Association of Children's Museums

Registration is now open for InterActivity 2025 Uplifting the Community: Reaching New Heights Together, hosted in partnership with Explora Science Center and Children's Museum. Register now: https://buff.ly/3Yg9B96 ACM members can save up to $165 off the full conference price by registering with the First-in-Line rate, open now through November 15. Be sure to enter the promo code: FIRSTINLINEIA25 in your shopping cart in order to receive the full discount. Not an ACM member? Check out our website: https://buff.ly/3ZxfA8V 📸 Photo courtesy of the Children’s Museum of Yuma County

In the latest episode of Empowering Young Minds, Laura Huerta Migus, Deputy Director of Museum Services at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), shares her incredible journey, discusses the challenges museums face today, and highlights the transformative power of museums in underserved communities. To learn more about how museums are transforming communities and navigating today’s challenges, listen to the full podcast episode here: https://buff.ly/3UnEZkK , or check out the summary on our blog: https://buff.ly/4dWYCHn

TOMORROW is the last day to apply for Nurturing Numeracy Skills & Math Literacy in Children's Museums-- a cohort to develop and evaluate ideas, strategies, activities, and resources to nurture and increase math literacy in children and grow math confidence in parents and caregivers. Smaller children’s museums with annual operating budgets of less than $1 million are invited and encouraged to apply. For more information on eligibility and expectations, please visit our website at https://buff.ly/4dVaCcC. Interested in applying? Apply now: https://buff.ly/3BdBveb This program is funded by Simons Foundation International and administered by the Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture division.

The recently reopened museum, which was co-designed with local children, has been named the UK’s most Family Friendly Museum, Young V&A has received national recognition for its work to welcome children and families. Run by charity Kids in Museums, the national award is presented to one museum, gallery or heritage site in the UK that provides a great visitor experience for families. Young V&A is a full-scale transformation of the former V&A Museum of Childhood. It is now a completely reimagined free museum dedicated to children from birth to early teens and their families. Read more about Young V&A and the Family Friendly Award, here: https://buff.ly/48kgTgM Photo Credit: Young V&A town square © David Parry, courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum

In an increasingly complex world, children’s museums provide a place where all kids can learn through play with the caring adults in their lives. To fund the mission, children’s museums need to secure the financial resources necessary to carry out goals like fostering playful learning, creativity, and engagement for children and families. Children’s museum capital campaigns are more than just fundraising efforts; they are a way to build the physical and financial resources necessary to deepen educational impact and sustain the mission over time. Share how your children’s museum is securing funding for projects that align with your mission such as building new facilities, renovating existing spaces, expanding exhibits, or growing endowments as well as how you foster donor relationships by submitting your story ideas with ACM. If you or someone you know would like to contribute to this issue, please contact Halie Haskell at [email protected]

ACM is seeking photos showing off your museum's more dynamic exhibits! This month (in honor of InterActivity 2025 registration opening) we ask that you submit pictures showcasing your climbers, multi-level exhibits, hot-air balloons, or air and space exhibits. Fill out the short form and submit your pictures, here: https://buff.ly/3Yhvkic In an effort to make our website, publications, and social media more focused on the field and by the field, we are building up our photo archives. Each month, for the next year, we will give museums a prompt to share photos that capture the joy and excellence of children's museums in action!

There is a lot to do as a founder: people to meet, data to gather, outreach to run, board members to engage, legal requirements to consider, money to raise, plans to make… the list could rival the naughty and nice list. You are not learning how to fly the emerging museum plane; you are building while standing on solid ground. Letting go of the controls and asking for directions feels scary but often it is the only way to get to where you want to go. Check out these 5 tips for Smoother Emerging Museum Sailing in our latest edition of #H2H: https://buff.ly/4dDU88x #EmergingMuseum #Tips #SmoothSailing #ACM #HandToHand

All for Friends, Friends for All: Designing Intentionally Inclusive Programming Join us for another "Best of IA24" Webinar on Wednesday, October 23 – 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET Register Now: https://buff.ly/4ePlZUb Take your education programming beyond sensory rooms and adaptability boxes and explore intentionally inclusive programming for children with exceptionalities. Join museum colleagues and disability advocates who have journeyed into inclusive programming by designing programs that allow exceptional children to experience the museum and with their peers in a fully inclusive environment. Attendees will learn how to identify and utilize local resources as well as review strategies for curating and designing for exceptional children.

Are you interested in learning more about Museums for All, an initiative dedicated to expanding community access for underserved audiences? In this live webinar, staff from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Association of Children’s Museums, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will share how and why over 1,400 museums of all kinds participate in the program. The event will include a Q&A session. Interested? Register now: https://buff.ly/3ZReIyR Already planning to attend? Share the above link with your network to help us get the word out!

Mark your calendars for our October Hangouts by Job Function! First up, we have Museum Financeand HR (Museum Members Only)-- October 8th at 4 p.m. As a reminder, access information can be found in the ACM Member Resources Community on Groupsite! If you haven’t joined the ACM Groupsite, email [email protected]. If you’re not yet an ACM member, check out our website: https://buff.ly/3ZxfA8V #ProfessionalDevelopment #ChildrensMuseums