The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is the biggest and best children’s museum in the world. That much is pretty indisputable. It’s so much fun that it often takes some effort to remember that Children’s Museum experiences are also educational.
Good thing the folks at the museum never forget. It’s why the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis has recently expanded its out-of-school-time programs in an effort to reach as many neighborhood kids as possible.
“We’ve had out-of-school-time programs at the Children’s Museum for two decades,” said Anthony Bridgeman, director of community initiatives at the Children’s Museum. “Programs like our Starpoint Summer Camp and our Museum Apprentice Program (MAP) have been around for years. But recently, we’ve expanded our scope—and added some new programs—because we are really focused on impacting young people in our neighborhood from a cradle to career perspective.”
These new programs include the Children’s Museum Explorers and After School Nights. The Explorers program runs from September to May, and is for 3rd - 5th graders who live in the neighborhood. It has a broad curriculum that covers art, culture, science, and college and career readiness—but the focus is on keeping kids interested while getting educated.
After School Nights also runs between September and May. And the program staff works with other community-based organizations that already provide after-school engagement activities. It gives these organizations a chance to broaden their capabilities while providing a new, exciting venue for kids to learn.
“The involvement of LISC has been key to our success with these new opportunities,” said Anthony. “They supported us in conducting a study with Social Legends, a consulting firm, to determine our opportunities and capacity for expanding our out-of-school-time offerings. Through the study, we enhanced our free membership program for neighborhood households to include free memberships for neighborhood-serving K-12 schools and preschools as well as home-based day cares.”
In addition to providing education for kids, the Children’s Museum is also focused on providing professional development for teachers that’s based on museum exhibits and is aligned with state curriculum standards. This keeps kids interested—and asking questions.
“We give kids and teachers access to resources they won’t find anywhere else. Our world-class exhibits and collection of over 120,000 artifacts spanning various cultures, traditions, and generations enable the museum to provide exciting opportunities for learning,” said Anthony. “
Now, with help from LISC, we’re moving closer to realizing our vision of the neighborhood supporting high-quality cradle to career educational resources, with our out-of-school-time programming being a key component in enhancing the lives of neighborhood kids.”