148,667 | More than 41 |
How do the reports provide context for the work of children’s museums? The remaining reports in Volume 1 focused on several trends revealed from the longitudinal data analysis. Some trend topics include museums and nontraditional families, the children’s museum workforce, and operating income and expenses.
These latter reports place children’s museum trends in a larger context by referencing data sources outside the children’s museum field. For instance, ACM Trends Report 1.6: Reaching Nontraditional Families discusses how ACM Museum Membership data showed how children’s museums engage underserved populations, using correlating data from Children’s Bureau and Children’s Defense Fund. ACM Trends Report 1.10: Making a Museum Sing: the Children’s Museum Workforce discusses the different types of labor in children’s museums: full-time, part-time, and volunteer, drawing from data shared in the ACM Member Survey, the 2016 ASTC-ACM Workforce Survey, as well as Bureau of Labor Statistics. These additional data sources place the children’s museum workforce data beyond the children’s museum field and provide contextual data in order to expand the conversation to outside stakeholders. In essence, the ACM Trends Reports have provided members a concise way to discuss data driven trends about children’s museums to a broad audience.
Caveat: the data behind the ACM Trends Reports is US-centered. The ACM Museum Membership Survey data almost entirely focuses on responses from US museums, particularly the workforce and financial data. In addition, most additional data sources are from US government agencies or US nonprofits. This is partly due to data access, ACM is able to access most US museum financial data via 990 Forms or Guidestar, whereas non-US financial data is more difficult to obtain.
How have the reports been used? During the development of the first volume, ACM and NKO created opportunities to receive feedback from member museums via surveys, webinars and a brown bag lunch at InterActivity 2017. As a result, many indicated that the reports would be helpful in describing the work of children’s museum to stakeholders such as board members, families, and community partners. Others also recognized the reports as being useful to funders and for planning purposes. Some also identified the reports as being useful in onboarding new staff, particularly professionals new to the children’s museum field.
What’s next for the ACM Trends Reports? Next week, ACM will release Volume 2 of the ACM Trends Reports, all about the economic impact of children’s museums! Stay tuned for more information.
Jen Rehkamp is Director, Field Services at the Associations of Children’s Museums (ACM). Follow ACM on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Hurricane Florence made landfall on Friday, September 14, near Wilmington, NC. The effects have been devastating for many in the Carolinas and Virginia, and our hearts go out to all those affected.
There are dozens of children’s museums in the states most affected by Hurricane Florence, and many closed in preparation, as well as to deal with the effects of the storm. These museums worked quickly to reopen their doors and continue serving their communities. As of last week, most have reopened:
Last year, the ACM community came together after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and wildfires in Northern California to establish the ACM Disaster Relief Fund. Together we raised more than $14,000, which was directly distributed to staff at five affected museums.
While we are still working with the museums affected by Hurricane Florence to identify their needs, the Disaster Relief Fund remains open in perpetuity. As always, proceeds will be distributed as needed to directly support our colleagues in the children’s museum field. If you are moved to donate, please do so here!
As ACM hears back from those in our community affected by Hurricane Florence, we will continue to share updates.
If we have missed your museum in our roundup in error, please do not hesitate to get in touch!
The Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) champions children’s museums worldwide. Follow ACM on Twitter and Facebook.
By Elissa K Miller, M.Ed.
For many families, the decision to purchase a museum membership is based on a value calculation: are the benefits of membership greater than the cost? To increase the perceived value of memberships, many children’s museums are exploring options beyond the standard “free admission and discounts” to create new member incentives that are valuable to families and fun for kids with minimal loss of potential revenue.
The entrance is, of course, the beginning of a visitor’s journey through the museum. Some museums are fortunate to have entrances designed for excellent visitor flow with seamless transition from purchasing tickets to entering the exhibit area. Others, however, may be constrained by size, design and/or budget and find that lines for ticketing and admissions are too long at peak times. Unfortunately, slow-moving lines may sorely test the patience of children (and their parents). Members may be especially frustrated if they’re waiting in the same line as nonmembers purchasing tickets.
For these reasons, providing a members-only entrance can be a valuable perk during peak times. If your floor and staffing plans don’t already offer rapid entry for members, you can provide the service during busy periods with an ad hoc member check-in station. Some membership management systems provide scanners or mobile apps that allow staff to scan and validate membership cards on smartphones and tablets. Because the scanners or apps are integrated with the membership database, member visits are recorded and available for reporting and analytics.
Creating ad hoc or pop-up members entrances during peak hours is a valuable service for members that can improve the visitor experience for nonmembers as well. Because members are no longer waiting in combined ticketing and admission lines, the overall line length is reduced and nonmembers can also enter the exhibit areas faster. (Plus, seeing members skip long ticketing and entry lines may motivate nonmembers to join so they can also breeze past the lines.)
Another common way to make members feel special is to provide members-only hours, typically before the museum opens to the general public. Children and families appreciate the luxury of less-crowded play in their favorite areas with fewer interruptions. Some museums offer members-only hours both before and after public hours, while others choose to open the museum for a full three-hour block in the evenings when they’re usually closed. (No matter how many times a child has visited, everything can seem more exciting to children at night.) If you schedule members-only hours with the soft launch of a new attraction, members and children will feel like VIPs and you can gather important observational data about how children explore and interact with the new exhibit or play area.
Another attractive perk that generates revenue is offering an evening members-only event just for kids (think pajama parties and movie nights) so parents can have a night out. These are especially popular during the holiday season. Like summer camps and other “parent drop-off” events, a set of permission, liability, medical and contact forms will be required. Some organizations charge a small fee for kids-only nighttime programs to cover the costs of after-hours staffing, operations, and program supplies.
If your museum’s camps and classes are usually filled to capacity with lengthy wait lists, giving members the opportunity to register first can be an even bigger incentive than a member discount! Especially if your membership management system is integrated with your camp and class registration software, you can open registration early to families with memberships so they can make sure their children are in the programs they want. (Some museums rely on the honor code, because their registration software can’t check whether the membership is valid. This places the burden on administrative staff to ensure no one is accidentally or intentionally taking advantage of the program.)
Priority member registration can also be a helpful recruiting tool. If your membership software allows visitors to purchase or renew a membership and receive immediate benefits registration, you may find a spike in memberships correlated with early registration for your most popular programs.
Another valuable membership perk is reserved members-only spots in camps and classes. If your registration software lets you set different capacities for different registrant types, members may find that they can still sign up their kids for programs even after registration is closed to nonmembers. Once again, this benefit can also inspire families to purchase memberships.
Only allowing members to book birthday parties may not be the right choice for many museums, but a list of potential incentives wouldn’t be complete without it. If your museum is overwhelmed with more birthday party requests than available dates and times, requiring a membership to book a party can help reduce requests to a more manageable number. Or, you can choose to make certain premium party areas or options available only for members while still providing enjoyable options for nonmember parties.
These are just a few common examples of general low-cost and no-cost benefits to recruit, reward and retain members. Only your museum can design incentives that work best for your museum —supporting your mission and delivering meaningful opportunities for the unique communities you serve.
Elissa K Miller, M.Ed. is Communications Director at Doubleknot, which offers online, POS and mobile solutions for museums’ visitor-facing business operations. She’s passionate about using technology to promote creativity, increase engagement and empower educators.
The following post appears in the latest issue of Hand to Hand, ACM’s quarterly journal.
By Bezos Family Foundation
In today’s time-strapped world full of countless obligations and distractions, parents have their hands full. On any given day, they have to make breakfast, dress their kids, prepare lunch, get them to school or childcare, pick them up again, shop for groceries, cook dinner, bathe them, prepare for bedtime, clean the dishes, and do the laundry—and that’s often just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to attending to these basic needs, parents are exposed to a steady stream of prescriptive, sometimes scary, sometimes conflicting instructions on how to raise their children. They are bombarded with well-meaning, but often beleaguering, advice like, “You must do this or that or your child won’t do well in school, won’t get a good job, or won’t have the skills needed to succeed.” It’s no wonder that parents feel overwhelmed.
And yet, the science around early childhood development is clear. During your child’s earliest years, their brain makes one million neural connections every single second. These first three to five years especially are an opportunity to develop a child’s neurological framework for lifelong learning. Given their hectic daily schedules, are parents supposed to make extra time for “brain-building”?
