Experience Development and Fabrication 2
Building on the exhibit development community engagement process carried out through four successive Legacy grants, the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota will use the 2014-15 direct appropriation to complete fabrication and installation of several exhibit components for its permanent facility. Local resources, volunteers, and community involvement will be combined with museum expertise to complete this process.
$1,100,000 the first year and $900,000 the second year are for arts and cultural heritage grants to children's museums. Of this amount, $600,000 the first year and $400,000 the second year are for the Minnesota Children's Museum, $200,000 each year is for the Duluth Children's Museum, $100,000 each year is for the Grand Rapids Children's Museum, and $200,000 each year is for the Southern Minnesota Children's Museum.
1. Children and families, along with school, early learning and other group visitors from across Southern Minnesota will benefit from easy access to learning opportunities that include interaction with art, culture, and heritage; at an informal learning center located in their region. 2. All Minnesotans visiting the Children’s Museum will benefit from a greater understanding of our state-wide identity through explorations with the distinct art, culture and heritage of southern Minnesota.3. 11,000 square feet of museum gallery space will be filled with major exhibit components designed to provide educational and interactive experiences. 4. MN-based designers, contractors and builders will experience new opportunities to engage their businesses and share their expertise through the exhibit fabrication and installation process. 5. CMSM will experience increased capacity to serve new, increasing and diverse audiences from across southern and all of Minnesota as a resource that offers educational and interactive experiences centered around MN art, culture and heritage. 6. Children and families, along with school, early learning and other group visitors from across Southern and all of Minnesota will experience enhanced awareness, as well as increased knowledge and skills related to Minnesota arts, culture and heritage.
1. Upon opening its new, permanent facility in April/May 2015; children, families and group visitors from across Minnesota were provided with increased access and new opportunities to participate in hands-on learning related to Minnesota arts, culture and heritage through engagement in fulfilled exhibit components at the new Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota.2. 11,000 square feet of museum gallery space was filled with major exhibit components designed to provide educational and interactive experiences in exhibit areas3. CMSM exhibit fabrication and installation processes primarily engaged Minnesota-based professionals with the majority of services provided by local contractors, including: Kidzibits, Old Fashioned Carpentry, D&K Powder coating, Linder Enterprises, Pro-Fabrication, Jones Metal, North Mankato Public Works, Lloyd Greve, Kathy Michaelson, and CAB Construction.4. New, diverse and increased numbers of children, families and groups visited the Children’s Museum during its first three months of opening activity to participate in educational and interactive experiences related to MN art, culture and heritage.5. Museum visitors participated in the Museum co-development process by providing feedback and recommendations related to exhibits and overall museum experience through responding to onsite and on-line survey questionnaires as well as through ongoing opportunities to provide feedback by way of engaging staff members through conversation or sharing written remarks at the Museum’s font desk’s suggestion basket.6. Parents/teachers of children/students representing diverse ages and stages of development reported increased awareness, knowledge or skill related to MN arts, culture and heritage on the part of their children/students.
LAURA BOWMAN – Director of Community Relations and Development, Mayo Clinic Health System;
DR. BRENDA FLANNERY - Dean, College of Business, MNSU;
KAAREN GRABIANOWSKI Country Inn & Suites;
NICK HINZ Financial Services, Frandsen Bank and Trust;
BARB KAUS – Executive Director, Greater Mankato Area United Way;
LINDA KILANDER – Retired Elementary School Principal, Mankato Area Public Schools;
KIM KLEVEN – Director, Lake Crystal Early Childhood Family Education;
NAOMI MORTENSEN Marketing Director, Environmental Tillage Systems;
TIM NEWELL – Director of Solutions Business Management, Kato Engineering/Emerson;
CHRISTINE POWERS Partner, Abdo Eick & Meyers;
TOM RILEY Retired Executive, Midwest Wireless;
BETH SERRILL Partner, Blethen Gage & Krause;
CHRISTIE SKILBRED – Project Manager, Capstone Literacy Center/Coughlan Companies;
DR. KATIE SMENTEK Pediatrician, Mankato Clinic;
SARA STEINBACH Regional Manager, Public Affairs & Marketing;
KEITH STOVER – Retired President, South Central College;
ANNA THILL President, Visit Mankato;
VANCE STUEHRENBERG – County Commissioner, Blue Earth County;
DR. GINGER ZIERDT – Interim Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Education, MSU Mankato