Spotlight On

Mission:
The mission of the Brooklyn Children's Museum is to engage children in educational experiences through innovation and excellence in exhibitions, programs, and use of its collection. The Museum encourages children to develop an understanding of and respect for themselves, others and the world around them by exploring cultures, the arts, science and the environment.

Background:
A pioneer in education, the Brooklyn Children's Museum was the first museum created expressly for children when it was founded in 1899. Its success has sparked the creation of 300 children's museums around the world. With award-winning, hands-on exhibits and innovative use of its collections, the Museum engages children from pre-school to high school in learning adventures. It is the only children's museum in New York State to be accredited by the American Association of Museums.

Current Programs:

Museum Team - Launched in 1987, the Museum Team program focuses on children ages 7 to 18 in the Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant communities with free, after-school, weekend and summer educational and leadership programs. Older Museum Team participants mentor the younger children in the program as they develop workplace skills and apprentice with Museum staff. Over the past several years, Museum Team has won national renown and has become a model for museum and youth programs across the country. It is part of the YouthALIVE! national network of the Association of Science-Technology Centers, and has been recognized by the Dewitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Youth ALIVE program (1991), the Institute of Museum Services (1995) and the President's Commission on the Arts and Humanities (2002).

Community Access Initiative - This program enables children and families to visit Brooklyn Children's Museum free of charge, ensuring that no family wanting to experience the Museum will be prevented from doing so for financial reasons. The program includes the School Pass Program, which provides a free pass for one adult and one child to every student who visits the Museum with their class; the Community Partners Program, which provides free passes quarterly to churches, hospitals, businesses, associations, daycare and camp groups, afterschool programs, libraries, cultural institutions, and other community organizations; First Thursdays, which allows free admission for all visitors the first Thursday of each month, and Early Bird Entry, allowing free admission before noon for all visitors every Saturday and Sunday.

School Adventures Program - Through partnerships with schools, Brooklyn Children's Museum welcomes young people for school and summer camp visits, where they participate in educational and fun-filled activities and workshops. Outreach programs to schools include a new Museum-school partnership that pairs Brooklyn Children's Museum educators with teachers in two local districts. The project includes an annual Teachers Institute and the development of curriculum units that integrate science and culture for grades 1 through 4.

Early Learning Initiative - Designed for pre-school audiences and their caregivers, the Early Learning Initiative offers special workshops and performances for learning through play. The program includes resource materials for parents and caregivers, parent education programs, local outreach to schools, day care centers, and community organizations as part of New York State's "Universal Pre-kindergarten Initiative." The permanent exhibition Totally Tots, supports this focus and emphasizes the nationwide advocacy effort of the Association of Youth Museums.

Brooklyn Expedition - Brooklyn Expedition, an online adventure, takes youngsters on a virtual journey through the exhibitions and collections of Brooklyn Children's Museum, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Public Library. The program also introduces the user to on-line research tools and encourages participants to visit the institutions to conduct additional research with exhibits, collections and books. Young people can access the information through the Brooklyn Expedition Web site, at home, at any of the three participating institutions, or from school.

Funding Needs:
Brooklyn Children's Museum is currently seeking funding for its capital expansion project, to be completed in 2006. Fusing the new with the old building, the expansion will double the museum's current space to 102,000 square feet, creating exciting new possibilities for exploration, learning and fun. The new structure, an imaginative design by internationally acclaimed architect Rafael Viñoly, is slated to be the first "green" children's museum in the country.

Every month, the "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization located in the tri-state region (NY, NJ, or CT). The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," please use this submission form to send us a profile of your organization. Or e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to nyweb@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.