DAI will hire consultation and training from a nonprofit expert in capacity building to 1) shape and execute a robust capacity building development strategy; 2) create a comprehensive approach to building sustainable support networks; 3) conduct stakeholder outreach; 4) develop and implement campaign strategies; 5) train staff and board members to write and report on grants.
CMSM opened its new permanent site with increased capacity to serve as an informal learning center that playfully engages children, families, and school groups in interactive experiences with the art and cultural heritage of southern Minnesota. With its current appropriation, CMSM is poised to strengthen its core as an institution that promotes arts and cultural heritage learning through continued
CMSM will build upon the work that began with its 2015-16 appropriation by (1) Remediation and further development of exhibit areas that promote Arts & Cultural Heritage (ACH) learning (2) Expanding ACH learning opportunities for new audiences at off-site locations; (3) Engaging an outside Evaluation Consultant to help plan/implement strategies that meaningfully assess ACH learning outcomes and impacts; (4) Boosting the Museum’s capacity to serve more school/early learning groups.
The Children's Museum of Rochester, Inc. will be implementing a program called Passport To Play aiming to increase the number of children and families of all ages, ethnicities, abilities and incomes to participate in hands-on arts and cultural programming and educational exhibits at the museum. Passport To Play would reach over 1,500 children and families a year from underserved communities in Southeastern Minnesota. The Children's Museum of Rochester, Inc.
Bois Forte Tribal Leaders have acknowledged the potential loss of our Native Language and unique Ojibwe dialect. With a mere 6 fluent speaker's remaining, it is critical that we utilize creative methods to preserve the language. This project will provide funds to purchase appropriate equipment that will be used to record elders as they tell the history of Bois Forte and teach of the clan system and identify families. The recordings will preserve their knowledge for future generation.
Through the construction of new interactive exhibits and the creation of educational programming, the Duluth Children's Museum will highlight the community and culture of Duluth and the surrounding region. A climbable, playable model of Duluth's iconic canal lighthouses and an educational Ojibwe waaginogaan are among the planned new elements being added to the museum experience.
Crossing Mountains is a highly collaborative effort by a coalition of Hmong artists to create a sweeping story of two generations of Hmong women who escape Laos to Minnesota. Their story is one of sacrifice and hardship and ultimately hope and redemption. Inspired by the real story of an amazing Hmong woman from Minneapolis, this Hmong opus will use ballet to share the Hmong story of escape from Laos to acclimating in a strange new land.
The Children's Discovery Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota aims to strengthen its highly successful School Service Program by retaining a Program development coordinator, changing core interactive exhibits and creating new curriculum for pre-school and K - 5 students in ten northern Minnesota counties.
The Children's Discovery Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota will strengthen its acclaimed school service program by: (1) continued leadership of a new Program Director retained on January 1, 2016 (2) creating a new (Minnesota built) core interactive exhibit; (3) developing new curriculum for pre-school through 3rd grade students in ten northern Minnesota counties.
Ojibwe podcast broadcast via youtube, Itunes, Spotify, Facebook, etc. The Ojibwe Podcast would include oral interviews with local elders, community experts, activists, and Anishinaabe peoples of Minnesota.
The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota (CMSM) will build upon a strong foundation of Minnesota Arts, Culture and Heritage (ACH) learning experiences made possible with prior MN Legacy funding support to:
As an established Children's Museum, it is time to re-evaluate our policies, programs, displays, & activities. There will be financial support (scholarships) for classroom/community field trips and bussing which will allow children of all abilities and ethnicities to have a museum experience. Data and suggestions collected from the teachers or adult chaperones will be shared with the Grant Committee and Advisory Board for their work.
This project will support new exhibit components and enhancements, provide admissions and transportation to underserved and diverse communities, and teacher-led programs for children that are sensory sensitive, in relationship with Autism Society of Minnesota.
The Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota planned for the cultural alignment of the permanent Children's Museum's art curation, signage, and interactive experiences. The primary focus of this cultural content related to southern Minnesota including Dakota art, culture, and heritage and complemented the Exhibit Development and Fabrication Legacy grant goals.
The Department of Public Transformation will hire a Development Consultant to lead the Board and staff toward more sustainable and intentional fundraising strategies. Specifically, a consultant teaches skills in building annual giving programs, creating audit systems and policies, coach staff and board on effective fundraising strategies, and implement processes that can evolve as the organization continues to grow.
After the recent purchase of a new building that will become the future home of the Duluth Children’s Museum, this project will facilitate the transition to this new space while continuing to provide regionally focused play and learning experiences that are accessible to all children.
Support from the Minnesota Cultural Legacy funds will allow the Duluth Children’s Museum to address needs in three critical program initiatives. The museum will: 1. Strengthen the AIRSS (amateur radio on the international space station) club and provide critical materials, supplies, and staff leadership; 2. Engage 300 area students in a national program entitled Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP); and 3. Offer a new exhibit entitled Mysteries of the Mayan Medallion from mid-September to mid-December 2014.
This project will preserve and celebrate the Anishinaabe Art & Culture through a series of meaningful workshops. Each workshop (12 total), is designed to engage 10-12 participants, providing them with valuable cultural experiences and knowledge.
The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota (CMSM) will complete the innovative community engagement process started with the previous Legacy grant. CMSM will build upon the progress created with the previous Legacy grant by transitioning the team's focus to carrying-out of strategic access strategies that engage a diversity of community members in the exhibit development process, resulting in the completion of fabrication plans for exhibits and environments that are accessible; engaging; and reflect the diverse art, culture, and heritage of southern Minnesota.
Building on the exhibit development community engagement process carried through three successive Legacy grants, the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota used the 2013 direct appropriation to prepare for and begin building exhibit components for its permanent facility by combining professional museum expertise with local resources, volunteers, and community involvement.
In 2007, the Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota (CMSM) conducted an environmental scan of early learning opportunities for children in southern Minnesota. It became apparent that the region creates few opportunities for children to engage in self-directed learning experiences in social settings; in particular, opportunities that create access to arts, culture, and heritage. This is still true today.
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.
GCST 1970 is a 4-credit program for college & high school students in partnership with the YMCA & Three Rivers Park District to learn about their cultural heritage & connection to the land. This collaboration brings under-represented students to a wilderness camp to engage in nature, environmental justice and issues of equity, access, and inclusion in outdoor spaces. Students participate in 5 days of immersive learning in and from nature, from each other, & from local tribal elders and artists.
This project will produce content for the Headwaters exhibit including: 1) creation and content development of Meet Your Neighbor stations; 2) creation of two murals and a sculpture celebrating diversity; 3) new exhibit design in partnership with Stearns County History Museum; 4) design an art fence for the Outdoor Adventures exhibit.
In 2018 the Great River Children's Museum, (GRCM) received a building worth $1,500,000 from Liberty Bank. Since receiving this gift, the Board of Directors has completed a Museum Strategic Master Plan with Vergeront Museum Planning, a predesign plan and building condition assessment with JLG Architects, a hazardous building materials assessment with Braun Intertec, and a marketing plan with Gearbox Marketing.
Great River Children's Museum: Moving Forward Project encompasses the development of new exhibits & programs with and for the families of Central MN. We are expanding upon partnerships formed with community groups, developing exhibit areas that open doors to new experiences and cultures, and working to create program guides that will highlight some of the many informal learning opportunities to be found in our exhibit areas.
This project will support new exhibit components, including an agriculture heritage exhibit, that will showcase the farming way of life and the importance of family farms for the country's food source. It includes workshops and hands-on learning in roles such as gardener, farmer, processor, seed agronomist, farmers market vendor, and consumer.
