A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM . . .
On any given day, the Children’s Museum in Easton (CME) delivers on-site and community based educational programming to children, parents and caregivers, consistently responding to the community’s need to:• promote healthy early childhood development, •prepare children for success in school, • inspire an life-long love of learning.
8:00 AMMuseum staff are out in the community at the Brockton Juvenile Court, along with Eliot of Jordan's Furniture, Jack Williams from WBZ TV and advocates for adoptive families to take part in National Adoption Day celebrations.
34 families in the Brockton area formalize their adoptions that day.
CME staff members lead craft activities to recognize the new families’ special day!
Here the kids are creating picture frames to show off photos of their new family.
9:00 AM
15 Head Start students from Taunton, and their teachers arrive at the Museum to take part in a variety of exhibit based learning activities. Their visit is funded by generous donation from an anonymous Museum donor.
Since 2006, Taunton Head Start has brought an average of 150 pre-school students to visit annually. Over the 5 years of the program over 750 Head Start participants have visited the Museum.
“Our students gain confidence , are encouraged in their creativity and learn important problem-solving skills throughtheir interaction with your wonderfully engaging exhibits.
Everything they learn at the Museum supports their future academic success and positive emotional development”
. . . Tia Bashour, Interim Program Director Child Services, Triumph Head Start
10:00 AM Animal Happenings, a weekly drop-in program begins. This informal petting zoo presents different live animals and children learn about their care.
On this day, Miss Candy lets the kids pet her corn snake and teaches what it takes to be a kind and responsible pet owner.
11:00 AM On the exhibit floor, kids are discovering . . .
. . . the scientific forcebehind magnetism
. . .and what it feels like to use a wheelchair
. . . the physical challenge of climbinga fire pole
11:30 AM
what space travel might be like!
. . . how to use simple hand tools safely and responsibly
They are learning . . .
and they are imaging . . .
12 NOONJane, a Museum educator begins an outreach program at the Brockton Day Nursery.
The Museum’s traveling programsreach over 1200 children per year.
1:00 – 1:45 PM
A weekly drop-in program – Dino–mite Dinosaurs - engages 10 children and their parents . They’ll use basic tools to uncover fossils like paleontologists do, create a dinosaur skeleton from scratch, uncover dinosaur footprints in sand, build their own dinosaur from clay and learn how the dinosaurs were named!
2:00 PM
In the afternoon, many grandparents, providing afterschool care for their grandchildren, enjoy spending time in the Museum’s cozy and inviting environment.
Fostering bonds between family members is an important part of the Museum’s mission!
And they have fun, too!
2:30 PM
Joe, a special needs student, arrives after school. He’s cleaning the Golf Ball Raceway, a popular exhibit!
The Museum works with area school systems through The Education Collaborative in Dedham, the Bi-County Collaborative in Franklin and other programs to help provide meaningful volunteer work for children with mild to moderate disabilities.
3:00 PM
Junior Volunteers arrive for training session with Steven, our volunteer manager. Junior volunteers are in the 6th grade and older.
They help in a variety of tasks. They learn new skills, responsibility, teamwork and make lasting friends!
4:00 PMMuseum educators engage children from an afterschool care program with activities from Forces & Energy– one of the Museum’s traveling Science Road Shows.
6:00 PMFamilies from the Charity Guild of Brockton arrive forFree Family Night, a program held 5 – 6 times per year.
The Museum provides bus transportation from Brockton, a chance to explore the hands-on exhibits, and take part in a lively and engaging themed program, led by Museum staff.
The Charity Guild provides a delicious and nutritious dinner for the families.
It’s become a popular program!
8:00 PMTalented Teens art class begins. In this program, children learn to express their creativity and work with an experienced art educator.
Students are guided at their own level in this“working atmosphere” that promotes the love of art.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS The Children’s Museum in Easton currently works with over 65 schools, social service agencies, and community organizations to reach children and families--many that would likely not attend the Museum without encouragement and financial assistance.
Our priority is to increase our connections in the community and add additional partners who will benefit from our services.
In addition to programming, the Museum provides free memberships, admission passes, event tickets and discounts tounderprivileged children and families.
For a full list of ourcommunity partners, please visit our website.
COMMUNITY IMPACTThe Museum has contributed to theeducational, cultural and social learningof over 600,000 children and familiessince opening in 1991.
