Minnesota Children’s Museum: Minnesota Children’s Museum Arts and Access Programs
Arts and Cultural Heritage funding will allow us to pursue three major initiatives between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020:
- New dynamic experiences at Minnesota Children’s Museum in Saint Paul
- Statewide initiative to engage communities in playful learning
- Changing and new experiences and access at Minnesota Children’s Museum Rochester
$525,000 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;
St. Paul: Welcome visitors to engage in hands-on learning. Offering variety for our visitors increases participation, engagement, and learning. We will plan and create new museum experiences based on evaluation and visitor feedback.
Duluth and St. Cloud: Drive attendance to each museum by offering visitors a new experience.
Statewide: Road test the Big Orange Dance Machine with an audience then deploy the machine across the state. We are excited to have an outdoor and hands free activity that we can use to promote the power of play during the pandemic. We will work with a contractor to capture photos and videos of people interacting with the machine to share on our social media platforms.
SAA: Primarily this time period was focused on building the new permanent exhibit, Shipwreck Adventures. We have partially completed several areas of the exhibit and it will open in FY22. We launched a website to get visitors excited about the new exhibit (https://mcm.org/shipwreck-adventures/) that details our design process, interviews our designers and developers, and provides an overview/flythrough video of the space.
The Studio: The joy of mark making and color mixing were explored through painting in The Studio. Visitors played collaboratively and individually with different paint experiences. A large-scale group painting activity included a small playhouse and a faux brick wall that were transformed over and over again. Our youngest visitors were invited to explore unique brushes and low paint easels.
Imaginopolis: We reengaged the theater professionals to let them know the project will resume after Shipwreck opens.
The other areas were completed during the first half of the year. Updates can be found in our interim report.
The museum sparked unexpected joy and fun with the Big Orange Dance Machine, a highway message trailer that's been converted into an interactive dance experience. Kids and adults showed off their moves during the machine's appearances at Keg & Case in St. Paul, a community festival in Crystal, a family event at Mears Park, the museum's 40th anniversary block party and the Selby Avenue Jazz Festival. The dance machine helps the museum highlight the power of play beyond our walls.
We will provide 2,000 free play kits to families in need. The kits feature tinkering materials such as cloth, springs, cups, a propeller, and include play prompts and tips for parents to support the child during the activity. The museum is working with partner organizations, such as Head Start providers and People Serving People, who are interested in receiving and distributing kits to families they serve. This initiative will continue into FY22.
$525,000 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;
Saint Paul
- 455,000 total visitors, 120,000 from Play for All
- Receive feedback from 3,000 visitors
- Implement changing experiences for Imaginopolis and Summer 2020
- Complete design for permanent gallery change in SAA
- Begin evaluation of Tot Spots in the museum
Statewide
- Identify partner(s)
- Develop play prompt concepts and details related to content, prototyping, locations, and installation
- Determine plan for implementation of play prompts in public spaces
Rochester
- Engage visitors in Southeastern Minnesota to build creative and critical thinking skills through play
- 26,000 total visitors, 4,000 through Play for All
- 452 free memberships distributed
Adapting our parent resources and messaging to help families navigate this critical time:
We shifted our focus online during the museum’s closure with much of our mission work done to provide online resources for parents. We created a “Play Helps” framework that houses the content on mcm.org and our social media channels.
Adapting our plans and communications for closure and reopening, including:
Museum staff enhanced our procedures for cleaning and sanitizing all museum spaces. Plexiglas barriers were installed at the box office and security desk. Hand sanitizer stations were added throughout the museum. Soft props, face paint, and air-blowers were removed, replaced with new activities that are easier to clean. Bright yellow tape outlines areas where families can play, while physically distancing. We have upgraded our air filters and created new protocol for monitoring air flow throughout the museum. We developed a SAFE plan that details out the responsibilities of MCM, employees and volunteers, and visitors. We established a touchless admission process that allows for reserved admission times and printed onsite signage related to COVID precautions and processes.
Adapting our programming model:
We revamped our website to be a resource hub for parents and caregivers.
Statewide
The City of Crystal donated a used traffic trailer and our is working with an outside coder/developer and an illustrator to put the final touches on what we have named, The Big Orange Dance Machine. The trailer has been refurbished and modified with new LED panels, batteries, electrical systems.
Rochester
We supported changing exhibits, scholarship memberships for low-income families, engaged Southeastern Minnesota with hands-on learning. and cultivated community partnerships. We were able to support more trainings for our visitor assistants to help engage with diverse audiences. We fabricated Our World Bazaar, a permanent exhibit for our new space in Apache Mall.