Sometimes, there’s so much you don’t see.
by Patricia Narciso
Like a ballerina dancing a flawless pirouette with practiced and bandaged feet. Like the perfectly executed wedding reception made possible by months and months of planning, and lots of help from friends. Though these may appear effortless, none of this happens without the utmost intentionality.
Often what distinguishes the good from the great is the depth of thought and commitment to purpose that lies beneath the surface. Successful public institutions know this.
Play Spaces That Are Purposefully Created
Children’s museums recognize that the building blocks of learning are embedded in the early experiences of a child. We see this in action every day as children engage in our specially-designed, interactive learning environment:
- The 5-year-old girl donning protective gear and sitting at the steering wheel of an authentic fire engine, imagining herself as tomorrow’s firefighter
- The 8-year-old boy manipulating and combining various-sized gears, observing the impact, paying attention to the relationship between action and result, and hearing from dad about how gears are essential in his job as an airplane engineer
- The brother and sister side-by-side building a fort from tree branches, touching natural materials while persisting with an activity and engaging in cooperation
- The toddler getting up-close-and-personal with a musician and her instrument, perhaps being invited to strum the guitar or strike the marimba, thus learning to appreciate art as well as observing the cause-and-effect of making music
Early childhood development happens through sensory experiences, hands-on engagement, and multidisciplinary approaches. In contrast to most other places kids go, where experiences are designed for adults, children’s museums purposefully create spaces that welcome children to explore and discover freely according to what captures their interest. Like the little girl playing firefighter, at children’s museums the child is sitting in the driver’s seat of his or her learning experience.
Be True To Who You Are
Among the ways museum professionals know we’re on track to mission is to look at how faithful we are to identified strategic commitments.
With any organization, over time commitments may shift or change. But it is crucial for mission-driven organizations such as ours to be intentional about the changes, with the understanding that any changes must bring us closer to achieving the social purpose that is our raison dêtre.
For those of us at Children’s Discovery Museum, this means our commitments align with our mission of creativity, curiosity, and lifelong learning for our community’s children.
One of our most enduring commitments is inspired by the river that runs beside our museum and bisects our city. Proximity to the Guadalupe River motivated early museum leaders to engage children and families in educational activities about the river. These early activities prompted a deepening commitment to environmental education, eventually leading to a partnership with local schools. Our BioSITE (Students Investigating Their Environment) program now provides a comprehensive scientific field study program to 1,000 elementary and secondary students each year.
Out of that commitment and expertise grew the concept of an outdoor education space located at the museum that would engage even the under age 10 crowd in nature study and inquiry-based learning. More than just another playground, our one-of-a-kind half-acre learning environment not only engages children in recreational activities, but also invites children and their families to explore and connect with the natural world.
Come and See
Want another example? Early on, there was recognition that our city and region are on the leading edge of the national trend in which United States is projected to become majority–minority in terms of ethnicity by 2043. It is already true that among children in California, no one population group dominates. In order to realize our museum’s purpose to serve all children in our community, we need to continually pay attention to finding ways to ensure that our audience base is representative of this diverse region. Exhibits and programs such as our Cultural Celebrations Series, our traveling Voyage to Vietnam exhibition, and the new pop-up community installation A Seat at the Table demonstrate that we take this commitment to heart.
You can learn more about our strategic commitments at www.cdm.org/mission/. Or better yet, come by for a visit and look beyond what you see. You may discover something more profound than what you expected!