Vroom, an early learning and brain development initiative, starts from a very simple principle: Parents already have what it takes to be brain-builders. They don’t need extra time, special toys or books to play a proactive role in their child’s early brain development.
About Vroom
Vroom was developed through years of consulting with early learning and brain development experts, parents, and caregivers. Science tells us that children’s first three to five years are crucial to developing a foundation for future learning. Even when babies cannot speak, they are looking, listening, and forming important neural connections. In fact, when we interact with children in this time period, a million neurons fire at once as they observe and listen to their environment.
Vroom’s early goal was to determine how to best support early learning and development by fostering the types of parent/child interactions that help build brain architecture and help ensure that children will have strong and resilient brains. Vroom applies the science, translating complex early learning and development research findings into free tools, tips, and activities that are simple enough to fit into daily routines and are right at parents’ fingertips.
The simple activity of washing hands in the bathroom is enhanced by a Vroom tip posted on the wall to the right of the sink.
For example, a Vroom tip can turn laundry time into what we term a “brain-building moment” by suggesting that a child help sort clothes by size or color. The scientific background behind this tip is based on research that shows categorizing by letter or number develops a child’s flexible thinking, memory, focus, and self-control—all skills that develop a solid foundation for lifelong learning. So, by connecting a simple task to a fun activity with a child, the child can learn and develop their understanding of the world.
Vroom tips are available to parents and caregivers across many different channels: on the Vroom website, the Vroom app, the Vroom texting program, and in print materials. Vroom creates age-appropriate tips, so a two-year- old and a five-year-old won’t get the same tips. Tips are written in clear, accessible language that celebrates the work parents are already doing to support their children’s growing brains. The tips are also available to parents in both English and Spanish.
Additionally, Vroom’s partnerships with brands such as Baby Box, Goya, Univision, and now the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), reflect the desire to meet parents where they are. Rather than expecting parents and children to make space for something extra in their already busy lives, Vroom identifies ordinary moments like mealtime or bath time, or visits to places like museums or libraries, as opportunities to engage in valuable, shared brain-building activities.
Vroom’s Partnership with the Association of Children’s Museums
Vroom’s mission to highlight the brain-building opportunities in everyday moments inspired a pilot program in 2015 between Vroom and the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus. “The Children’s Museum and Vroom came together in 2015 and brainstormed the best way to translate the hard-hitting science of Vroom into a physical space; and in this case, an institution dedicated to creating platforms for discovery between parents and children,” said Sarah Brenkert, senior director of education and evaluation at the museum. “We wanted to design a concept that would be simple, yet vibrant and coherent, and one that other institutions could mirror.”
Together, Vroom and the Children’s Museum of Denver reimagined the role institutional spaces can play in supporting families and enhancing the moments they spend together. The goal was to transform underutilized amenities and spaces within the museum, places like bathrooms, water fountains, stairs, lockers, cafés, and hallways, into fun opportunities for brain building. This initial pilot program with Vroom and the Children’s Museum of Denver provided many valuable insights. The lessons from the pilot helped refine the strategy as well as the specific Vroom tips so the tips could be seamlessly integrated into diverse yet universal physical spaces and environments.
“Our partnership with Vroom continues to inform many of the communication decisions we make and the events we create,” Brenkert added. “These all carry the message to parents that they already have what it takes to turn every moment—whether in a museum, at the grocery store, or in the car—into an opportunity to nurture young children’s minds.”
The success of the pilot set the stage for a new partnership with Association of Children’s Museums to apply the lessons learned from the pilot into a set of tools that can easily be deployed and integrated by any children’s museum. Vroom worked with ACM to develop a complete set of easily produced, low-cost resources, including decals and professional training materials tailor-made for children’s museums.
“We know that parents and caregivers can greatly benefit from proactive support to help them understand their children’s development,” said Laura Huerta Migus, executive director of ACM. “Vroom’s resources offer accessible, fun ways to support early childhood development, reflecting children’s museums’ innovative approach to learning. We’re so excited to share Vroom’s resources with the millions of children and families that visit children’s museums every year.” ACM’s role as a thought partner and a conduit for this work has been critical in helping bring Vroom’s vision into focus as well as to scale. Acting as an intermediary for Vroom, ACM will help bring these innovative tools to any interested member museum, no matter their location, size, or budget.
The Future of Vroom
Through valuable partnerships, like this one with ACM, Vroom offers unique opportunities to advance early childhood outcomes by delivering actionable, brain-building messages in ways that easily integrate into parents or caregivers’ busy lives. The partnership will serve as an additional step forward in supporting the Association of Children’s Museums’ vision of fostering a world that honors all children and respects the diverse ways in which they learn and develop. Over time, and with the help of partners like ACM and their member museums, Vroom aims to catalyze the adoption of a common language around brain development—across geographic boundaries and socio-economic divides—so that every parent sees themselves as someone who already has what it takes to be a brain-builder.
The Bezos Family Foundation supports rigorous, inspired learning environments for young people, from birth through high school, to put their education into action. Through investments in research, public awareness and programs, the foundation works to elevate the field of education and improve life outcomes for all children.
To read other articles in the “Brain Research and Children’s Museums” issue of Hand to Hand, subscribe today. ACM members also receive both digital and printed complimentary copies of Hand to Hand. ACM members can access their copies through the Digital Resource Library–-contact Membership@ChildrensMuseums.org to gain access if needed.
ACM members interested in participating in Vroom can apply here.
National Summer Learning Day is less than one month away! Led by the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA), July 12 is a national advocacy day promoting summer learning—and fighting summer slide. This year marks the first joint celebration of National Summer Learning Day, a partnership between NSLA, ACM, and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). The celebration will include a National Read-Aloud of the award-winning children’s book, Trombone Shorty.
Last month, NSLA hosted a webinar to share information about the partnership—and how different organizations can get involved. ALSC President Nina Lindsay kicked off the webinar, saying, “This is the perfect opportunity for libraries and museums to share the value we bring in closing the summer learning gap.”
Lindsay then introduced Bryan Collier, this year’s Summer Learning Ambassador and illustrator of Trombone Shorty. Collier shared images from the book, describing the goals of his work. “I wanted the music to swirl out of his horn. As a young reader, I want them to be engaged, what happens next if it starts out like this?” He also shared why National Summer Learning Day is important to him and his family. “The summertime conjures memories of books and reading… My wife and I read books to our kids every night, even throughout the summer, because we know about summer learning loss.”
Next, ACM Executive Director Laura Huerta Migus shared how children’s museums support summer learning. “Museums absolutely see themselves as a critical part of the learning landscape throughout the year, and in particular during the summer months. We think that museums are particularly positioned to be great community spaces for summer learning programs, much like our partners, libraries.”
Children’s museums often have summer programming for ages two to fourteen. These are more than fun entertainment opportunities—they also support the development of core academic skills. In addition to camps, museums offer drop-in class programs. Many children’s museums offer access programs, and many also participate in Museums for All, an initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) that offers free or reduced admission to those presenting an EBT card.
Liz McChesney, Director of Children’s Services at the Chicago Public Library System, described how libraries are getting involved in summer learning, “giving kids the confidence to navigate the world, one summer at a time.” There will be seven anchor library systems joining NSLA in this first summer read-aloud, including those in Chicago, King County (WA), Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Nashville, New Orleans, and New York.
McChesney offered ideas for how libraries and museums alike can participate in the Read Aloud, sharing, “There are so many ways to celebrate this wonderful book. Bryan talked about seeing sounds, and how the readers of this wonderful book can see sounds. Draw sounds, make a crown party, or read the book aloud.” She also encouraged participants to invite elected officials and media to their events, saying, “We need more good news out there!”
Brett Nicholas from the Museum of Science and Industry (a museum partner of the Chicago Public Library System) spoke next. Nicholas described how National Summer Learning Day participants can tie STEM learning into Trombone Shorty. He shared that exploring science out of school isn’t about delivering content—it’s about embracing how children are already natural scientists.
