Vision for South Dakota Childrens Museum and Science Center

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Vision for South Dakota Childrens Museum
andScience Center

• Presentation to Brookings Board of Education.
  November 13, 2006.

Statistics provided by Association of Childrens
Museums www.childrensmuseums.org
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Presenters

• Dale Larson
• Vice President Larson Foundation
• Lisa Svobodny
• Marketing Manager Larson Manufacturing Company
• Dick Dempster
• Principal Architect Architecture Inc.

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History of Larson Family Funding and Interests

• Recreation
• Larson Park and Recreation Trail
• Larson Ice Arena
• Hillcrest Family Aquatic Center
• Youth Programs and Child Care
• Boys and Girls Club
• URC Intergenerational Day Care
• Low Cost Housing
• Habitat for Humanity
• Donation of storm doors to various organizations

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History of Larson Family Funding and Interests

• Programs for the Handicapped
• Easter Seals Booth at Brookings Art Festival
• Handicapped Child Care at URC
• Cultural Projects
• Performing Arts Center on SDSU Campus
• Education of Children
• Scholarships
• Childrens Museum

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General Proposal for Central

• Larson will purchase Central for 500,000
• Larson will help build a new school by pledging
  to pay for 30 of the cost
• The proposal is not endorsing a particular
  configuration of the elementary school system
• The museum will be a non-profit organization with
  a board of directors, consisting of a cross
  section of community residents, with bylaws for
  long range planning including succession issues
• The museum is intended to be a first class
  regional museum

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Childrens Museums and Science Centers
Buffalo Museum of Science Buffalo, New York
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Imagine

• Imagine a place full of color, light, and
  curiosity
• A place where creativity is around every corner

• A place where an Aha! moment is always
  happening
• A place built of bricks and wood from the past,
  where the leaders of the future come to explore,
  invent, and play

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Excerpt taken from the Childrens Museum of
Phoenix Exhibits Snapshot
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What is a Childrens Museum?

• A celebration of childhood
• Provides exhibits and programs that stimulate
  curiosity and motivate learning

• Exhibits that transcend age and experience
• Hands-on exploration and learning which empower
  children to set their own pace

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What is a Childrens Museum?

• Childrens museums light a creative spark for
  discovery and lifelong learning
• Children's museums vary greatly in style, size
  and content

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What is a Science Center?

• Foster excitement about learning
• Simulate curiosity, creativity, and
  problem-solving

• Hands on exhibits
• Activities for all ages
• Growing awareness of importance of non-school
  learning experiences in the sciences

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Childrens Museums in America

• 1975 38 Childrens Museums in the US
• 2006 More than 248 Childrens Museums, plus 80
  in planning and development phase
• 14 of childrens museums are located in rural
  areas
• 75 childrens museums are flagships in downtown
  revitalization projects
• Only two states in the Lower 48 states that do
  not have a childrens museum Idaho and South
  Dakota

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Benefits for Children

• Children have inherent attributes that help them
  learn
• Curiosity
• Keen senses
• Active bodies
• Enthusiasm

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
For while knowledge defines all we currently know
and understand, imagination points to all we
might yet discover and create. Albert Einstein
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Benefits for Children

• Children learn through
• Exploring and manipulating their environment
• Interacting with other people
• Playing

Children need the freedom and time to play.
Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.
Kay Redfield Jamison, Contemporary American
Professor of Psychiatry
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Benefits for Families

• Substantially different kind of leisure time
  activity
• Opportunity for parents as their childrens first
  educators

• Exhibits have unexpected elements and layers that
  intrigue grownups, too

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Benefits for the Community

• Economic development
• Additional visitors to our downtown area, keeping
  the area vital
• Childrens Museums are a regional destination

• Brings visitors in town for the Swiftel Center,
  athletic facilities, or SDSU to the downtown area
• Educational benefits

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Cooperative Opportunities

• SDSU
• Early Childhood Education Department
• Coursework
• Gain experience
• Other Majors
• School field trips
• Brookings School District
• Regional school districts
• Home schooled children and parents
• After school programs

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Cooperative Opportunities

• Community joint marketing opportunities
• Library
• Community Cultural Center
• McCrory Gardens
• Performing Arts Center
• Prairie Repertory Theatre
• South Dakota Art Museum
• Agricultural Heritage Museum
• The Brookings Art Council
• Downtown Brookings Inc.
• Brookings Summer Arts Festival
• Brookings Community Theater Presents

• Hillcrest Aquatic Center
• Dramatic Events
• Musical Events
• Chamber of Commerce
• Etc. !!!

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Childrens Museum Exhibits

• Combination of permanent and temporary exhibits
• Evolving spaces create excitement every time
• Generates return visitors
• Combination of possible exhibit sources
• Buy them from other museums
• Rent them from other museums or organizations
• Develop them with the help of exhibit designers
  and fabricators
• Develop exhibits ourselves in-house

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Typical Funding Structures

• Admissions
• Memberships or season passes
• Special programs and events
• Birthday parties
• Gift shop
• Government sources
• Donations, sponsorships, and fundraising
• Larson Family will establish an endowment fund
  for future operating expenses

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Staffing Structure

• Board of Directors
• Museum Director
• Permanent Staff
• Volunteers

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Attendance Estimates

• Estimated annual attendance 25,000
• LaCrosse, WI attendance 40,000
• Kearney, NE attendance 18,000
• Easy interstate access
• Brookings is family destination for sporting
  tournaments and cultural events
• Renowned Early Childhood Development program at
  SDSU

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Vision for Central

• Town Square
• Open green space
• Park feel gathering place
• Destination
• Building improvements
• New windows
• Add a lobby area
• Add central air
• Unique visual element
• Iconic piece
• Welcoming entrance
• Create sense of place

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Association of Childrens Museums

• Statistics taken from publications and articles
  provided by the Association of Childrens
  Museums, used with permission
• Photos courtesy of the Association of Childrens
  Museums and its members
• For more information on Childrens Museums, visit
  www.childrensmuseums.org

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Summary / Q A
Association of Childrens Museums ? 2005
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