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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 create experiences and memories for ALL. In the My Museum blog series, we’re showing you just that.
StarPoint began in 1986 as a way to expose neighborhood youth to the museum by learning through the arts, sciences, and humanities. Now, as a part of the Mid-North Promise Program, the summer camp gives neighborhood children ages 6 to 12 the chance to explore learning beyond the classroom, in an extraordinarily unique environment—the world’s biggest and best children’s museum—during a time of year that many neighborhood youths are at their most vulnerable for learning loss.
Our instructors are certified teachers, the curriculum supports academic standards, and each classroom is equipped with interns and paid assistants (often Museum Apprentice Program members) who tend to be pursuing careers in education or social work and service.
Campers spend up to four weeks, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., between school years to explore everything the museum has to offer—and then some. Campers see the museum as a typical visitor, but also get to see behind-the-scenes action and talk to the grown-ups that make it all happen. The camp incorporates a variety of hands-on activities including gallery visits and programs, guest speakers, and library visits. Of course, there’s still time allotted for play, and a healthy lunch is provided for campers everyday. One more bonus? Our campers go on weekly field trips outside the museum to places that tie into the themed curriculum. Trips have included Link Observatory, Peru Amatuer Circus, and other cultural institutions like the Indianapolis Museum of Art or the Indiana State Museum. An end-of-camp celebration is held on the last day of camp every summer.
Some of our campers are also After-School Explorers, and pursue experiential education throughout the school year! Furthermore, as our campers grow up, they tend to become involved again as Museum Apprentice Program participants, museum volunteers...and we’ve even had some campers grow up to become staff! Being a foundation and witness to the extraordinary transformations of students is what keeps the museum motivated to maintain and grow these programs. Because there’s one thing we’ve learned from countless StarPoint campers..., impact starts small.
Learn more or donate to the Extraordinary Transformations campaign.
