2014 ANNUAL UPDATE
Letter from Karyn Flynn, CEO of the Bay Area Discovery Museum Dear Museum Supporter, The past year has been one of tremendous growth and accomplishment at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. With your support, we were able to activate our mission: to ignite and advance creative thinking for all children. By the numbers, this translates into: • 55,000+ free or reduced admissions •5 0,000th visit through Connections, our flagship outreach program • 8,500 school field trips to the Museum •4 0% increase in Family Access memberships for families who cannot afford the full price of membership From our new research-based programs to ensuring our work is accessible to the broader community, we’re committed to fulfilling the Museum’s promise as an institution of early childhood education. We are delighted to share the successes detailed in the following pages with you — made possible with your support. Thank you for your partnership.
Karyn Flynn
New and Notable at the Museum This Year (a Snapshot)… Art Excursions: Museum-led field trips that introduce young children to artists and their work. Excursions have included Andy Goldsworthy’s Woodline in the Presidio and the murals in San Francisco’s Mission District. We also partnered with SFMOMA to explore the work of Mark di Suvero, giving children an opportunity to meet the artist and ask questions about his artistic process.
rtist-in-Residency: The Museum supports A 2 to 4 residencies a year for a wide range of artists — from painters and musicians, to dancers and playwrights. Their projects range from onsite installations to participatory performances. In spring 2014, Susie Buchholtz held a series of kite-making workshops for visitors which culminated in a permanent kite sculpture installation in our Entry Pavilion.
Not-A-School: Entering its third year, Not-A-School remains the only licensed preschool in a California museum and the only preschool located in a national park.
Very Young Maker Program: Joining the Maker Movement, the Museum has developed a monthly program that offers children a chance to explore how things work by taking them apart, planning, testing, and making their own creations.
Research Toy Program: With funding from the National Science Foundation’s National Living Labs initiative, we’re launching a program to test research toys with Museum visitors onsite.
n-site Research Lab: 1,000+ children have O participated in research studies at the Museum with our academic partners: UC Berkeley, Mills College and Stanford.
Re-Thinking School visits: We are launching a new series of PreK – 3rd grade school visits focused on STEM learning, such as “Push, Pull, Crash,” “Explore the Shore” and “Fairytale Engineering.”
I MLS: The Museum’s Center for Childhood Creativity has received a two-year $150,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The grant will support the training of 500 PreK and K-5 California teachers by 2016 through our “Building Blocks of Creativity” professional development program, helping teachers develop foundational teaching skills for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), the inquiry-based learning process, and creative thinking.
California State Superintendent Awards: The Museum was awarded The California State Superintendent award for “Excellence in Museum Education” for the Center’s exemplary professional development program for teachers. To date, more than 600 teachers have participated in the Center’s professional development programs.
Connections Connections is a partnership between the Museum and 34 subsidized preschools. Last year, the program brought 1,400 low-income children — many of whom are children of color, recent immigrants, and English-language learners — to the Museum for five on-site field trips.
Last year in Connections: 182 school buses 1,400+ children 8,600+ child and adult visits 347 hours of Museum-led teacher professional development 71 preschool classrooms in Marin, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties
Coming up this year: 7th year for Connections 12 additional classrooms 1,550 students in the program
And…the big news! This fall, we celebrated the 50,000th visit through the Connections program. To ensure the future of this important program, we’re raising $50,000 for 50,000 visits: a generous donor has pledged to match every dollar donated up to $25,000. Help us spread the word.
Center for Childhood Creativity Launched three years ago, the Museum’s Center for Childhood Creativity provides parents and educators with the latest research and the everyday tools to impact children at home, in the classroom and beyond.
Last year, the Center: •P ublished Shared Discoveries, a white paper commissioned by The Walt Disney Company that explores the important role of parent-child interactions in early learning and development. •P resented at the Learning and the Brain conference and the New York Maker Faire, among others. •C ontinued to expand its consulting practice. Our client list includes Nick Jr, The Walt Disney Company and Green Toys.
And, the Center is embarking on exciting new initiatives: •A new Parent PhD program: an innovative new parent education program that gives parents and caregivers access to the Center’s cutting-edge research and expertise in raising creative, confident learners. Topics include “Building Creative Thinking in Your Toddler” and “Stop Disciplining and Start Connecting.” •C ompiling and publishing a compendium of activities that promote creative intelligence in children ages 4 – 12. • T he publication of a white paper on the cognitive, social, and emotional development needed to thrive in kindergarten through third grade. The research will underlie a new School Readiness Program for children who may be at risk of starting kindergarten behind their peers, with a goal of narrowing the achievement gap for low-income children.
Join Us at These Fun Museum Events Goblin Jamboree Family Fundraiser Saturday, October 18 – Sunday, October 19, 2014 Guests will experience the Museum transformed into a spooktacular Halloween wonderland complete with Witches and Wizards school, pony rides, petting zoo, live entertainment and more. This year, we’re offering new attractions like Haunted Cove and a Ghostly Train Station with glowing trains and tables that will thrill and delight young children.
Snow Days Family Fundraiser Friday, December 12 – Sunday, December 14, 2014 A new family fundraiser brought to you in partnership with our friends at Northstar California Resort. Bundle up the whole family for a fantastically frozen good time. Explore the Museum transformed into a winter wonderland, complete with REAL SNOW. Play in the snow, enjoy special winter-themed activities and attractions, and explore the science of snow.
Creativity Forum 2015 Thursday, March 12, 2015 Luncheon 12 – 1:30 p.m. The Fairmont San Francisco How to Spark Innovation and Creative Thinking in Children and Why This Matters for Success Later in Life. Featuring: Authors Daniel Pink & Dr. Tony Wagner Join us for a conversation bringing together two unique perspectives on innovation and leadership in the 21st century. Best-selling author Dan Pink is an expert in motivation and creativity in industry. Tony Wagner, also a best-selling author, has spent his career examining innovative practices in education and parenting. Together they will discuss the skill demands of a dynamic, global economy, as well as divulge the best-practices they’ve discovered in their own research looking at successful leaders, educators and parents.
Playdate Friday, May 8, 2015 Enjoy the Museum by night during our annual party for grown-ups. We’re keeping the theme under wraps for now, but be prepared for a colorful surprise!
Fort Baker, 557 McReynolds Road, Sausalito, CA 94965
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