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The Children’s Museum has established a variety of programs to support our city, our neighborhoods, and the families that fill them. The Extraordinary Transformations campaign seeks to maintain and grow these programs. Your donation makes an impact on visitors tiny and tall. You crerate experiences and memories for ALL. In the My Museum blog series, we’re showing you just that.
Part of the Mid-North Promise Program is the After-School Explorers program. Since 2014, on Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons from September through May, youth in grades 3-5 from six surrounding neighborhoods* can be seen in the museum exploring exhibits, participating in programs, and going behind the scenes. The program focuses on community and belonging, youth voice and agency, critical thinking, college awareness, and curiosity and self-discovery.
Over the past three years, the explorers have...
- Journeyed back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the earth
- Traveled to the other side of the Earth to discover modern-day life in China
- Uncovered the world of archaeology as they studied an Egyptian tomb, a Caribbean shipwreck, and the Terra Cotta Warriors
- Studied the world of film and TV where they wrote, recorded, directed, and produced their own commercial
- Became entrepreneurs as they learned about how to run a Lemonade Day stand
- Explored the museum’s vast collection of artifacts.
They've also had the opportunity to venture out into the neighborhood on a variety of field trips including local colleges, and other educational institutions like art museums and libraries. These field trips expose them to careers, post-secondary education, and resources that are available to them within the neighborhood.
Parents have shared about the positive impact that the program has had on their families—
“I have seen Explorers invest solidly in the many at-risk youth in my neighborhood by not only giving them a safe place to grow and develop after school, but by exposing them to what they can aim for in the future.”
The program has also received statewide recognition for giving voice and empowerment to staff, promoting engagement and partnership with families, engaging new champions and supporters, and advancing the value of out-of-school learning. In April 2016, After-School Explorers was one of six statewide finalists for the 2016 "Out-of-School Time Champion" given by the Indiana Afterschool Network.
The Explorers themselves value their behind-the-scenes experiences, their VIP status within the museum, the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of subjects, the chance to make new friends, and the wonderful teachers who run the program. They have truly embraced the program and it is always bittersweet to see the school year end.
As explorers grow up, they tend to become involved again as Museum Apprentice Program participants, museum volunteers...and some explorers even grow up to become staff! Being a foundation and witness to the extraordinary transformations of these tiny adventurers is what keeps the museum motivated to maintain and grow its programs. After all, impact starts small!
Learn more or donate to the Extraordinary Transformations campaign.
*Crown Hill, Highland Vicinity, Historic Meridian Park, Mapleton-Fall Creek, Meridian Highland, and Watson Park.
