S U M M E R 2012
N E W S F O R S U P P O R T E R S O F P L E A S E T O U C H M U S E U M ® AT M E M O R I A L H A L L
On your mark,
SPRING 2010
get set, stroll!
Join us on Sunday, September 16 at 8:00 a.m. for our 3rd Annual Stroller in the Park. Stroller in the Park puts a Please Touch Museum spin on the conventional 5K and takes place in Philadelphia’s scenic Fairmount Park. This family-friendly, all-inclusive event promotes the Museum’s Get Up and Grow™ initiative.
NEWS FOR SUPPORTERS OF PLEASE
Get up and Grow, created by Please Touch Museum in 2009, is a multi-phase initiative designed to enhance the lives of families by promoting healthy living for children. Our healthy lifestyles programming is C lighthearted, of the TOU H M U interactive, S E U M and ® content-based. A T M E MThe O goal RIA L initiative HALL is to teach lifelong habits that result in healthier, happier families through resources, exhibits, messaging, events, and open-ended play experiences. Stroller in the Park is one of our anchor events solidifying Please Touch Museum’s commitment to active living for children and their caregivers. In addition to strolling a beautiful 5K path in Fairmount Park, the event features: • A health pavilion, presented by Whole Foods Market, and a healthy snacks tent, presented by the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association • A fun morning stretch with the Phillie Phanatic to kick off the walk • Free admission into the Museum
Inside this issue: • ACES Graduation Celebration
• Stroller t-shirts and gift bags with healthy lifestyles information and giveaways • A medal for every participating child • Exclusive morning access to the Museum before it opens to the public that Sunday morning Individual and Group Tickets are Available
• Great Friend to Kids 2012
• General Registration: $30 for Individual Stroll, $100 for a Stroll 4-pack
• Play Without Boundaries
• Walk-up registration will begin at 7:30 a.m.
• PNC Supports PTM Financial Literacy Program 42 31 Aven u e of th e Rep ub l i c P hi l ad el p hi a, PA 1 9 131
• Member Registration: $20 for Individual Stroll, $65 for a Stroll 4-pack
For information about registration, please contact Margaret Walker, Events and Projects Manager, at 215.581.3175 or mwalker@pleasetouchmuseum.org.
“ E N R I C H I N G T H E L I V E S O F C H I L D R E N B Y C R E AT I N G L E A R N I N G O P P O R T U N I T I E S T H R O U G H P L AY. ”
A NOTE FROM YOUR FRIENDS IN PLAY
red hot
summer! With the sun blazing, the temperatures rising, and the humidity humidifying, the dog days of summer can confine even the most ardent fitness enthusiast on the couch. But through our Get Up and Grow™ programming, we’ve been playing our way to health and wellness all summer long.
Get Up and Grow is Please Touch Museum’s healthy lifestyles initiative, promoting health and happiness through programs, events, and messaging that reflect our mission of learning through play. The initiative includes our fundraising event Stroller in the Park and our annual PTM Grow Games™, both of which you can read more about in this issue. The Museum has been growing in other ways this summer. We are excited to announce an addition to our executive leadership team. We proudly welcome Lynn McMaster as our new Executive Vice President! Ms. McMaster was most recently the Manager of Planning for the Canadian Children’s Museum and the Canadian Postal Museum at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. In this role, she supervised the planning of exhibitions and programs at these two museums, also working to form partnerships with other national and international cultural and heritage organizations. She previously worked as the Program Manager and Interpretive Specialist for the Canadian Children’s Museum. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Children’s Museums from 2000 to 2006 and before that served as a member of ACM’s Program Committee. She earned her Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Regina in 1980. Ms. McMaster brings to Please Touch Museum an extraordinary expertise in the creation and management of exhibits and educational programs, as well as a strong aptitude for financial management and strategic planning. In addition to her work in the museum world, she also has experience as an educator of young children, having begun her career as a teacher in Saskatchewan in 1978. Her dual background as a museum executive and an educator will truly serve to enrich the Museum’s programs and services for years to come.
