Deadline for InterActivity 2026 Session Proposals: Thursday, July 31, 2025
About the Theme The theme for InterActivity 2026 highlights the importance of fostering belonging and connection as the foundation for resilience. Through this theme, children’s museums are called to intentionally craft inclusive spaces where all feel seen, valued and supported. The conference will inspire museum professionals to explore innovative strategies that strengthen both their institutions and communities while emphasizing the role of resilience within museum teams. Together, we will reimagine how museums can act as catalysts for meaningful engagement, cultural understanding, and collective well-being.
Proposals are selected by the InterActivity 2026 Program Committee, a volunteer group representing the field, who look for innovative, adaptable, and scalable practices. Since the conference is called InterActivity, activities and hands-on learning are requisite.
Submit a Session Proposal We invite you to submit a session proposal. Tie your proposal to the theme: how is your museum creating a sense of belonging and connection in your community? What strategies do you have to build resilience among staff and communities? Nuts and bolts sessions are also welcome.
Session Information Session proposals will be considered for one of the many Concurrent Professional Development Session blocks that make up a large part of the InterActivity program. These sessions may be scheduled on either Wednesday, April 22 or Thursday, April 23.
All sessions are 75-minutes. If you are proposing a double session, indicate this in your title (e.g., Parts 1 and 2) and in the session plan. You may want to submit separate forms for part one and part two.
Sessions have a maximum of one moderator and four presenters. The session chair must participate in the session.
Presenters/moderators may not participate in more than two InterActivity sessions. See more about presenters below.
Developing a Session Proposal Consider these tips for developing a session proposal:
Trust us. Our reading of many session evaluations allows us to offer these suggestions as you develop a proposal:
Pre-write your proposal. Download the Session Proposal Form (non-fillable) and use it as a guide before you start the online proposal form.
Be mindful of how much content can be delivered in 75 minutes. Be realistic about the number of presenters and how much time activities take.
Your session will provide professional development for attendees. No show-and-tell, instead include how you did what you did and how attendees can apply the information you present at their institutions.
Plan your session so that attendees will be actively engaged rather than passively receiving information.
Include multiple perspectives: presenters from small, medium, and large museums, from different job areas, from both inside and outside the museum field, etc.
Reach out to others through the InterActivity Session Ideas Exchange Groupsite. Open to all, though you will need to set up a new account (your ACM portal username and password will not work). Need help with setting up an account? Email Membership@ChildrensMuseums.org. Get feedback on your ideas and recruit presenters.
Attend the proposal writing webinar – date to come.
Need assistance? Email Victoria Garvin, Sr. Director, Professional Development.
Session Chair Responsibilities The success of an InterActivity session is the result of careful planning, communication, collaboration, and cooperation. The session chair leads these efforts. Session chairs agree to fulfill the following responsibilities:
Secure and confirm session presenters:
Gets confirmation from each presenter in advance of submitting the proposal that their institution supports participation, including funding for registration and travel.
Advises presenters that they are responsible for registering themselves by the Early Bird Deadline. ACM does not give complimentary registration, honoraria, or pay travel expenses to presenters at InterActivity. Note: presenters from outside the museum field, e.g., academics, non-museum nonprofit service organizations, may be eligible for a complimentary one-day registration at the discretion of ACM.
Advises presenters that they may not use the session to promote products or services of any kind.
Advises presenters that they will be required to complete and return a Session Presenter Agreement.
Advises presenters that they must attend or watch the Tips for Presenting at InterActivity webinar.
Advises presenters that if the proposal is accepted, they must be available to present on either day of the conference, April 22 or 23, and that they may not participate in more than two InterActivity sessions.
Plan the session from start to delivery at InterActivity 2026:
Meet all deadlines set by ACM.
Maintain timely communication with presenters, ACM, and Program Committee “shepherd” who will be assigned to the session upon acceptance.
Rehearse the session with all presenters in advance of delivery at InterActivity.
Ensure development of useful handouts for distribution onsite and for posting to the ACM website after the conference.
Review all session presentations and handouts in advance of the conference to ensure quality and consistency.
Collect all presentation materials and handouts and uploads them to the event app by Friday, June 8, 2026.
Note: failure to meet these obligations will jeopardize acceptance of future session proposals.
Session chairs agree to these responsibilities when they complete the Session Proposal form.
Proposal Evaluation Criteria Proposals submitted by July 31, 2025 will be reviewed by the InterActivity 2026 Program Committee and evaluated according to the following criteria:
The proposed session conveys innovative strategies, take-home tools, scalable practices, or new research and its application. Content may support the theme and/or provide nuts and bolts training.
The proposal’s learning objectives are realistic and achievable.
The session plan outlines a clear picture of what attendees can expect during the session: who will speak on what topic and for how long, how attendees will participate, and what attendees can expect to take away.
Proposal describes useful handouts for distribution to attendees onsite and for posting to the event app after the conference.
Presenters are confirmed and provide multiple perspectives on the topic (i.e., representing museums of all sizes, not different departments in the same museum). See What Size is Your Museum. Proposals with content experts from outside the children’s museum field will receive extra consideration as will proposals for small museums.
Submit Your Session Proposal All session proposals for InterActivity 2026 must be submitted through the online SurveyMonkey form. Only completed proposals will be reviewed. Note: once a proposal is started in SurveyMonkey it needs to be completed—you many not be able to go back in and finish or change it at a later date. We strongly suggest you pre-write the proposal using the non-fillable form before entering the text in the form.
Session Proposal Timeline TBA: Session Proposal Webinar July 31: Session Proposals Due September 11-12: InterActivity 2026 Program Committee Meeting October 6: Decision Notices Sent to Session Chairs
Interested in Serving on the InterActivity 2024 Program Committee? To achieve the greatest representation and perspectives on the Committee, ACM encourages all members to apply—from those new in field or just beginning their careers, to those with years of experience. A member is anyone with a current ACM membership whether it be Individual, Museum Institution, Institution Staff, Business Member, or Business Member Staff. For complete information about eligibility, responsibilities, and how to apply, visit the Program Committee webpage.