Nicholas illustrated this with different STEM activities that related to Trombone Shorty, such as making a “sound sandwich” using Craft sticks, a thick rubber band, two smaller rubber bands, and two one-inch pieces of a plastic drinking straw. Find instructions here!
Laura Johnson concluded the webinar by sharing NSLA’s resources at www.summerlearning.org/SummerLearningDay. She also shared that NSLA is a long-standing partner of I Heart Radio, making participating in Summer Learning Day a great opportunity to partner with your local I Heart Radio station.
You can watch the full webinar here.
Is your museum interested in participating in National Summer Learning Day? Check out NSLA for resources, and register your event here.
Alison Howard is Communications Director at the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM). Follow ACM on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
This post first appeared on Jeanne Vergeront’s Museum Notes blog on May 23, 2018.
By Jeanne Vergeront
During InterActivity 2018 in Raleigh (NC), tables stretched across the convention center lobby. Over the 4 days of the conference, participants, presenters, and vendors moved around the tables loaded with stacks of back issues of Hand To Hand (H2H), the Association of Children’s Museums’ quarterly publication. Boxes and boxes of back issues, as far back as 1986, had been shipped from ACM’s Arlington (VA) office to allow members to browse and collect issues and hopefully reduce storage for back issues in ACM’s new offices.
Some conference goers passed and glanced; others stopped, browsed, and selected issues to take home. Yet with so much happening during the conference–colleagues seen only once a year; multiple sessions and study tours; and a MarketPlace full of vendors–absorbing what these stacks of issues mean for our field–its growth, change, and increased potential–was a challenge.
Thirty-two years is a long time, more than a generation. When thirty-two years of a field is explored in four issues in each (or most) of those years, countless stories and threads emerge making our field’s interests, concerns, and growth visible. And impressively so.
Initially Hand To Hand was a newsletter with a mix of long articles and short bits of information about exhibits, museum openings, people. From 1986 to 1993, Linda Eidecken was publisher/editor; she wrote the newsletter in cooperation with the AAYM (American Association of Youth Museums) board. In 1993, what had evolved into the Association of Youth Museums (AYM) bought Hand To Hand from Eidecken. Mary Maher took over as editor and designer and has continued in that role for twenty-five years. A few other changes came with this transition. The news and information portion became AYMNews and H2H strengthened its focus on substantive articles, case studies, museum initiatives, and reports.
Scanning the stacks of issues on the tables, H2H design changes were easy to catch. For years, H2H was a duotone (black plus 1 PMS color), tabloid size (11 x 17), and usually eight pages. Decisions about color and size changed as web and PDF formats gained in use. In 2007, H2H was a 16-page, 8-1/2 x 11 publication. The first full color issue was printed in Spring 2015. The most recent issue, a 32-page double issue, covered the history and culture of children’s museums.
These stacks are more than a “fire sale,” more than a publications list, and more than cardboard boxes in storage. These approximately 120 issues of Hand To Hand tell something about where we started, where we are, where we are going, and how we are getting there.
In scanning issues of H2H, some consistent areas of interest come through, as do the evolving ways in which children’s museums–and increasingly other types of museums–work and engage to address them.
An enduring interest in children and their wellbeing is evident in issues on play (Summer 1998, Fall 1999, and Winter 2008), humor (Fall 2000), health and wellness (Fall 2006), and cognitive development (Fall 1990). Strong roots in early childhood are reflected in a research review on young children in museums (Summer 1996) and a Great Friend to Kids Award to Head Start Founders (Summer 2007). From the beginning Hand To Hand has served as a way to look reflectively and critically at what a children’s museum is (Spring 1987, Fall 1992, Winter 2014/2015) and has given us the opportunity to be a community of learners around topics like these.
The most recent issue of Hand To Hand chronicles the history and culture of children’s museums
Several topics such as planning, exhibits, research, visitor services, and play appear in the very first issues and again over the next decades. This is not simply repeating a topic with new titles and authors. Rather, topics are reframed and reflect greater understanding of a topic and how to address it.
Following one topic, research, across 32 years shows the focus recurring and shifting in how it has been addressed and what it suggests about the field’s maturation. In the Spring 1989 issue that explored research and evaluation in children’s museums, Mary Worthington wrote, “Who Should Do Evaluation?” The Winter 2004 and Spring 2005 issues focused on research, in particular, integrating it into museum practices. When the Fall 2014 issue, Revving up Research, came out, the focus was on composing a research agenda for the field. By Spring 2016, an entire issue was dedicated to the Children’s Museum Research Network that has been active in conducting research across 10 research network member museums.
Early on, themes and articles in H2H focused internally on the museum, an understandable interest of museums that were just opening, growing fast, and figuring out what a children’s museum was. Some articles such as “Running a Non-Profit” (Winter 1991) were nuts-and-bolts. Others looked at setting up a children’s advisory board (Winter 1988 and Winter 1989) and conducting self-studies (Spring 1992). Profiles of exhibits and museums in most issues offered information and examples of exhibit topics and design to staff hungry for ideas.
Over the 32 years, more articles and issues have reflected the complex nature of children’s museums’ interests. Topics that may have initially seemed well defined, like play, programs or audience, have been increasingly understood in greater depth intersecting with other interests, like culture, partnerships, leadership, and sustainability. This awareness comes through in issues on Enhancing the Visitor Experience to Increase Revenue (Summer 1993), Planning for Change (Winter 2002 and Spring 2003), and The Cultural Meaning of Play and Learning (Winter 2008).
Just as a museum makes a journey from self-interest to a common good, so has the children’s museum field. This is apparent in an increasing focus on the larger environment in which museums operate. World events came to the forefront in 9/11 Response (Winter 2001) and After The Disaster following Hurricane Katrina (Winter 2006). With time, the global stage assumes a higher profile in Children’s Museums Around the World (Fall 2008) and Global Issues Impact, Local Impact (Spring 2013).
This journey towards a common good, of being useful in their communities is increasingly noticeable across 32 years of Hand To Hand. The Summer 1990 issue, Museums in Downtown, was the first to place children’s museums on the community landscape. A growing sense of responsibility to be engaged with the community and a deepening understanding of their potential impact are evident in the focus of somewhat more recent issues. Do The Right Thing: Children’s Museums & Social Responsibility (Winter 2000); Shared Values, Many Voices (Summer 2002); a double issue on diversity (Spring and Summer 2007); Declare Your Impact (Summer 2009) and Social Justice (Fall 2016) have probed these topics from more perspectives and emerging contexts.
The first issue of Hand To Hand
featured a profile of Elaine Heumann Gurian
In “Looking Back 23 Years” (Spring 1988), Mike Spock reminded us that our field is for somebody, not about something. His insight has been invaluable in understanding who we are as children’s museums. It is equally helpful in recognizing the source of children’s museums’ strengths to which every single issue of Hand To Hand attests. Our field is defined by people, their collegiality, and generosity. By-lines, photos, and interviews amplify the centrality of people in this enterprise whether it is an interview with Brad Larson (Winter 1997), Elee Wood’s byline (Fall 2016), or Elaine Heumann Gurian’s photo on the first issue of Hand To Hand (Winter 1986-87).
Hand To Hand fully relies on the people who contribute to every issue. In fact, without them, there would be no Hand To Hand. The publication has benefited greatly not only from the contributions of colleagues in our field but also from many outside the field. They have shared personal insights, professional knowledge, organizational lessons, and sometimes, personal loss. They have also generously shared their time and writing talents. While the circle of authors keep widening, there are many who have written several H2H articles.
Thirty-two years of issues also demonstrate that children’s museums have a wealth of friends who have helped the field and enriched Hand To Hand. Loyal friends like George Hein, Professor Emeritus at Lesley University, have written on many topics for Hand To Hand over the years. The voices of researchers like Karen Knutson and Kevin Crowley, UPCLOSE (Spring 2005); museum professionals from outside the field like Kathryn Hill at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Winter 1993); and museum planners like John Jacobsen (Summer/Fall 2017) and designers like Peter and Sharon Exley (Spring 2008) have extended the range of expertise and perspectives covered. Countless authors including Jim Collins, Richard Florida, Tom Kelley, Richard Louv, and Neil Postman have shared their work with the field through InterActivity presentations highlighted in Hand To Hand.