Visitor Information Hours of Operation Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Sunday, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Development Office Phone: 215.581.3162 Fax: 215.581.3183 Email: brafter@pleasetouchmuseum.org
Admission Members: Free Under the age of one: Free Children and Adults: $16 Phone: 215.581.3181 Email: info@pleasetouchmuseum.org Web: www.pleasetouchmuseum.org
Stay Informed & Keep In Touch! If you have any questions or feedback about this issue of The Play by Play, please email brafter@pleasetouchmuseum.org. And feel free to send us your stories about special moments at Please Touch Museum. Our history is made by your memories! Please Touch Museum Board of Directors Officers Sally W. Stetson, Chairperson
The Honorable Vincent Hughes, represented by Marcella Daniels
Susan M. Shea, Vice Chair
The Honorable Vanessa Lowery Brown
Sandy Wax, Vice Chair Kristen Vieira Traynor, Treasurer
Michael DiBerardinis, represented by Mark A. Focht
Woody Rosenbach, Secretary
Alan Greenberger
Julie Savitch, Assistant Secretary
Leroy Nunery, II, ED.D.
Members Bruce Aronow The Honorable Blondell Reynolds Brown, represented by Candice Woods
Lorna Horsey Emeritus Nancy D. Kolb, President Emeritus
David Buck
Portia Sperr, Founding Executive Director
Sharon G. Coghlan
Nora Mead Brownell
Joseph Fanelli Leslie Gillin
Elizabeth B. Cartmell, Immediate Past Chair,
Andy Kaplan
Anne F. Hamilton
Barbara Klock
Bruce Hooper
Nancy Peterson
L. Gie Liem
Colleen J. Rooney
Lee A. Rosengard, Esq.
Juliet Greenfield Six Bennett Thomas Ex-Oficio Members The Honorable Michael Nutter, represented by Valarie Allen The Honorable Anna Verna, represented by The Honorable Curtis Jones, Jr.
Welcome, Lynn!
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Make Your Mark at Memorial Hall
Home Play Kits Arrive at Please Touch Museum
Join our paver project and make your mark on Memorial Hall. Honor your family, friends, and loved ones with a custom-engraved paver at the entrance to Please Touch Museum. Pavers are installed annually. For more information, please contact Margaret Walker at mwalker@pleasetouchmuseum.org or 215.581.3175.
On Saturday, June 16, the Museum assembled 120 Home Play Kits with the help of 35 Citigroup volunteers. Home Play Kits, supported by Citigroup, come complete with activities that foster interactive, childdirected, and open-ended play. The Kits are distributed to parents that participate in Parents Empowered by Play, the Museum’s parenting and education skills-enhancement program. The program addresses the educational, cultural and social needs of low-income, at-risk families through programming at Please Touch Museum and various community agencies
Great Friend to Kids Awards 2012
Parents Empowered by Play’s child development, parenting, and personal development workshops aim to educate vulnerable parents about positive family dynamics, effective parenting styles, coping skills, and healthy child development. The curriculum also focuses on nurturing, strengthening, and supporting parents, while offering them resources that facilitate play with their children. The Museum extends a warm thank you to Citigroup’s Don Haskin, Senior Vice President of Community Learning, and J. Bill Knott, Banking Director of the South Atlantic Division, for helping to make the Kits a reality. Citi Community Development leads Citigroup’s commitment to achieving financial inclusion and economic empowerment for underserved individuals, families, and communities by working with nonprofit and public agencies across the country to expand access and to financial products and services, build sustainable business solutions, and forge innovative partnerships.
This fall Please Touch Museum will host its 17th Annual Great Friend to Kids Awards (GFTK) on Thursday, November 8! The Great Friend to Kids Awards honors individuals and organizations with ties to the Philadelphia region that have made outstanding contributions that enrich the lives of children.
