ACTON DISCOVERY MUSEUM HOW TO
We have increasingly wrestled with how to take concrete steps to be visibly and demonstrably sustainable in our own operations as a key strategy for inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards. We have also taken steps to advocate publicly for these values, including signing the We Are Still In (WASI) pledge, a joint declaration of support for climate action, signed by more than 3,900 CEOs, mayors, governors, tribal leaders, college presidents, faith leaders, health care executives, and others joining America Is All In, a coalition to develop a national climate strategy supporting the Town of Acton in declaring a climate emergency becoming a member of the Acton Climate Coalition and presenting programs addressing environmental topics through our Discovery Museum Speaker Series. Play.” This change reflected our programmatic evolution, elevating our message that getting kids outside is a first step to developing an appreciation for the natural world and a sense of responsible stewardship of its resources. Coinciding with the opening of our expanded and renovated, accessible building in 2018, we also changed our longtime tagline, “Hands On, Minds at Play,” to “Science.
ACTON DISCOVERY MUSEUM SERIES
With a goal of encouraging “every kid, every day, outside to play,” we also deepened our Backyard and Beyond program series to offer a range of year-round outdoor experiences for children of all ages and levels of comfort with outdoor play. The following year, we opened Discovery Woods, an award-winning, one-acre, fully accessible nature playscape and treehouse.
In 2015, we hired our first Outdoor and Environmental Educator. Over the last decade, our environmental work focused on the goal of connecting kids with nature, both to raise awareness and promote the physical and mental health benefits of outdoor play. It was not until 2013 that the museum was in a place to contemplate a future campus renovation and initiate a capital campaign to fund it, this time with a focus on accessibility-by then, a pressing capital need and programmatic focus. Unfortunately, the 2008 recession forced the museum to focus almost exclusively on shoring up finances and building our audience. Two years later, in 2009, a new Master Plan for Campus Expansion included a concept for building a new Environmental Discovery Museum featuring photovoltaic panels, a windmill, a composting area, and an aquifer recharge zone. Asserting that “we are keenly aware of the interrelationships of humans and the natural world and our obligations to be good stewards of that world,” the organization adopted a vision statement to become “a premier community museum that embodies discovery learning and environmental stewardship.” Formal goals included becoming a “green” organization and encouraging others to take responsibility for the environment. Connecting kids and families with nature and operating sustainably have long been important goals for us.ĭiscovery Museum first articulated its commitment to environmental sustainability in 2007. The museum has a strong focus on science and nature, with 4.5 acres of accessible, outdoor exhibit space adjacent to 180 acres of town-owned, wooded trails that we program. Over the last decade, we have grown from two small museums into one large museum with pre-pandemic attendance over 200,000 and a $2.7 million budget. This year we are celebrating Discovery Museum’s fortieth year. Building on a Foundation of Environmental Focus
I share the experience of the Discovery Museum in the hope that any insights it yields will help us all take more action and inspire our visitors to do the same. And hope, Fraser says, “is a targeted way of seeing the future and taking steps to get to that future.”Ĭhildren’s museums are all about hope for the future, but actions to fight climate change that are environmentally positive have not been a focus for many of them.
In the face of it all, how do we create hope? John Fraser, noted conservation psychologist, has stated that a focus on solutions and actions can reduce fear and increase hope. The news about climate change, the environment, and the state of our planet is frightening and discouraging. This article is part of the “Children’s Museums and Climate Change” issue of Hand to Hand.Ĭlick here to read other articles in the issue.
0 kommentar(er)