The Oshki-Filmmakers Project is a series of film workshops and opportunities for the White Earth Ojibwe Reservation. Focusing on Indigenous youth, these workshops bring established Indigenous filmmakers from across our region together with youth artists to share stories and knowledge as our young artists begin to shape their artistic craft. We provide work space and equipment to empower our youth to share their own stories and those of our community for many generations to come.
The Kairos Alive! Cultural Wisdom Immersion and Sharing Project collaborates with Centro Tyrone Guzman, Augustana Open Circle, Walker West Music Academy and outstate Developmental Achievement Centers to explore and exchange joyful cultural meaning through music, dance, song and story via 2-way Zoom webcast. Project explores cultural heritage and identity expression, and how it relates to the universality of human experience, in an environment of creative safety and intercultural exchange.
This project collaborates with 1) Minneapolis Hawthorne Neighborhood Council (multi-cultural/intergenerational); 2) Minnesota Independence College and Community (MICC), Richfield (neuro-divergent young adults); 3) an established network of 20+ senior centers and organizations serving people with developmental disabilities statewide (multi-cultural and intergenerational), such as Centro Tyrone Guzman (Latinx), Ecumen Prairie Lodge, Brooklyn Park, Wabasha County Developmental Achievement Center, Wabasha, and Adult Day Services, Bemidji; 4) community collaborations in Bemidji and New Ulm servi
Life House will develop an in-depth strategic planning process lead by Northspan Consulting to 1) develop a three-year strategic plan; 2) analyze contradictions; 3) create an action plan.
The goal of the Dakota History Symposium at Lower Sioux Agency is to reclaim Dakota voice in a narrative that under-represents Dakota perspective and cultural worldview while providing opportunity for exiled Dakota to reconnect to their shared history, disrupting dominant power dynamics that restrict Dakota truth-telling. Hosting a Dakota-led educational event will enhance public understanding, broaden worldviews perspective and increase access to historic truths of the State of Minnesota.
This project includes a new exhibit component that includes a variety of farm production machinery, diverse agriculture commodities, and livestock, and provides an interactive learning experience about agricultural production and the art of manufacturing food for every culture.
Legacy-funded programs at the Minnesota Humanities Center demonstrate our determination to collaboratively create humanities programs for the broader public by forging strong partnerships with local, state, and national cultural organizations. These programs show the broader community how the humanities can be used to address issues important to their everyday lives. Each activity, event, and program shares an Absent Narrative with participants, which help residents across the state engage in a more sophisticated understanding of their community.
The Civics Education Coalition will create opportunities for students, enrich teacher capacity to engage students, and build state-wide networks. Work will include an interactive website, online youth summit, youth conference, new lessons for educators, teacher institutes, and expansion of the statewide Civic Education Network and its activities.
Minnesota Youth in Government (YIG) is a youth-led experience that engages middle and high school youth in democratic governing leadership. Students learn about government process and gain an understanding of local, state, national and international concerns. They research and debate, participate in model Assemblies, United Nations, Youth Conferences on National Affairs, retreats and trainings, and National Judicial Competition, and gain an appreciation of diverse viewpoints in respectful ways.
The M requests funding to create a Native Arts Partnership Council that will guide the expansion of our Native Arts Initiatives. Consisting of key Indigenous artists, elders, and educators, the group of 7-10 individuals will represent the diverse tribes and tribal demographics of the region. Members of the council will be invited to engage in a process of co-creation that will work to deepen our focus on Native Arts and launch an ongoing Native Arts Council that is Native- and community-led.
Founded on the centennial of the Mexican Muralist movement, (Neo)Muralismos de México (NMM) aims to revitalize and reclaim our Mexican cultural heritage through culturally-specific, socially-informed, historically-grounded, and community-engaged public art. To this end, NMM will lead and coordinate 5 community-engaged muralism and public art projects that will uplift our cultural heritage around the state, including projects in the Twin Cities, Duluth, Red Wing, and Austin, MN.
