Cincinnati Museum Center
1301 Western Avenue, Suite 2253
Cincinnati, OH 45203
Supporting Children's Learning
Grant Application:
CMC is the largest cultural institution in the region and, as such, is wholly committed to improving the quality of life for children in Greater Cincinnati by providing meaningful museum and educational experiences. As we continue to recover from the operational and financial challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, CMC is in the final stages of bringing all our museum experiences back to Union Terminal. CMC offers world-class, one-of-a-kind museum experiences that fuel curiosity and critical thinking, spark important community dialogue, and makes learning fun and impactful for guests, especially our youngest visitors. Indeed, nowhere else can a child see real dinosaurs, explore 1850s Cincinnati, and “work” in a kid-sized grocery store—all under one roof! Educational programs advance STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and STEAM (STEM + Art) learning. In addition, students benefit from Programs-on-Wheels, museum camps, digital programming, STEM Girls, Youth Programs, internships, and on-site field trips.
Goals:
1) Create and maintain exhibits and educational programs in CMC’s museums that use interactive learning to fuel a love of learning for 250,000-300,000 guests, about half of whom are children.
2) Provide at least 400 sites with in-person and/or virtual Programs-on-Wheels or field trips to supplement school curricula and make learning fun for children.
3) Provide 12 months of in-person STEM Girls programming, including onsite activities and Girls Day Out trips..
4) Continue to refresh and open new permanent and temporary exhibitions that focus on engaging the youth in our community.
Grant Evaluation Report:
CMC was successful in providing children, families, and educators with meaningful educational programming and museum experiences. During the grant period, CMC welcomed more than 523,000 visitors to The Children’s Museum. In addition, approximately 445,000 guests experienced the Museum of Natural History and Science, while 260,000 visitors explored the Cincinnati History Museum. CMC also welcomed students to Union Terminal for a total of 405 field trips, 392 of which visited the Museum of Natural History and Science, and 319 to the Cincinnati History Museum. CMC also provided 79 virtual field trips, 39 of which were focused on science-related topics, and 40 focused on history-related topics.
Programs-on-Wheels bring hands-on activities and problem-solving to classrooms, libraries and community centers across Ohio, Southeast Indiana, and Northern Kentucky. Educators can choose from a broad array of STEM and social studies programs for grades pre-K through 12. During this past year, Programs-on-Wheels delivered 996 programs - 990 in-person sessions and 6 virtual. Through Programs-on-Wheels, CMC reached 25,439 people across 4 states (including Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Wisconsin) and 102 unique zip codes. Across all program formats, 146 (15%) of programs delivered were social studies topics and 850 (85%) were science related.
This past fall, STEM Girls returned to in-person sessions at Union Terminal. Working to bridge the gender gap in STEM fields and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, CMC welcomes local women working in a variety of STEM professions to lead hands-on programming for students in grades 3-8. The 2022-2023 program season included:
- How the Internet Works with Tia Stackle from Cisco (November)
- Watersheds and Us with Samantha Ferrarelli from the US Army Corps (December)
- Introduction to Cells with Margaret van Gilse from Bexion Pharmaceuticals (January)
- Architecture and You! with Zoe Zoe Gizara, AIA, from MSP Design, and Sarah Kleiner, AIA, from EnVisage Architecture (February)
- Medical Devices and Engineering with Marissa Kamenir from Ethicon (March)
- Is it Magic? No, it’s Mechanical Engineering with Asha Belanski and Marissa Dusek from GE Aerospace (April)
This past year, 523,225 guests have had access to free-range exploration and planned workshops inside KidSPACE supported by the Dorsey Family Foundation. During their time in KidSPACE, children explore their creative sides and participate in a variety of hands-on projects. In the past year, projects have included animation design, patch sewing, puppet making, watercolor techniques, 3D printer pens, kaleidoscope design and so much more. Throughout 2022, 10 local artists shared their expertise and talents with our guests while encouraging participants to get creative with a variety of projects. For example, Rebecca Nava Soto led a session about the living history of the Native people of Mexico. Nava Soto worked with guests to tell a personal story using an ancient Mesoamérican pictographic language and make paper art inspired by popular Latinx materials.
CMC understands the importance of childhood literacy and the benefits of reading aloud to children. Every Thursday, we also hosted Story Tree Time in The Children’s Museum. CMC continues to share a variety of books to encourage children and their caregivers to use their imaginations and spark curiosity about new topics.
Website:
http://www.cincymuseum.org Amount: $40,000
Date: May 2022