Program Room Art
A Selection Committee chaired by Charisse Lillie, Vice President of Community Investment, Comcast Corporation, was responsible for selecting this year’s winners from a list of remarkable nominees. We are proud to announce this year’s winning individuals and organizations: • Lifetime Achievement Award: Shelly D. Yanoff • The Jimmy Rollins Family Foundation • PECO • Christine Rouse • Rubye’s Kids Join Please Touch Museum on Thursday, November 8 for a special evening event in honor of these local heroes. All proceeds support the Museum’s nationally recognized hands-on exhibits and programs. In 2011, thanks in part to the efforts of our events committee chaired by Sandy Wax, the Museum raised an unprecedented $196,000. This year’s events committee will also be chaired by Ms. Wax. With your help, we can reach new fundraising milestones!
This masterpiece was created by Lyla, age 4, in Please Touch Museum’s Program Room. The Program Room, located in the southwest pavilion of Memorial Hall, features a variety of arts-based learning experiences, which are rotated on a monthly basis. It is open daily, from 10 AM – 4 PM Monday through Friday and 12 PM – 4 PM on Sundays.
For information about sponsorship opportunities, vendor opportunities, or registration, please contact Margaret Walker, Events and Projects Manager, at 215.581.3175 or mwalker@pleasetouchmuseum.org.
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Celebrating Our
Please Touch Museum®’s Achievement through Community, Education and Skill Building
With the beginning of the school year weeks away, Please Touch Museum hosted the annual Kindergarten Mixer, welcoming a recordbreaking number of incoming kindergarteners and their families! Kindergarten Mixer, part of Please Touch Museum’s School Readiness Initiative, is a free, fun-filled evening of entertainment, educational activities, and information for families with children entering kindergarten in the fall of 2012. Visitors who registered in advance enjoyed: • Free admission to Please Touch Museum from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Please Touch Museum bade bon voyage to the five graduating seniors in our Achievement through Community Service, Education, and Skillbuilding (ACES) program on Tuesday, June 5 at our annual end-of-theschool-year celebration. ACES is the Museum’s year-round learning and mentoring program for students from Philadelphia high schools. Students are recruited as freshman and stay with the program through all four years of high school, receiving academic support, college preparation, and professional mentoring.
• Entertainment for the whole family, including a special presentation of “Pinky Goes to Kindergarten” in the Please Touch Playhouse Theater • A special gift for each kindergartner: a brand new backpack filled with books, school supplies, a tee shirt, and more Our School Readiness initiative is a multi-platform program intended to educate parents on the importance of the kindergarten transition and to help them navigate their children’s entrance into formal schooling. Kindergarten Mixer is one of many School Readiness programs developed by the Museum’s Department of Community Learning. Please Touch Museum provides additional support to children transitioning into kindergarten through the Books to Know, Books to Grow! and Passport to Kindergarten.
The event was attended by the students and their families, Please Touch Museum staff and board members, and sponsors of the program. The Museum’s Youth Programs Manager Jemella Flamer gave an emotional address to the students, congratulating them for their hard work and wishing them luck in the future. Ms. Flamer’s close relationship with each student is a central aspect of the program, and graduates took the opportunity to thank her for her enduring support and nurturing of their potential. The students also received an encouraging speech from UPS Community Affairs Department Head Tony Heath. Mr. Heath commended the students for their success and counseled them that hard work and perseverance will enable them to surmount any obstacle in life.
Please Touch Museum thanks UPS and First Financial Group for their ongoing support of Kindergarten Mixer. For information about sponsorship opportunities, vendor opportunities, or registration for the 2013 Kindergarten Mixer, please contact Margaret Walker, Events and Projects Manager, at mwalker@pleasetouchmuseum.org. or 215.581.3175.
We would like to congratulate this year’s graduating students: • Prince Dwuye • Shannon Simmons
• Brandon Jones • Raechelle Wells
• Daniel Martin
A Selection from our Collection: 1-2-3- RollerSkates
All five students graduated high school and have been accepted to at least one college or university. Thank you to Tony Heath and the UPS Foundation for their continued support of the ACES program!