Hand To Hand would not have grown and evolved, guided and reflected our maturing field were it not for its steady-handed, word-loving editor, Mary Maher. Working closely with ACM staff she frames issues, finds writers, and works with each one. She designs each issue, and transforms an often fuzzy but promising idea into a quarterly publication that goes to museums, members, and authors, across the U.S. and the world.
So, when the next issue of Hand To Hand arrives, spend some quality time with it. In the meantime, pull out some of your favorite H2H back issues or go on-line and have a look. Take time to reflect, enjoy, and appreciate the contributions of so many in our field. And think about contributing yourself.
Jeanne Vergeront is director at Vergeront Museum Planning, based in Minneapolis, MN, and blogs at Museum Notes.
The following post is condensed from the introduction to the latest issue of Hand to Hand, ACM’s quarterly journal.
The first museum designed for children, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, opened in 1899. By 1960, thirty-eight children’s museums were in operation in the U.S. By 2012, this number had increased to 300 children’s museums worldwide, and continues to grow today.
Looking at the timeline of children’s museums, it’s possible to identify the social and cultural trends that fueled the field’s different periods of growth. However, in addition to empirical research, it’s critical to engage the people behind this growth, and learn their firsthand experience.
With support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), ACM convened a small group of children’s museum leaders, past and present, for The Children’s Museum History & Culture Summit on May 5, 2017, following InterActivity 2017. The Summit engaged leaders active in the children’s museum field in the past twenty-five years, with a focus on the explosive development of the field between 1995 and 2005.
This meeting was part of an ongoing project to collect stories and data to help tell the story of the recent history of the children’s field, building off the last major effort of this type, 1999’s Bridges to Understanding Children’s Museums project and report. A related goal of the Summit was to reconnect past leaders who have left the children’s museum community, many to retire or join related fields.
Over the course of an afternoon, panelists and participants engaged in reflection, camaraderie, and storytelling. Together, they reviewed themes from ACM’s initial data collection about the history of children’s museums, using this as a jumping-off point for a far-ranging discussion about the field.
The conversation was guided by the following questions:
The Summit unearthed themes and ideas that were of critical importance during the children’s museum field’s early growth—and continue to resonate today. With further insight from leaders of the field during the 1995- 2005 era, the “History & Culture Summit” issue of Hand to Hand naturally extends the conversation about the connection between our field’s history and future. (Look out for key quotes from the Summit throughout the issue.)
Telling our own story with confidence is the way forward as children’s museums continue to professionalize. How can we empower individual museums to gather their own stories to contribute to this field-wide effort? How can we use these stories to build the institutional self-confidence that comes from knowing who you are?
Alison Howard is Director, Communications at the Association of Children’s Museums. Follow ACM on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
To read other articles in the “History & Culture Summit” issue of Hand to Hand, subscribe today. ACM members also receive both digital and printed complimentary copies of Hand to Hand. ACM members can access their copies through the Digital Resource Library–contact Membership@ChildrensMuseums.org to gain access if needed.
By David Mimeles
You’ve already got an amazing program in place. Your community shows up in force to learn and have fun. Even better, parents and children alike love to attend your programming!
As a professional, though, you know that no matter how successful your program is, it’s useful to periodically take a step back and look for places where your program can improve performance.
In this blog post, we’ll address these common pain points for children’s museum programming teams:
For each of these questions, we’ll provide some administrative tips to consider. Read on and ensure that your innovative and popular programs run even more smoothly!
Though there’s not exactly a downside to putting on popular programming, popularity often leads to issues with capacity.
Even outdoor programs without enforced fire codes have to consider the logistics of too many people — especially children — trying to participate at the same time.
If your free programs are so popular that they’re consistently over capacity, you’ll need to revisit your ticketing policies.
There are two conventional solutions for the capacity problem:
Instead of choosing between these two undesirable options, try a third. Require visitors to register online or stop by the museum to reserve their free ticket in advance. Then, ask them to check in a certain amount of time before the program or forfeit their seat for day-of arrivals.
With this solution, you can keep the cost of your popular programming free while also limiting capacity. A first-come, first-serve system is fair, and a system that allows for last-minute flexibility will ensure that all seats are filled even if someone who reserved a ticket doesn’t show up.
Coordinating this kind of ticketing solution is possible without specialized software, but the right museum software solution will take the administrative burden off your team. Let the software do the routine work, and leave your team free for the more important or creative aspects of your programming.
Membership programs and museum programming have a truly reciprocal relationship. Amazing programs can incentivize participants to join your membership program, and members will turn out in force for great programs.
To grow both your membership program and museum programming at the same time, take advantage of opportunities to integrate the two.
The most effective integration techniques center around exclusive member benefits, a cornerstone of a strong member engagement strategy as well as a great program marketing opportunity.
Consider offering the following low- or no-cost benefits to members who participate in your programs:
You can also host member-only programs or member-only hours for your longer programs!
These members-only program benefits can increase member participation in programming as well as program participant enrollment in your membership program.
Members are more likely to attend events that offer them special benefits, and participant who experience those benefits firsthand are more likely to join the membership program than casual museum visitors. It’s a win-win situation!
You know how important it is to keep admission lines short and fast, especially when a majority of your visitors are families with small children.
For everyday admissions, the best way to keep lines moving is to use mobile ticket scanning devices for linebusting.
On your busiest days, you can also use mobile devices to set up ad hoc ticketing or membership sales. Just make sure you’re able to scan mobile tickets and mobile membership cards so visitors can use their ticket or member benefits right away after they purchase them.
Of course, to take full advantage of mobile linebusting across your museum, you’ll need a mobile system that can integrate with your reservations records and event management software.
When it comes to group reservations, such as field trips and birthday parties, you need a ticketing solution that can compress admission for an entire group into one barcode or QR code.
The last thing you want to do is scan individual tickets for every student on a school bus. Your visitors don’t want to wait around either — they want to head straight to the exhibits or the party room. When you can scan one ticket for the entire group, everyone can get right to their field trip or party experience.
You should look for a solution that’s also flexible enough to invoice for the number of visitors who actually arrive for the program if it’s a different number than the initial reservation.
When you integrate these ticketing and check-in strategies, you’re sure to get those lines moving quickly!
Speaking of group reservations, many museums use an online reservation process that’s nothing more than a form to fill out with their contact information and dates they want to reserve for the program they want.
This system can quickly turn inefficient on the administrative side. Your team will end up having to call a parent or teacher to tell them that they can’t come because the time slot they requested was already reserved.
The solution is to invest in an online reservations calendar that can accept reservations 24/7 and automatically block out slots that have been claimed. Even if your staff has to manually approve the request later, at least your visitors know that the time they’re signing up for is available.
Make sure your online calendar can also:
That last feature is particularly important for your museum to consider. If you offer priority registration for your members, you don’t force them to call your office for you to manually override your reservations calendar every time they want to redeem that benefit.
Instead, make sure you implement a reservations calendar that makes member benefits so seamless that your members won’t think twice about returning when the time comes to send out membership renewal letters.
The best museum programs have sustainability and flexibility built into them. Just because a program works well once doesn’t mean it will be as successful the next month, season, or year. Continuous improvement is a hallmark of successful and sustainable museum programming.
Incorporate sustainability and continuous improvement into your programming by soliciting a wide range of feedback. Continuous innovation supported by decisions based on real feedback make great museum programming sustainable.
You’ll get the best feedback on your program surveys if you consider:
You don’t have to send the same survey to every participant. You might find it more useful to send short surveys to most of your program participants and staff and offer more comprehensive surveys to a smaller segment.
Longer surveys can be sent to people who are most likely to spend time on them, such as members, frequent program participants, donors and other constituents who are more deeply involved with your museum.
Survey feedback helps ensure that your museum programs are sustainable by keeping them relevant. Your programs can also be used to promote overall sustainability by increasing participation and building stronger bonds with your members and visitors. For example, you can consider:
No matter how popular your programs are, they’re not guaranteed to be popular forever. Emphasizing sustainability can help ensure your long-term success!
As you continue creating incredible programs at your museum, these strategies can help ease your administrative burden and ensure that your program deliver the best experience for your participants.
