Great River Children's Museum: Moving Forward Project

GRCM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The GRCM Executive Director will be focused on the following outcomes (with 50% of her salary supporting the outcomes of this CMCL grant request)
- Appropriate changes in board roles and committee structure will be made during 2022-23 to reflect evolution from a working to a governing, policy board.
- Regional and cultural diversity will be represented in exhibit content, artwork and signage and will be evident throughout the museum.
- Inclusion in exhibit and building design is attained through use of different languages, signage, ADA sensitivity and compliance.
- Personnel policies for museum staff will be created and efforts made to hire diverse staff and to attract and recruit volunteers that represent the community.
- Coordination of building renovation and exhibit development to create a welcoming and engaging public space.
- Efforts will be made to create long-term sustainability through creating a framework of diverse income streams and guiding sustainable building design. GRCM PROGRAM AND OUTREACH MANAGER
The Program and Outreach Manager will be responsible for creating high quality, learning experiences at GRCM across a variety of learning platforms for diverse audience groups, including parents as learners in the museum. Support for parent learning and positive interaction with their children in the museum might include enhancements to exhibit environments such as signage with questioning and conversation prompts and posters to highlight what and how children are learning.
The specific outcomes related to the Legacy grant funds include:
* Networks of collaborative relationships will be built and expanded in St. Cloud and surrounding Central Minnesota communities through existing groups like Great River Regional Library, school districts within a 25-30 mile radius of St. Cloud and higher education.
* Meet Your Neighbor profiles will be created for the Community Connections, Great River and Headwaters exhibit areas in collaboration with exhibit design team.
* Community activities will be planned and implemented during building renovation, including piloting new program ideas.
* The volunteer base will be expanded and new policies, a volunteer handbook, and orientation for new volunteers will be created.
* Specific learning experience goals will be articulated for exhibit areas focusing on different age groups, parent-child interactions and community connections.
* Program guides and learning experience plans related to exhibit areas will be created to coordinate with some MN educational standards B-4th grade to support formal learning in schools.
* Field trip options and policies will be created in consultation with local schools and early childhood programs.
EXHIBIT DESIGN
The Split Rock Studios (SRS) team is contracted through the completion of Schematic Design, Design Development, Fabrication and Installation phases of indoor exhibit areas: Climber to the Clouds; Community Connections; Great Explorations; Great River; Headwaters; Engineering Zone; Workshop and through the Schematic Design phase for the Outdoor Adventures exhibit space. The CMCL grant will partially fund the Great River, Headwaters and Community Connections exhibit areas.
1. Split Rock Studios design team will collaborate with GRCM to develop the exhibit elements that meaningfully represent GRCM's vision, values and goals.
2. Split Rock Studios designed exhibit areas will authentically and meaningfully reflect diverse cultures through exhibit content, Meet Your Neighbor components, artwork, signage and language.
3. Split Rock Studios will work with GRCM identified community partners to design high quality exhibit components and interpretive elements to maximize the learning capacity of each exhibit area.
4. Split Rock Studios will create positive visitor experiences that welcome all members of the GRCM community. This includes but is not limited to signage, wayfinding, safety considerations, acoustics & lighting, appropriate seating, culturally appropriate materials and sources, controlled access points, and family amenities so that visitors can enjoy their time at GRCM.
5. Split Rock Studios will provide deliverables (reports) that detail exhibit content, materials, color choices, finishes, and graphics