Materials: Plastic, Metal Manufactured by: Fisher-Price Manufacture Date: 1991 Object #: 1993.7.5
We would like to thank the following organizations for their support of the ACES program: • Lincoln Financial Foundation • Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation • Beneficial Foundation • Bank of America Charitable Foundation • Anne & Philip Glatfelter III Family Foundation • UPS • The Joseph Kennard Skilling Foundation
Colorful roller skates for young children just learning how to skate. Beginners can learn to “skate-walk,” and as they progress, begin to skate. Three settings allow skates to be adjusted to skill level. 1: wheels locked. 2: forward only. 3: free rolling.
The following organizations give to the ACES program through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program: • Verizon Wireless • CIGNA Foundation • Universal Health Services Inc
• ViroPharma Incorporated • Elliott-Lewis
Gift of Fisher-Price Toys
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A Cool partnership
PNC Supports PTM Financial Literacy Program
Please Touch Museum recently held a special event to unveil our newest exhibit, the Rita’s Italian Ice Cart. This new addition to our Roadside Attractions exhibit zone replicates a real-world mobile water ice cart, complete with kid-sized uniforms, serving utensils and other related props. The aspiring Italian ice dispenser can choose what flavors are for sale and serve up the pretend frosty treats. Please Touch Museum’s President and CEO Laura Foster was joined by Lauriena Borstein, Senior VP of Operations at Rita’s, to celebrate the occasion. Before the curtain was lifted the, Museum’s Music Coordinator Monette Sudler serenaded guests with classic popular and children’s songs and a special tune written to commemorate the opening.
Last year, the PNC Foundation awarded Please Touch Museum a prestigious two-year, $200,000 grant to expand its financial literacy education programming. For Me, For You, For Later: First Steps to Spending, Sharing, and Saving was created as part of PNC’s Grow Up Great Initiative to help children and their grown-ups share experiences in learning basic concepts in financial literacy, an education that will impact their lives now and in the future. PNC’s contribution has helped strengthen financial literacy education in the Museum’s programs, community outreach, and exhibits.
As part of the ceremony, Please Touch Museum CEO announced the name of a new Italian Ice flavor, to be sold exclusively at Please Touch Museum. The name for the new flavor was decided by a vote on the Museum’s Facebook page, from a list of candidates created by our visitors. The tasty treat will henceforth be known as “Carousel Cherry”, in honor of the Museum’s fully restored 1908 Dentzel Caoursel. Carousel Cherry Italian Ice is being sold at the Rita’s Italian Ice cart in the Please Taste Café.
Our Community Learning department created a special Play Kit based on the Museum’s Kids Store to teach financial literacy concepts in pre-K classrooms. The Kids Store Play Kit was introduced during a program at Dunbar Elementary School in Philadelphia. The Museum received overwhelmingly positive feedback from those who participated. One teacher wrote, “I believe the children now understand the importance of saving, spending, and sharing.” As a result of PNC’s focus on early childhood education and financial literacy, we will now be able to offer this curriculum free-of-charge to low-income schools that cannot afford outside programming as part of our Museum Without Walls program. Elements of financial literacy learning have been incorporated throughout the Museum in the Program Room, the Creative Dramatics Playcorner, and in our collections displays. PTM Puppet Pals and Museum staff engage visitors in discussions about decision making and financial planning in every exhibit. We look for opportunities to include the “making choices: need it or want it?” lesson along with lessons surrounding the idea of value. Money is discussed in natural settings such as the cash registers in the Shop Rite Supermarket, as children select items to purchase they are encouraged to questions “how much do these items cost?” and “ what quantity should I buy?” These dialogues follow our Learning About Earning initiative.
