Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota: Exhibit & Experience Development – Engaging & Enriching New Audiences in ACH Learning
CMSM will build upon an Arts and Cultural Heritage (ACH) foundation established with prior MN Legacy support by: Developing/remediating exhibits that promote ACH learning at CMSM’s Mankato site and Museum a la Carte (MALC) off-site settings; Developing outreach strategies designed to engage and enrich new audiences through MALC; Enhancing ACH learning experiences for school/early learning groups; Evaluating ACH impacts among school group, MALC, general and access audiences.
$1,030,000 the first year and $950,000 the second year are for arts and cultural heritage grants to children's museums for arts and cultural exhibits and related educational outreach programs.Of this amount, $500,000 each year is for the Minnesota Children's Museum for interactive exhibits and outreach programs on arts and cultural heritage, including the Minnesota Children's Museum in Rochester; $150,000 each year is for the Duluth Children's Museum; $150,000 each year is for the Grand Rapids Children's Museum; $150,000 each year is for the Southern Minnesota Children's Museum for the Mni Wiconi and other arts and cultural exhibits; and $80,000 the first year is for the Wheel and Cog Children's Museum of Hutchinson for interactive exhibits and outreach programs on arts and cultural heritage.
CMSM will experience increased capacity to serve as an informal ACH learning resource through:
- Exhibit development/remediation of new and current Museum exhibits - evidenced by photo documentation.
- Exhibit/experience development of MALC and off-site implementation - evidenced by photo documentation and processes for audience identification, engagement, tracking, and evaluation.
- Enhanced Group Visit opportunities - evidenced by curriculum guide and 6 trained Museum Educators.
In addition, more Minnesotans will benefit as a result of engaging with ACH experiences:
- MALC will be implemented with 20 off-site audiences, engaging over 500 Minnesotans in ACH experiences.
- 120 School/early learning groups will engage in ACH Guided Group Visits (increase of 10%).
- 90% of visitors/participants engaged in Museum evaluation processes will indicate satisfaction/report positive outcomes associated with CMSM and learning experiences.
- Further consideration of an authentic Dakota presence at CMSM, including conversations with area Legislators about Mni Wiconi and future possibilities for this exhibit/experience. In addition to these conversations, a Visitor Survey was disseminated to over 8,000 community members in order to better understand our Community’s interest around installation of a permanent water play exhibit in the Museum’s only remaining undeveloped space, versus utilizing this space for a rotation of exhibit experiences. 923 individuals completed the survey with 87% of Museum members and 85% of non-Member visitors indicating a preference for utilizing this space for a rotation of exhibit experiences.
- The highly acclaimed Northwoods Winter exhibit gave way to another well-received exhibit experience – Automation Station. This interactive exhibit explores the world of automation, robotics, and assembly from the perspective of local businesses with a rich heritage in manufacturing.
- Over the entire Project period, MORE MINNESOTANS BENEFITED as a result of engaging in ACH learning via:
- MUSEUM A LA CARTE - 20 audiences from across our region - including over 2,700 participants; experienced a taste of the Children’s Museum by engaging in MALC activities at off-site locations.
- GUIDED GROUP VISITS – S.T.E.A.M. powered guided programs were developed and facilitated by 6 trained Museum Educators for 134 guided groups – engaging 3,319 participants.
- 98% of Museum members and 95% of non-Member visitors responding to the Visitor Survey indicated overall satisfaction with the Museum. Over 90% of these respondents also noted CMSM was meeting their needs relative to Friendly, Courteous and Knowledgeable Staff; Fun & Playful Atmosphere; Cleanliness; and Educational Content.
$1,030,000 the first year and $950,000 the second year are for arts and cultural heritage grants to children's museums for arts and cultural exhibits and related educational outreach programs.Of this amount, $500,000 each year is for the Minnesota Children's Museum for interactive exhibits and outreach programs on arts and cultural heritage, including the Minnesota Children's Museum in Rochester; $150,000 each year is for the Duluth Children's Museum; $150,000 each year is for the Grand Rapids Children's Museum; $150,000 each year is for the Southern Minnesota Children's Museum for the Mni Wiconi and other arts and cultural exhibits; and $80,000 the first year is for the Wheel and Cog Children's Museum of Hutchinson for interactive exhibits and outreach programs on arts and cultural heritage.
CMSM will experience increased capacity to promote MN Arts and Cultural Heritage learning as evidenced by:
- Photo documentation of exhibit development/remediation efforts. Sue Larsen Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota Printed On: 8 January 2019 2018-2019 Children's Museum Legacy Grants Year 2 8
- Enhanced Dakota cultural thread as evidenced by photo documentation of exhibit and/or programming experiences.
- Final Market Analysis report identifying diverse communities of our region that would likely engage with the Museum, WHAT factors impact decision-making related to engaging with the Museum; and recommended outreach/engagement strategies to connect new audiences with the Museum.
In addition, more Minnesotans will benefit as a result of engaging with experiences that promote ACH as evidenced by:
- Museum participation on behalf of an outlying community will increase by 10% as a result of implementing multi-modal outreach/engagement strategy.
- 90% of visitors engaged in Museum evaluation processes will indicate satisfaction/report positive outcomes associated with CMSM learning experiences.
- EXHIBIT DEVELOPMENT/REMEDIATION: CMSM met with Dakota community advisors, exhibit fabricators and a videographer to lay plans for enhancing the Dakota language experience at CMSM. Development of CMSM’s rotating exhibit space included launch of A HEALTHY ME exhibit experience. Further conceptual and structural development of financial literacy exhibit and remediation of outdoor shade awning also took place.
- CMSM MARKET ANALYSIS: Based upon market analysis/recommendations provided by Dr. Narren Brown; CMSM targeted outreach efforts in communities located along the Highway 14 corridor heading east from Mankato to Owatonna. These efforts included targeted communications via school and social media outlets about activities taking place at CMSM this spring. They also included Museum a la Carte activities offered at three library sites, a community event, and a Farmers Market. The goal of these efforts was to increase awareness of CMSM among outlying populations and ultimately connect more Minnesotans from these communities to ACH learning at the Museum. Compared to visitorship data over the period of April – June 2018, visitorship on behalf of this corridor of communities increased by 37%.
- EVALUATION: Survey and observation evaluation tools were implemented with audiences that interacted with A HEALTHY ME exhibit. 100% of caregivers responding to the survey shared positive feedback regarding their child’s engagement with the exhibit experience. Similarly, 100% shared positive feedback regarding their own exhibit experience. Caregiver reports, substantiated with play observation data, indicated high levels of engagement with exhibit features. On average, children engaged with 7 of 11 primary exhibit features. Observation of caregivers and children engaging TOGETHER in the exhibit experience was prevalent, with 87% of caregivers engaged in interactive play with their child.