And if you’re looking for a museum software solution to help make these strategies possible, head over to Double the Donation’s reviews of top museum software to get you started down the right path.
David Mimeles is vice president of sales and marketing at Doubleknot, an integrated online, on-site, and mobile solutions provider for nonprofits. Check out Doubleknot’s ultimate guide to museum software.
In December, ACM’s executive director Laura Huerta Migus traveled to Poland for “Why Do We Need Children’s Museums?” a two-day conference jumpstarting the conversation around starting a children’s museum in Warsaw. The meeting was organized by the arts organization Artanimacje Association and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Six ACM member institutions sent staff to give presentations about their museums: Boston Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, London Children’s Museum, MUZEIKO – America for Bulgaria, and Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling.
We asked them about their experiences traveling to Warsaw and sharing expertise with an international audience. Read their responses below!
Leslie Swartz, Senior Vice President for Research and Program Planning, Boston Children’s Museum, presented, “Boston Children’s Museum: It All Started with Collections.”
What most impressed me about the “Why Do We Need Children’s Museums” conference in Warsaw was the sophisticated, independent and progressive thinking among the organizers and participants. I was inspired by their high-level of organization and dedication to achieving the goal of starting children’s museums in Poland, a place where opportunities for creative playful learning are sorely needed. They are a group of smart, well-informed and determined people who want to effect change. They are also realistic about the obstacles they may face, and are gathering significant support to overcome barriers. By tapping into existing expertise in the field, they’re starting out more fully-equipped to reach their goals.
My talk was about collections at Boston Children’s Museum, reaching back to the museum’s founding in 1913 by progressive educators seeking to improve learning among all children and to nurture the development of good citizens. That was revolutionary at the time in the US. (Maybe it still is revolutionary.) The history and evolution of children’s museums in the US seems particularly pertinent to Poland. The prairie fire of children’s museum development around the world is heartening and makes me hopeful.
Erin Hylton, former Education Programs Manager, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, presented, “Programming for Over a Century: Addressing the Needs of Children and their Families since 1899”
The meeting highlight was connecting with colleagues in Warsaw and hearing about the incredible projects they have created for children and young people in Poland. It was inspirational and illuminating to be a part of the beginning stages of the development of a children’s museum in Poland.
It was an incredible opportunity to connect with colleagues from around the world in Poland, as well as hear about the work happening in children’s museums across North America and Europe. The children’s museum field is as diverse as the families and communities we serve through a variety of programs, projects and exhibitions. It was encouraging to hear how we are all working through similar questions and solutions, including teaching empathy to our family and community audiences.
Susan Foutz, Director of Research and Evaluation, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, presented, “Value of Research and Evaluation for Children’s Museums”
I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Warsaw and meeting new colleagues in the children’s museum field. As a tourist, the highlight of any trip is always visiting museums, and I had an incredible visit to POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. This museum tells of the rich, and heartbreakingly tragic, 1000-year history of Jews in Poland. As a children’s museum professional, the highlight of the two-day meeting was the passion of everyone involved—from the presenters to the attendees and most especially the organizers.
I really appreciated the opportunity to hear from those representing museums in Europe and Canada. I am always amazed at the diversity of ways we meet our missions—we might use many different approaches (like art-making, facilitated play, object-based learning), but ultimately all children’s museums are powered by passionate people who are driven to enrich the lives of children. Seeing how this plays out in communities around the world is truly inspiring.
Milena Savova, Learning Team Leader, MUZEIKO – America for Bulgaria Children’s Museum, presented, “Design of Educational Programs for Children’s Museums”
The highlight of the trip for me was the possibility to meet my colleagues from other children’s museums. Since Muzeiko is the only children’s museum in Bulgaria, it is very motivating for us to know that we are not alone in our noble work. Seeing so many professionals dedicated to their work with kids gives us the sensation that we are a part of a big family.
After participating in the meeting, I understood that we can widen our focus of interest and further enrich our programs.
Jennifer Ifil-Ryan, Deputy Director & Director of Creative Engagement, Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling, presented, “The Power of Storytelling and the Arts for Young Children”
The highlight of the trip was learning about the genesis and continued work of my colleagues in the field. There are so many approaches to working with children and families, all of them valid and important. Some were focusing on cognition, while others focused on investigation and program assessment. The opportunity to learn from each other was rich and I have taken many valuable lessons home with me.
The size range of children’s museum represented gave me a broader perspective on what our work looks like in different areas across the globe, as well as the consistencies in our values of honoring the spirit and potential of the child. That reinforcement was priceless.
Amanda Conlon, Executive Director, London Children’s Museum, presented, “Family Learning as a Tool in Children’s Museums and the Role Permanent Exhibitions Play in This.”
These presentations generated fruitful discussions that brought together the past, present, and future of the children’s museum field. Each speaker shared their museum’s story in a way that broadened the audience’s understanding of what children’s museums can do. We can’t wait to see how children’s museums continue to develop in Poland and beyond!
Alison Howard is Communications Director at the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM). Follow ACM on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Photo courtesy of Susan Foutz.
by Isabel Diez
How do you design a museum that seeks to sustain peace in a city once described as the most dangerous place in the world? When Sietecolores was entrusted such a task, the only answer we found was to involve the community throughout the entire development process—and beyond.
From 2008 to 2012, Ciudad Juárez was considered the most dangerous place, not only in Mexico, but the world. This home to 1.3 million people was consumed with violence and crime, resulting in a huge social crisis that rapidly hit rock bottom. When local leaders came together to create an action plan for rescuing the city, a museum quickly became part of the conversation.
The idea of creating a permanent interactive learning space had been in the mind of locals since 2004, when the city of Chihuahua, near Juárez, hosted Papalote Móvil, a traveling museum created by Papalote Museo del Niño, with huge success. In 2009, a group of business leaders approached Sietecolores—our team of museum developers, initially created within Papalote—to design a space where children and their families could learn and heal. Because the museum would be key for sustaining peace in the soon-to-be transformed city, placing the project in the scope of peace education, which seeks nonviolent resolution of conflict and the transformation of social structures that perpetuate any type of injustice, was important.
Despite the evident complexities of the situation, Sietecolores was up for the titanic challenge. Where to begin, though? We knew that peace cannot be externally enforced—at least not if we wanted long-lasting results—but can only be achieved from within. With this in mind, we were guided by the idea of participatory museums. Nina Simon, author of The Participatory Museum, defines these institutions as places “where visitors can create, share, and connect with each other around content.” Visitors actively construct meaning, curate content, share ideas, and discuss issues. In consequence, our team introduced strategies for including Juárez’s citizens in the design process, such as holding interviews and focus groups, visiting indigenous communities, and inviting local artists, from potters and weavers to comic-book creators, to participate in specific projects.
In 2013, Rodadora Espacio Interactivo opened with the motto: “Celebra la vida” (“Celebrate life”). Its key role in the peacebuilding efforts of Juárez has been undeniable, proven by its sustained growth and success throughout its four years in operation. So, what exactly makes a peacebuilding, participatory museum tick? Sietecolores has identified three fundamentals to the culture and work of Rodadora:
Putting the community at the center means listening to diverse perspectives, intentionally seeking participation of all groups, and giving voice to those who have been excluded—something essential for battling structural violence. But, when fear has taken over people for a long period of time, many important topics remain unspoken or become taboo. Museums can find creative mechanisms for visitors to feel safe enough to end that silence.
The alebrije sculpture at Rodadora
At Rodadora, one such strategy is the popular “nightmare-eating monster,” a giant alebrije—that is, a colorful Mexican folk art sculpture of an imaginary creature. Children and caregivers write down their worst nightmares, which disappear by “feeding” them to the monster. Sietecolores adapted this idea from Papalote, but Rodadora has taken it to a whole new level: it not only serves as a mechanism for visitors to externalize their fears, but also as a way for the museum to identify their needs. Education Director Mónica Félix explains how, throughout the years, it is clear how children’s fears have changed: four years ago, common nightmares included violence, death, or kidnapping, now children write about the dark or scary cartoon characters. The reality is different for adults, who will need more time to heal their scars. But visitors’ answers are a constant source of inspiration for new programs and initiatives. For example, Rodadora decided to produce a play for adults every November addressing the theme of death.
Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung suggests that igniting dialogue is the bedrock of all nonviolent conflict resolution. This became a priority and a guiding design principle when we realized the community needed new ways to communicate. But how do you get visitors to share and discuss ideas when they are not accustomed to doing so? Begin with the simplest and subtlest of initiatives.
Sietecolores helped Rodadora start a program called Libro Viajero (Traveling Book). The museum “abandoned” copies of a book throughout the space for people to find and start reading. When staff discovered a copy with an underlined passage and comments on the margins, they decided to leave writing tools along with the books. This became a powerful way for visitors to start dialogue with each other, the museum, and the authors.
If we understand peace as the presence of justice, it’s not only a goal, but also an ongoing process and effort. Rodadora is always finding ways for visitors to get actively involved in the same spirit that originated the museum.
For instance, Sietecolores invited a local collective of urban artists to paint a mural for the museum before opening day. Rodadora also recently created a space called “Urban Art Garden,” which contains three more murals painted by local artists in collaboration with the Juárez community. The museum has also planned workshops and programs in the garden throughout the rest of the year.
Museums can become catalysts of social transformation—as Sietecolores has seen again and again in the more than a dozen learning spaces we have designed over the years. By taking a community-centered, dialogue-based, and action-focused approach, we created a participatory museum that continues to instill Juárez citizens with a sense of possibility, a desire for change, a promise of hope. After all, as writer Vaclav Havel said, “it is hope, above all, that gives us strength to live and to continually try new things, even in conditions that seem hopeless.”
Isabel Diez is a researcher at Sietecolores Ideas Interactivas, a museum and exhibit design firm based in Mexico City. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Pedagogy by Universidad Panamericana and a Master’s in Education (Arts in Education Program) by Harvard University. isabel.diez@sietecolores.mx / www.sietecolores.mx/en/
The following post is condensed from an interview appearing in the latest issue of Hand to Hand, ACM’s quarterly journal. The interview was conducted by Mary Maher, editor of Hand to Hand.
In 2006, Richard Louv delivered a keynote address at InterActivity held that year in Boston. He had recently published what would become a landmark book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. In the years since, this award-winning journalist, commentator and activist has authored eight more books, including The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age, and most recently Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life: 500 Ways to Enrich Your Family’s Health & Happiness. His books, translated into thirteen languages and published in seventeen countries, have helped launch an international movement to connect children and their families to nature, which is the focus of an organization which he co-founded and for which he serves as chairman emeritus, Children & Nature Network.
Louv graciously took a break from working on his newest book, which is focused on the evolving relationship between humans and other animals, to respond to questions from the children’s museum field, one of many that have been deeply influenced by his work.
Mary Maher: In the eleven years since you delivered the keynote address at InterActivity 2006 in Boston, your message of getting kids back outside and involved with nature has spread within our field—and around the world. Has this message changed or been refined over the years?
Richard Louv: Since 2006, I’ve tried to place more emphasis on how we envision the future—long-term. Conservation is no longer enough. To improve our psychological and physical health, our sense of pleasure and happiness, and our ability to learn, we have to transform our cities, yards, homes, and workplaces into incubators of biodiversity.
We’re at a crucial point in what I call the “new nature movement.” Awareness has grown, but we need to move into an action mode, both at the family and community levels. My new book, Vitamin N, offers suggestions on how to do this that can be adapted by children’s museums. The Children & Nature Network, a nonprofit organization that grew out of Last Child in the Woods, currently has a partnership with the National League of Cities (representing 19,000 mayors and other municipal leaders in the U.S.) to urge mayors to improve opportunities for children and families to connect to nature in urban areas.
Children’s museums can join this effort (and many already have) by offering parallel opportunities, such as those now created in the green schoolyards movement—places where kids play in plant-filled natural settings. Children’s museums can play a larger role in creating bioregional awareness, directly helping families make real changes in their homes and neighborhood environments. For example, they can send children and parents home with native plants or seeds to help rebuild urban biodiversity, as well as promote nature-based play at home and in the community.
MM: Your book Vitamin N contains more than 500 activities to get kids and families more involved with nature. What are some of your favorite activities that are most effective at increasing that link to nature?
RL: It’s hard to choose, but here are three:
MM: In the eleven-plus years of your work on nature education, what are some unexpected outcomes or results?
RL: I’ve learned to my surprise that this is an intrinsically hopeful issue. The concern about connecting children to nature transcends political and religious barriers, and brings people together. It not only helps people look at education, healthcare, and urban design and architecture differently, but it may also help conservationists take the next step in the evolution of environmentalism.
In “Imagine a Newer World,” an essay adapted from The Nature Principle, I paint a modest portrait of what I hope that that world will be like.
MM: What role do you see children’s museums playing in better connecting their community’s children with nature?
RL: The seeds of the future are planted in our homes and neighborhoods, but also in a community’s businesses and institutions. Schools, museums, zoos, service organizations, churches, and more are the connectors of community. I am delighted to hear that more than fifty children’s museums around the U.S. are in the process of developing outdoor exhibits and play areas, some of which are written about in this issue.
Read the full interview here. To read other articles in the “Children’s Museums Go Outside” issue of Hand to Hand, subscribe today. ACM members also receive both digital and printed complimentary copies of Hand to Hand.
This post first appeared on the International Science Center & Science Museum Day Blog on October 3, 2017. The post is shared in partnership with Eco Boys and Girls.
By Sophia Collas and Maria Snyder
Eco Boys and Girls joins with the Association of Science-Technology Centers to celebrate the 2017 International Science Center and Science Museum Day (ISCSMD 2017) on November 10. As a children’s media company reaching young children across the globe with educational programming focused on early science, sustainable development, and respect for diversity through pluralism, being among leaders in science education and innovation is an exciting opportunity to learn from other dedicated professionals in this field.
Eco Boys and Girls has made it their mission to deliver high-quality early learning in the areas where it is needed most for the future generation to succeed in our ever-connected, globalized world. Promoting early science, sustainable development, and pluralism are the Eco Boys and Girls’ main focus across all of their programming. To achieve this, the organization delivers research-based curricula, media assets and materials, and hands-on activities. Driven by five charismatic and colorful characters—the Eco Boys and Girls—children are engaged in playful educational experiences through which they learn about their surroundings, taking care of the planet and each other.
Eco Boys and Girls has ongoing programming with the Association of Children’s Museums, based in Washington, D.C., which engages pre- and primary-school age children in activity-based and self-driven learning about the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this program, and in celebration of ISCSMD, young children are asked to think critically and curiously about the world around them and the role they play in making a positive difference.
With the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire, U.S., the Eco Boys and Girls Science Bites! Program leads children through science experiments that teach them about Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM), and are joining ISCSMD 2017 with their programming at CMNH. Celebrating this important event, Eco Boys and Girls joins with other implementing organizations to share best practices and opportunities for collaborations with teachers committed to bringing innovative and forward-thinking education to young people around the world.
Eco Boys and Girls’ successes are in large part due to the high-quality materials and designs that capture children’s attention, but also because programs are designed to stimulate children in a number of ways. The engagement of children in practical, educational activities across their familiar environments—home, school and community—means that important and lasting effects will take hold. It is through the Eco Boys and Girls’ approach of child-friendly and relevant learning experiences that early childhood education can include science, sustainable development, and pluralism to prepare the youngest age group for the 21st Century.
Sophia Collas is Eco Boys and Girls’ Director of International Education, specializing in early childhood development. She also teaches professional development in international contexts. Maria Snyder, Founder and CEO of Eco Boys and Girls, is an artist, activist, and social entrepreneur creating brands that combine social ethics and economic purpose.
[Post updated September 19]
Our hearts go out to all those affected by Hurricane Irma, as well as those still recovering from Hurricane Harvey. We’re happy to report that several ACM members affected by the storm will reopen their doors on Wednesday, September 13. Some museums are already open, while others continue to assess the damage.
This list will be updated as we hear more information.
Museo del Nino de Carolina, Puerto Rico, plans to open:
Translation to English: “Thanks to this wonderful team, the Children’s Museum will open its doors next Wednesday. A group of workers committed to children, working tirelessly to restore facilities.”