The Centennial Guild is Please Touch Museum’s upper-level VIP membership program. Join or renew today and enjoy benefits like exclusive access to early morning openings held throughout the year. Members of the Centennial Guild enjoy all the benefits of a Premier Membership PLUS additional benefits designed to enhance museum experiences and provide for VIP treatment. Guild members receive exclusive entrance to the museum before and after hours, private VIP entrances to the museum on busy days like Countdown to Noon™ and member events such as Monster Mash!
We thank the PNC Foundation for their generous support!
“
In addition, a portion of every Centennial Guild membership is a meaningful charitable donation in support of our Museum Access Programs, which provide free admission for families that are unable to afford to visit the museum. Centennial Guild members make a difference! To join, renew, or learn more about the Centennial Guild, please visit our website or contact Meg Mitchell, Director of Individual and Major Gifts, at mmitchell@pleasetouchmuseum.org or 215.581.3166.
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We love our Centennial Guild membership! The membership provides us with VIP treatment and excluseive access to the museum, especially for events like Countdown to Noon. -A. Archambault, Centennial Guild Member
“
An Enchanted Evening
Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg KPMG LLP Penn National Gaming Foundation Salveson Stetson Group Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel The Malvern School Woodloch Pines Resort Peter Pan Brooke Smith & Woody Rosenbach Carol Spelkoman & Carol Underwood Chadwick Service Company Christine & Brian Lobley Dr. Topher Collier and Family Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Jennifer & Mark Pearlman Liza Cartmell Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP Mr. & Mrs. Todd M. Cassidy Nancy R. Peterson & Michael C. Gross Photobelle Photobooth Plymouth Nursery and Landscape PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Roderick & Kathy Russell The Brooks Family The Jones Group The Littman Family The Mastrobuono Family The McMenamin Family The Radley Family The Savitch Family WolfBrown
On Saturday, April 21, Please Touch Museum was delighted to welcome a multitude of literary characters, pirates, princesses, monsters, heroes, aliens, and at least one fairy-princess dinosaur tamer for our annual Storybook Ball. The assembled host joined us for an enchanted evening of food, dancing, and family-friendly fun. In addition to the evening-long dance party in Hamilton Hall, our guests enjoyed carriage rides, story times, performances, and delectable cuisine from Brûlée Catering. Each visiting family also received a goody bag containing free books and a variety of other giveaways. Adding to the celebration were special visits from children’s authors like Peter H. Reynolds, Will Hillenbrand, and Karin Littlewood. Mr. Hillenbrand and Ms. Littlewood were both honorees in this year’s Please Touch Museum Book Award, presented by the Albert M. Greenfield Foundation. This year’s event was a success beyond our expectations, raising approximately $100,000 in support of our Play Without Boundaries Initiative – an unprecedented amount! Please Touch Museum would like to sincerely thank the following sponsors for their support of this year’s Storybook Ball: Presenting The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation Candlewick Press Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Knights of the Round Table Alison Grove Assets Protetction Inc. Bennett & Rhea Thomas Bruce & Jamie Aronow Dr. Paul & Anita Gross Evan & Zara Davis Jody Nazarian Kopelman Family Laura & Nicholas Hollot Laura Foster & Aaron Goldblatt Lee A. Rosengard & Andrea R. Kramer Leslie & Steve Gillin Rich Thau & Nicole Tell Sharon & Kevin Coghlan The Ruffolo Family
Cinderella A# Sharp Production Rubin Family Foundation Robin Hood Campus Apartments CBS Radio Alice in Wonderland 76 Carriage Co. ABM Janitorial Services Anne & Matt Hamilton Cozen O’Connor Federal Advocates, Inc. Gie & Lisa Liem Peachtree Publishers Philadelphia Eagles Sue Shea VIST Insurance
We’ll see you at next year’s Ball, to be held on Saturday, April 20, 2013!
Madeline A.T. Chadwick Co, Inc. AllBrand Chimicles & Tikellis LLP Franklin Square Capital Partners Govberg Jewelers INTECH Construction, Inc.
