Children's Discovery Museum (CDM): Write new curriculum for the Lake Life interactive exhibit/transform the River Town installation
The Children's Discovery Museum in Grand Rapids, MN will change & strengthen its high-performing School Service Program. This grant is supporting another new initiative to expand & build upon our innovative work with schoolchildren, their teachers & parents by: Writing & implementing new age-appropriate curriculum for the Lake Life interactive exhibit, and adding new learning stations; and reimagining, redesigning & refabricating the River Town installation, a child-sized interactive community
$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.
- Schoolteachers rate the design and age-appropriateness of the new Lake Life exhibit with an average score of 4.30 or higher (5 being strongly agree, and one being strongly disagree).
- Schoolteachers rate the value of new exhibits as helpful in meeting education goals for their students with an average score of 4.30 or higher
- All teacher evaluation scores on a series of five (5) statements are rated with an average score of 4.30 of higher
- School Service Program enrollment grows by 8 to 10% over the previous school year.
- Walk-in attendance grows by 5 to 8% over the previous year.
- Two to three schools enroll their students for the very first time.
- Five-to ten schools enroll that have not participated over the past five years.
- The membership roster grows by 30 - 40 households.
- The new Lake Life Curriculum includes eight lessons for ages PreK to Grade 6. On a written survey, teachers responded with high ratings for Lake Life. "The new Lake Life Exhibit improved the quality of our visit.” Average score: 4.88 out of 5.
- Data on several general questions about the quality of the school field trip experience was collected from 265 written surveys which were completed by classroom teachers, staff & chaperones before departing on the day of their field trip.
- As a Teacher, the CDM programs help to support academic standards set by the State of MN & the learning goals I have for my students. 4.53 out of 5
- Our visit to the CDM was a positive experience we could not have had in the classroom. 4.64
- Our visit to the museum was a valuable use of class time. 4.68
- The museum exhibits and lessons were well designed and age appropriate. 4.65
- The field trip enhanced the learning, imagination, and social skills of the children. 4.69
- Young children are delighted with the new Rivertown installation. It includes a grocery store, pizzeria, and housekeeping area. Life skills are the focus including prices/counting money, sorting grocery items, & telling time. Fine motor development is encouraged by practice with clothespins, lacing & sewing, clothing closures, & manipulating latches & hardware. Role play opportunities include shopping, laundry, cooking, and caring for babies..
- School Service Program Enrollment: 4813 (2016-2017) 4868 (2017-2018)
- Walk in attendance: 17,492 (2016-2017) 20,170 (2017-2018) (not including school program)
- Five schools enrolling for the first time.
- 378 memberships.
$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.
- Teachers will book field trips year after year.
- School teachers will agree that academic standards set by the State of Minnesota and their own learning goals are supported by the CDM programs with a rating of 4.3 or higher. (5 being strongly agree and 1 being strongly disagree)
- School staff, parents & chaperones will recognize their visit to CDM as a positive experience the students could not have had in the classroom with a rating of 4.3/5 or higher.
- School staff, parents, & chaperones will rank museum exhibits and lessons as being well-designed & age appropriate with a score of 4.3/5 or higher.
- School staff, parents & chaperones will agree that the field trip enhances the learning, imagination, and social skills of the children with a score of 4.3/5 or higher.
- Museum Memberships will grow by 10-20 households per year.
- The walk in attendance will grow by 5% over the previous year.
The 2018-2019 school program served a total of 3625 people. All of the students and school staff (3347 people) received free admission. Any groups that need a bussing subsidy were provided $100, $200, or $300 based on their distance from the museum. Teachers are very appreciative of this program because local funding is often not available and many families in our low-income geographic area cannot afford extra costs. The Program Coordinator, Education Director, & hourly teachers were also funded by the grant.
A smaller portion of the grant was used for remodeling and installing new interactive exhibits.
- Rigamajig Play Area: This building set allows children to create life-size buildings, vehicles and contraptions. It includes simple machines and encourages creative problem solving, engineering skills, communication, & collaboration with others. Multi-generational interaction is often a part of Rigamajig explorations as adults find the materials just as intriguing as children.
- Fire Station: A new cart with a hose reel was added to the space.
- Dino Dig: The old digging area sandbox with plastic pellets was donated to a neighborhood child care. Two new custom sandboxes have been filled with real sand for use exclusively by school groups when teacher supervision is available. Alternative items are available for dinosaur play at other times.
- Ball Wall: A commercial Ball Wall installation allows children to observe friction, inertia, gravity, & energy as they create with tracks, chutes, & tubes on a magnetic, vertical surface.
- Wind Tunnel: This installation allows children to observe the properties of wind & construct and test experimental flying contraptions.
- Consultant: Myra Peffer Myra shared her vast experience with museums and informal education to help us select new items for installation. She suggested improvements and helped us evaluate our offerings.