Miami Children’s Museum, opens at noon:
The Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast (Jensen Beach, FL) also plans to open:
Glazer Children’s Museum (Tampa, FL) opens with $7 admission through September:
Great Explorations Children’s Museum (St. Petersburg, FL) will reopen with half-off admission until further notice:
Explorations V is also reopening.
Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center in Boynton Beach is open with limited programming:
Pensacola Children’s Museum has reopened with normal hours.
Tag! Children’s Museum of St. Augustine, an emerging museum, is resuming planning and design of its new building.
The Virgin Islands Children’s Museum is still assessing the damage to their structure:
[September 15 update]: The museum sustained damage and is beginning the cleanup process.
The Boca Raton Children’s Museum, Young at Art Museum in Davie, FL, and Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples all plan to open as soon as possible:
[September 15 update]: Boca Raton Children’s Museum is open!
[September 18 update]: Young At Art Museum is open!
[September 15 update] Children’s Museum of Naples remains closed as it continues to assess the damage.
We’re inspired by our museums’ resilience and commitment to providing safe and fun places for families to play.
The Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) champions children’s museums worldwide. Follow ACM on Twitter and Facebook.
Several ACM members in the Gulf Coast region of Texas were directly impacted by Hurricane Harvey this past week. We’re happy to report that many of these museums are already open and providing a safe and fun place for families to play in this difficult time.
On Tuesday, August 29, ACM established the ACM Harvey Relief Fund to support the staff and families of our members affected by the storm. ACM will match the first $5,000, and the fund will remain open for donations through September 30. To date, we’ve received more than $2,500 in donations!
Thank you to all who have donated and spread the word about the Fund, including Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum, the American Alliance of Museums, WOW! Children’s Museum, The Empathetic Museum, Mid-Hudson Children’s Museum, and the Children’s Museum of Brownsville.
We’re inspired by the words of Saleem Hue Penny, Associate Vice President of Community and Educational Partnerships at Chicago Children’s Museum: “in these moments reminded we are a ‘community,’ not merely an ‘association.’”
donated to @childmuseums #HarveyRelief https://t.co/Scy1GbsL11
in these moments reminded we are a “community”, not merely an “association” https://t.co/hljATv1qPK— Saleem Hue Penny (@huedotart) August 30, 2017
We’re heartened by the strength of our Texas museums, and by how our membership is coming together in support and solidarity. Thank you all for being a part of our community!
The Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) champions children’s museums worldwide. Follow ACM on Twitter and Facebook.
In response to the ongoing damage caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, ACM is establishing the ACM Harvey Response Fund to assist the staff and families of our members affected by the storm.
ACM will match the first $5,000 donated. The Fund will remain open for donations through September 30, 2017.
See NPR for more information about organizations on the ground
In June 2017, ACM partnered with New Knowledge Organization to release the first six ACM Trends Reports. This first volume, which will consist of 12 reports total, draws from a decade of ACM member data, including survey responses from 2004-2012. This is the first time ACM has been able to look at a decade’s worth of membership data in order to identify trends to better understand our field, and we are very excited to share the results with you.
On July 25, I joined New Knowledge’s John Fraser, PhD, AIA and Nicole LaMarca in hosting a webinar to introduce the reports and answer questions. (Download the recording here.) This provided us an opportunity to ask attendees about the issues they’d like to see explored in future ACM Trends Reports. The webinar followed up on a Brown Bag discussion about the reports held at ACM’s annual conference, InterActivity 2017.
More than 60 people joined the webinar to learn more and share their thoughts. Here are some of the top subjects that came up:
Q) How can I use the reports?
A) These reports are designed to be shared. With most reports just four pages long, they can be read as independent standalone pieces or as a complete series.
Reports can be shared with key stakeholders, such as funders, board members, new staff, families, and community partners. The series can also be used for planning. For instance, they can be used to identify key metrics, refine business models, conduct evaluation, and supplement professional development.
At the InterActivity 2017 Brown Bag, attendees were most excited about sharing the reports with funders, while the webinar attendees preferred planning.
Q) What are some future topics for ACM Trends Reports?
A) Based on our discussion during the Brown Bag lunch, some of the top topics are:
Demographics: Who’s coming to the museum? What’s the frequency of member visits and what are the ages of children? What are the ages of visitors broken out by free choice attendance vs. service and school programs?
Staffing: What are the latest trends in hiring, such as how our field is working to increase diversity? What are our dominant staffing business models?
Finances: What are our museums’ economic impact on their communities? How are we dealing with issues of gentrification and community turnaround? What are the pros and cons of different locations? What do we find when we do a budget breakdown by size, and how do budgets change as institutions grow?
Partnerships, collaborations, and expansions: What are the dominant social service organizations that children’s museums work with in every community? How costly is it to renovate or fund an emerging space? How do libraries create museums or learning spaces? How many children’s museums have preschools, head start programs, or charter schools?
From responses to the webinar, we gained several new leads on other topics to cover. Here’s a word cloud of the topics that came up the most in the chat box that attendees participated in:
Q) How do you plan to incorporate data from the 2016 ACM Membership Survey?
A) Data from ACM’s 2016 Membership Survey will be made available this fall. Incorporating the 2016 data will allow for updates to the museum size categories in forthcoming ACM Trends Reports. The size categories are currently drawing from ACM’s 2010 membership data, because this is the richest sample out of the membership survey responses between 2004-2012. For instance, Total Operating Expenses is one criterion that defines museum sizes in the reports, and we will use the 2016 data to update the expense figures in this criterion.
We will also be incorporating the 2016 data in our future trends analysis, to determine what’s happening in museums by size; for instance, how different sizes influence staffing distribution or budget.
Q) How will data be analyzed in future reports?
A) There are many methods we can use to talk about trends. We want to use the method that makes the most sense to answer the questions you feel are important.
Exploring complex questions, such as staffing and retention, may require qualitative case studies or facilitated discussions. ACM and New Knowledge aren’t tied to quantitative analysis of numbers for every report. For example, we’re open to facilitating conversations that can turn into a case-study style Trends Report.
We want to hear from you! Are there any topics that you care about that you think should be covered in future ACM Trends Reports?
Jen Rehkamp is Director, Field Services at the Associations of Children’s Museums (ACM). Follow ACM on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
This August holds an exciting surprise for children (and most adults!) across America: a total solar eclipse! August 21st will mark the first total solar eclipse to occur all across the continental United States since 1918.
Leading up to and during the eclipse, children’s museums across the country are planning programs to excite young visitors’ imaginations and help them learn about science and astronomy.
Here are a few ways ACM member museums plan to help visitors get the most out of eclipse day.
Is your museum in “the path of totality”? Find out with this interactive map from NASA. If the answer is no, that’s okay! Your location will likely still experience a partial eclipse. Here’s how children’s museums outside the path are celebrating:
In case you need a little inspiration, here are a few activities children’s museums across the country are planning:
How is your museum celebrating the 2017 total solar eclipse?
Susannah Brister is Office Manager at the Associations of Children’s Museums (ACM). Follow ACM on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Does digital technology belong in children’s museum exhibits? This question draws enthusiastic responses…and more lukewarm ones. In “From Cautious to Pragmatic: Wrestling with the Issues,” a recent article in Hand to Hand, museum director and blog author Rebecca Shulman Herz and IT manager and operations director Ari Morris discuss their sometimes aligned, sometimes opposed approaches to using digital technologies with family audiences.
Their conversation arose out of an ACM survey to our members about digital technology practices. While some respondents were enthusiastic, others expressed concern over 1) the appropriate use of the right technology for the right reasons and 2) the cost and maintenance of hardware and software.
Rebecca begins by admitting her wariness of digital technology. She fears “that we are using this technology to solve the wrong problems, or jumping on a bandwagon without considering the long-term challenges. … Sometimes we end up creating something fun and interactive but fail to address the learning goal.”
Rebecca illustrates her point by recounting her young daughter’s experience at a jewelry and photography exhibit at New York’s Museum of Art and Design. Rebecca’s daughter loved the exhibit’s auto-selfie booth and spent most of her time there – though the booth contributed little to her understanding of the exhibit.