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free to play your way
Grow games 2012
PLAY WITHOUT
BOUNDARIES
PRESENTED BY Your Passport to Fitness and Good Health
at Please Touch Museum®
Play Without Boundaries is Please Touch Museum’s ongoing initiative to provide programs and services benefitting families of children with We invite your family to join us on Sunday, September 30, 2012, special needs. The cornerstone of the initiative is our Play Without from 9:00am – 11:00am, to enjoy Museum without the crowds Boundaries access events. At ourthe most recent event, held on Friday, and loudJune noises that than may650 be families challenging for children with specialin needs. 22, more registered to enjoy the Museum a quieter, more relaxed environment. Many families with special needs may feel discouraged from visiting the Museum during normal operating hours. The noise and commotion of a crowded afternoon or the lights and sounds of the exhibit galleries can overwhelm children Please join Please Touch Museum for an early morning Please Touch Museum is committed to ensuring that all with physical, intellectual, or sensory disabilities. Play Without of play, before weAt open to the public, on Sunday, children have equal access to engaging, interactive Boundaries events, make every effort to create a welcoming, 9:00am – 11:00am. September 30th, from learning experiences. Our Play Withoutwe Boundaries initiative represents our effort to create a comprehensive accessible space for all children. Exhibit sound effects are turned off, The event is exclusively for families with children with set of programs and services for families with children lights are lowered, and programming isspecial tailored needs.specifically for special with special needs. needs audiences. Additionally, smaller crowds allow more space In additionfor to access to the who Museum in awheelchairs more comfortableor other children use adaptive to move Please RSVPdevices by Thursday, September 27 and enjoyable environment, we hope to create a community For more information and to RSVP, comfortably. These events help children with special needs acclimate among families facing similar challenges. please call 215.581.3179 to the Museum environment and give parents a chance to meet other families that face similar challenges. th
“I would like to thank Please Touch Museum for having a special thanks to the supportmy of the Widener time for special needs children. I came to the Museum with wife,Memorial Foundation in Aid of Handicapped Children, Robert Wood Johnson daughter, family friend, and my grandson, the one Foundation, who made itInc.,alland thanks to the generous SAP America of Please Touch Museum’s Family Fundraiser, possible. We all enjoyed watching him explore all sponsors the exhibits. I Storybook Ball. was extremely impressed with the level of attentiveness shown our MEMORIAL HALL 4231 Avenue of the Republic, Philadelphia, PA 19131 • 215.581.3181 • www.pleasetouchmuseum.org FAIRMOUNT grandson byPARK ALL the staff at the different areas. Even getting caught in that downpour Friday night could not dampen our experience at Please Touch.” – testimonial from a guest who attended the June 2012 Play Without Boundaries evening event Play Without Boundaries is made possible with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Widener Memorial Foundation in Aid of Handicapped Children, SAP America, Inc., and the generous sponsors of Storybook Ball, Please Touch Museum’s family fundraiser.
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Please Touch Museum is excited for the return of our annual exhibit that celebrates health and nutrition through active exhibit components. Over the past year, the exhibit formerly known as ABC Games underwent a transformation that included changes to the exhibit, the addition of new activities, and a new name—Grow Games! Please Touch Museum’s Grow Games opened on August 1 and runs through the end of September. The exhibit acts as a miniature sports arena for our visitors, complete with an interactive rock wall for climbing and stretching, a long jump, a high jump, and a unique race track. New to the exhibit is a section just for children three and under—The Toddler Gym. The Toddler Gym features pint-sized stationary bikes, spinners, a treadmill, and a ballet bar for stretching. Also new to Grow Games is the Food Plate, an interactive component that helps teach children and their families about healthy and nutritious foods that help to fuel your body. Additional programming related to physical activity, body movement, and nutrition will occur throughout the exhibit at scheduled times. We thank US Airways as the Presenting Sponsor for their continuous and generous support, which has allowed Grow Games to thrive and expand