From the President/CEO and Board Chair
2023 at The Children’s Museum was packed with exciting exhibit openings, thought-provoking programs, workshops and events, busy school visits, and important initiatives to serve our guests, neighbors, and the larger community.
We are continually proud of the work our staff, volunteers, advisers, and partners put forth to create wonderful experiences for our visitors. There are many highlights of 2023, but one event in particular stood out to us.
In September, we opened Sacred Places, highlighting meaningful sacred locations around the world. Just prior to its debut, we hosted an Opening Celebration dinner, bringing together community advisers from near and far, partners, and donors. We even welcomed young people who are featured in the exhibit, representing their communities in Jordan, Nepal, Curaçao, and Rapa Nui! In addition to exploring the exhibit, we listened to speakers representing different local religious traditions and heard blessings in various languages. It was a beautiful event. And it reminded us of the importance of experiencing worlds other than our own and the power of what we can accomplish when we engage with the community.
Introducing new worlds to our visitors was a significant part of our year. We began by exploring the world of Dinosaur Train, took trips to the worlds of Minecraft and BOOville, and ended with a visit to the enchanting world of WinterFaire, our brand-new wintertime offering.
Our partnerships and collaborations helped us take the world of The Children’s Museum into the broader community too. In one of the many ways we honored Juneteenth, our Community Initiatives team participated in Indy Juneteenth’s celebration at Military Park. We welcomed several new food vendors at Museum by Moonlight. As part of our Sacred Places research, staff attended a celebration at a local Sikh Gurdwara with community leader and artist KP Singh.
We also began an educational program exchange with the Gunma Museum of Natural History in Japan and continued to work with Naturalis Biodiversity Center, our Jurassic Mile® dig partner based in the Netherlands.
We loved how the museum provided the setting for two unique events that helped us reach new audiences. Local band Premium Blend held two “Space Jams” concerts inside the Schaefer Planetarium in Beyond Spaceship Earth. And our own paleontologist Laura Rooney starred in a promo episode for Marvel’s new Mech Strike Mechasaurs (which are action figures, by the way) filmed in Dinosphere®. How cool is that? Watch it here.
In November 2023, the board of trustees approved our new strategic plan and mission, vision, and values that we implemented in early 2024. With so many changes in culture, focus, and priorities since our last strategic plan, it was the right time to refresh our core values and align all museum efforts to the same direction and goals. Thank you to the 250-plus constituents who provided feedback during the process.
While looking back on a successful 2023, we’re simultaneously turning our attention to 2025, the museum’s centennial. In addition to a yearlong celebration, exciting plans are underway: the development of new traveling exhibits, updates to permanent exhibits, and new initiatives that will help us better serve the diversity of our guests.
Just as we’ve done for the first 100 years, we will continue to introduce worlds of joy, wonder, and curiosity—for all visitors—in our next 100. We are so thankful for your support that allows that to happen.
Jennifer Pace Robinson
President and CEO
Sally Schacht
Chair of the Board of Trustees