Ari enumerates a few other potential drawbacks. “Digital screens can isolate the visitor, robbing them of the inherently social experience of a children’s museum.” He adds that they can distract visitors from engaging more tangibly with the exhibits, and “encourage passive consumption of information rather than exploration and discovery.” In addition, modern technology can be expensive and quickly dated.
Despite these problems, however, Ari doesn’t believe technology warrants any unusual concern. “Digital technology is one tool among many that can be used to achieve an exhibit’s goals. Like all tools, when it’s used well it can enhance and enrich the visitor experience, but when used poorly it can get in the way.”
In theory, Rebecca agrees, but she remains skeptical that people can hold a neutral relationship with technology. “Digital technology is still new enough to dazzle,” she says. “And screens are compelling, if not addictive, in ways that we do not yet entirely understand.”
Some museums are discovering best practices for integrating digital technology in a constructive way. For example, the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum (where Ari is assistant director of operations) has found that “it [is] much more fruitful to design exhibits about how technology works rather than exhibits about the technology itself.” As a result, the museum has focused on the science behind technology with exhibits on the binary system and electrical switches.
Rebecca suggests another best practice: adding infrastructure (such as staff facilitation) to support new technology. Ari agrees: “without the infrastructure in place to support [digital technology in musems], it’s doomed to fail. But when used well, technology can allow you to do things you wouldn’t be able to otherwise.”
Ultimately, each museum must come to its own conclusions about digital technology in its exhibits. As we do, conversations like this one help us weigh the risks and possibilities and decide how to serve our visitors well.
Where does your museum stand on this issue? How are you choosing to incorporate digital technology – or not? Have you identified your own guidelines or best practices?
To read the full article, and to read other articles in “The Uses of Digital Technology in Children’s Museums” issue of Hand to Hand, subscribe today! If you or your organization are already a member of ACM, you receive both digital and hard complimentary copies of Hand to Hand.
Susannah Brister is Office Manager at the Associations of Children’s Museums (ACM). Follow ACM on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
By Felipe Peña III
The role of a children’s museum is to provide a safe and fun place for families to play, learn, and enjoy time together. As executive director of the Children’s Museum of Brownsville, I am reminded of this every day. But what happens when new people arrive in your town? How does your local community respond to these different people? What is the role a museum plays in how it responds?
Immigration has always been an issue in America. As a child in Texas, I remember hearing about raids and the act of rounding up people, and seeing this on Spanish television. I remember hearing stories in my own community of people using scare tactics against those of their own culture. Someone would shout “LA MIGRA” (immigration) among a group of Hispanic immigrants without papers and everyone would scatter. As the experience of immigration in the U.S. continues to change, my perspective continues to change, and with the new administration even more so.
This spring, through ACM’s 90 Days of Action campaign, I had the opportunity to share my museum’s experience serving immigrant children from Central and South America with my colleagues in the children’s museum field. My community is located in the southernmost tip of Texas, a flat land covered in palm trees. Our metro has more than 3 million people, but it’s separated into two countries by the Rio Grande river—and a border fence divided so irrationally it leaves areas of “no man’s land” between the U.S. and Mexico.
Because of my museum’s location, we often host unaccompanied children living in immigrant detention centers. Over the past two years, we’ve seen an increase in these visits, which aren’t planned by the museum. We follow the rules set by the detention centers, including the use of security guards.
By the time these children reach our community, they have been through an unimaginable journey. Some have been trafficked and others, transported through stressful and crowded circumstances on LA BESTIA (“the beast”), a train that travels from Central America through the interior of Mexico. They have been cared for by strangers or taken advantage of by those with ill intentions. Most, if not all, are running from persecution by gangs and the lack of stability where they live.
When they are picked up at the border they are taken to detention centers in the Rio Grande Valley. They are kept in simple yet prison-like living conditions. They are clothed and fed but this is not a home: it is a holding facility. These processing centers are focused on either finding relatives of the unaccompanied minors in the U.S. or returning them to their homes in their respective countries. Those with neither option are placed in the foster care system.
To many, their experiences aren’t just sad, but unimaginable. My staff and I have many discussions about how, in responding to these situations over and over, we become numb. While we don’t feel shock any more, we never hesitate to talk to these children when they visit our museum, and show them the best time they could possibly have. We remind them, even if for only an hour, that they are children. It’s important to remember that children’s museums are here to make this very simple thing possible—honoring childhood. This can be the experience of a lifetime for children whether they visit us once or as a routine part of every week.
Sometimes these tragic events and migration stories have tough beginnings that lead to fruitful lives. Rossy Evelin Lima, a speaker at TEDx McAllen in 2015, inspired me by sharing her journey as immigrant determined to succeed. Rossy’s family immigrated to the U.S. looking for opportunity when she was 13. Later she graduated from the University of Texas – Pan American. Today, she’s an international award winning poet and linguist. She was a featured poet in the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum in 2015. This is just one story, one instance of success. There are countless more.
So, even though we might feel pain at hearing the stories immigrant children and families experience we must remember to always be hopeful. By celebrating childhood every day at children’s museums, we provide a reassurance that better days are ahead.
Felipe Peña III is executive director of the Children’s Museum of Brownsville. Follow the museum on Instagram and Facebook.
What stories and trends do a decade of ACM member data reveal?
To find out, ACM has partnered with New Knowledge Organization Ltd. (NKO) to launch a series of 12 trends reports about the children’s museum field.
The ACM Trends Reports series analyzes 10 years of ACM member data to highlight emerging issues and identify opportunities for advancement. These reports are…
All 12 reports will be provided as PDFs. You can order your reports here individually or as a subscription. Six are available now:
| Pricing: ACM Trends Reports Subscription* Members: $100 Summer Discount: $50 Nonmembers: $150 |
ACM Trends Reports Single Report Members: $10 Summer Discount: $5 Nonmembers: $15 |
*The remaining 6 reports will be distributed monthly throughout the rest of the year.
Want to learn more about the ACM Trends Reports? Join ACM for a webinar on Tuesday, July 25th from 2 p.m.-3 p.m. EDT to discuss the development of the reports and learn how the reports apply to your strategic goals.
ACM’s research for 90 Days of Action shows that more than 75 percent of our members are looking for ways to engage immigrant and refugee communities.
If that describes your institution, we recommend checking out “USCIS Tools and Resources” on Thursday, March 23, from 2:00–3:00 p.m. EST. This webinar, held by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), will share how museums and libraries can leverage customer service tools and citizenship education resources.
Representatives from USCIS will give an overview of the tools and resources available online, and show you how to find and use them. There will also be a question and answer session.
Register by signing up on USCIS’s site here (more information here). You’ll receive an email confirmation with more details. Questions? Contact USCIS at public.engagement@uscis.dhs.gov
And thanks to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for sharing this webinar!
On February 7, 2017, ACM launched 90 Days of Action, a campaign celebrating the important role children’s museums play in welcoming immigrant and refugee children and families.
We’re thrilled with the early results of our research into what children’s museums are already doing to serve diverse communities: Most of our members have outreach strategies specifically to reach these populations, and more than 75 percent are looking into new opportunities to do so.
If you haven’t yet done so, feel free to take our survey at any point throughout the campaign, which runs through May 8, 2017. [edit: survey closed]
As we enter the next phase of the campaign, the ACM team has developed materials to help museums get involved in the campaign. Here’s how your museum can get involved:
Museum resource include:
Together, children’s museums are creating a #WorldTheyDeserve. Please direct any questions to Alison Howard at Alison.Howard@ChildrensMuseums.org.
Laura Huerta Migus is Executive Director of the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM). Follow @childmuseums and @huertamigus on Twitter.
“The Run Around” is the official blog by the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), sharing the latest news for and about children’s museums. Its goal is to disseminate key Association updates with our stakeholders, as well as uplift the collective knowledge of our field.
Articles should be submitted to Alison Howard, Communications Manager, at Alison.Howard@ChildrensMuseums.org.
Audience:
The blog will be primarily directed toward ACM members, offering our museum and business members a steady source of news about the latest advancements in our field, in addition to a platform to share their knowledge. In addition to children’s museum staff and board members, the blog’s audience includes professionals in related fields, and invested members of the public.
Submission Guidelines:
Additional Information:
