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
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.
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 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.
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.
To strengthen a large partnership, including American Indian partners, as they improve and make available more historic information about the Minnesota River Valley.
Year 1: Arts and Cultural Heritage funding will allow us to identify and plan a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) exhibit experience, design and develop the exhibit, select a fabrication partner, and fabricate the exhibit components between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. The STEM exhibit will be designed to help children practice critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
We Are Water MN is a traveling exhibition and community engagement initiative that emerged from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street project. Continued by MHC and several state partners, six greater Minnesota communities (Spicer, St. Peter, Red Wing, Sandstone, Lanesboro, and Detroit Lakes) hosted the exhibit in 2016-2017, and eight communities hosted the exhibit in 2018-2019 (Saint Paul, Bemidji, Crookston, Cloquet, Austin, Northfield, Grand Rapids, and Onamia).
Otter Cove Children's Museum will be a state-of-the-art educational and cultural center in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, providing a much-needed accessible, indoor play space for the children of Otter Tail County and beyond. Otter Cove was started and driven by a group of moms but the actual place, Otter Cove, is for children and the "critters" who live there; the otter in the Otter Romp Playground, the fox at the cafe, the beaver at the dentist office, the raccoon at the grocery store, the swan on the stage, the mice at the bookstore, and the skunk at the veterinarian.
This project will connect Somali youth to their rich cultural heritage through arts and language. The Somali Youth Cultural Empowerment project will ensure youth learn their native Somali language and culture through classes taught by Somali teachers and will participate in the cultural tradition of Danta Dance. A dance group will perform at cultural events, with music performed live from previous members of the Somali supergroup, Waaberi, and thus, share Somali art culture with Minnesotans.
The goal is to develop a “Basic Somali Language and Culture Class” curriculum. This course will be a tailored 20 – 30-hour training for people in the business community as well as Somali youth. Each class session with have an element of language and an element of culture.