shining a spotlight on... From Our Executive Director It’s Beautiful Out! Come Inside With the lovely weather, families are spending more time outside. You might be waiting to visit MCM on a rainy day, but this is a good time to remind everyone about all of the opportunities for outdoor, sunny fun at MCM. Starting on the ground floor, the Brand Log Cabin is open, where you can step into Wisconsin’s rural past. The yard outside the cabin is authentically landscaped and planted so everyone can get a taste of the outdoors as it existed almost a century ago. Nearby, the Urb Garden is flush with its first planting season—it opened late last summer. This is a great place to learn how plants and animals can thrive in a small, urban space. The Rooftop Ramble is one of the lushest, most beautiful spots on the square. There are dozens of edible plants growing, the chicks are turning into chickens, the baby rats are growing into adolescence, and the lake views off the roof are as spectacular as ever. Finally, when you are inside the museum, check out the newest installation in Window to the Past , located in the Community Concourse. Catching and cooking fish over an open fire (made of felt) has been very popular with young visitors. Of course there’s still plenty more to enjoy inside the museum. And we hope you will find time to get away from the city and into nature this summer. But the outdoor spaces at MCM break down those walls between urban spaces, agriculture, and wilderness. Come get away downtown! Deb Gilpin, Executive Director Access for Everyone Every child deserves the opportunity to participate in the museum’s exhibits, programs, and activities, regardless of any physical, cognitive, cultural, or economic barriers. For this reason MCM created Access for Everyone, a program that opened the museum doors to 30,228 high-need children and caregivers in 2013. This Year’s Fundrive The need to maintain this program is critical. In April, we held our annual Access for Everyone Fundrive, which reached its goal of $50,000 thanks to the financial support of American Family Insurance, The Great Dane Pub & Brewing, Co., CUNA Mutual Foundation, Hamilton-Roddis Foundation, TDS, American Transmission, Co., Kraft, Associated Bank, WEA Trust, The Roman Candle, and caring people like you. Thank you to everyone who helped raise money for this year’s drive! Possible-opolis tm Press Volume 2 • 2014 what we’ve Been Up To
Transcript
s h i n i n g a s p o t l i g h t o n . . .From Our Executive Director
It’s Beautiful Out! Come Inside
With the lovely weather, families are spending more time outside. You might be waiting to visit MCM on a rainy day, but this is a good time to remind everyone about all of the opportunities for outdoor, sunny fun at MCM.
Starting on the ground floor, the Brand Log Cabin is open, where you can step into Wisconsin’s rural past. The yard outside the cabin is authentically landscaped and planted so everyone can get a taste of the outdoors as it existed almost a century ago.
Nearby, the Urb Garden is flush with its first planting season—it opened late last summer. This is a great place to learn how plants and animals can thrive in a small, urban space.
The Rooftop Ramble is one of the lushest, most beautiful spots on the square. There are dozens of edible plants growing, the chicks are turning into chickens, the baby rats are growing into adolescence, and the lake views off the roof are as spectacular as ever.
Finally, when you are inside the museum, check out the newest installation in Window to the Past , located in the Community Concourse. Catching and cooking fish over an open fire (made of felt) has been very popular with young visitors.
Of course there’s still plenty more to enjoy inside the museum. And we hope you will find time to get away from the city and into nature this summer. But the outdoor spaces at MCM break down those walls between urban spaces, agriculture, and wilderness. Come get away downtown!
Deb Gilpin, Executive Director
Access for EveryoneEvery child deserves the opportunity to participate in the museum’s exhibits, programs, and activities, regardless of any physical, cognitive, cultural, or economic barriers. For this reason MCM created Access for Everyone, a program that opened the museum doors to 30,228 high-need children and caregivers in 2013.
This Year’s FundriveThe need to maintain this program is critical. In April, we held our annual Access for Everyone Fundrive, which reached its goal of $50,000 thanks to the financial support of American Family Insurance, The Great Dane Pub & Brewing, Co., CUNA Mutual Foundation, Hamilton-Roddis Foundation, TDS, American Transmission, Co., Kraft, Associated Bank, WEA Trust, The Roman Candle, and caring people like you. Thank you to everyone who helped raise money for this year’s drive!
P o s s i b l e - o p o l i s tm P r e s sV o l u m e 2 • 2 0 1 4
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What’s the area’s favorite place for a kid’s birthday party?
Madison residents agree over and over — it’s MCM! We make celebrating a piece of cake by offering great party packages and handling all the details so you can have fun, too.
Start booking your best party ever at MadisonChildrensMuseum.org!
By Sandra Bonnici Hoecherl, Associate Director of Education
agriculture and culinary arts. Weekly interaction with these students transfers what they are learning in the classroom onto our rooftop garden and other outdoor environments.
Every week students work with MCM rooftop manager Julie King to learn about non-traditional urban garden spaces. Students have learned about green roof systems, animal care and handling in public settings, visitor engagement, and planting and growing in rooftop and patio environments. These experiences are preparing them to apply for seasonal employment here at MCM and to build career skills in an emerging sector, urban agriculture. We are looking forward to welcoming our newest employees into MCM this summer!
Also during this first semester, “Seed to Table” students—including those most in need of support and resources to graduate and to envision a career path—worked with MCM staff to develop best practices for their unique learning experience. JP Morgan Chase volunteers
Growing and Learning with MCM’s New Teen Workforce Development Program
met with the students to coach them on interview skills and financial literacy.
Our first semester of working in-depth with a small group of students, helping them attain graduation and workforce skills, has provided invaluable learning and development for MCM. The next step is to continue to grow a program that will be part of a larger community solution toward decreasing the achievement gap and building youth workforce skill. We will continue to partner and collaborate with local businesses and agencies and keep our members up to date and involved in our progress.
This pilot program has been made possible through a grant from JP Morgan Chase with additional funds from The Courtier Foundation.
Equity… Achievement gaps… Record-high teen unemployment… These are common phrases heard in our community and they represent deep and multifaceted challenges. We all have a stake and a role to play in making sure that our youth are growing, learning, and reaching their full potential. Sometimes the challenges seem so large that solutions feel out of reach or too large for any one agency to make an impact. But every action counts, and sometimes, you must start small. It is with that in mind that the MCM Education Department has launched a pilot program focusing on teen workforce development.
This past semester MCM has been piloting and partnering with an alternative high school program run through Goodman Community Center and Madison Metropolitan School District called “Seed to Table.” The nine students enrolled in this program are working toward graduation and learning about urban
By Erin Hoag, Local Treasures Coordinator
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Welcome in summer and get a taste of the great outdoors at our new kid-sized camping experience. All ages can catch native fish in the stream and identify Wisconsin birds in the forest. Kids can learn how to build different styles of fire, including log cabin, tee-pee, or lean-to. Once the“fire”is roaring, they can
Downtown Madison will light up all summer with MCM’s new temporary exhibit, Glow Show. Shining from the museum’s third floor, this art display consists of over 20 whimsical neon sculptures inspired by children’s artwork created in the MCM Art Studio.
Glow Show includes abstract images of horses, cowboys, flowers, cats, arrows, monsters, rainbows, and more. The exhibit was generated by students from UW–Madison and the Art Institute of Chicago. According to Brad Corso, Light as Sculpture instructor at UW–Madison, the project is a great opportunity for college students to have their work on public display and lighting up the State Capitol. Look for it day and night this summer!
A L o o k a t E x h i b i t s
toast marshmallows or prep an al fresco breakfast to enjoy at the picnic table.
A nod to Wisconsin’s tradition for outdoor recreation, this summertime exhibit is on display in the first floor Window to the Past area. This exhibit space highlights the history of the MCM building, which includes a long stint as a Montgomery Ward department store. So, while you’re exploring the joys of camping, don’t miss the display of catalog pages for camping supplies that could have been ordered from Montgomery Ward in the 1930s. It’s a great way to discuss the timeless joys of camping with your children!
Don’t Miss MCM’s New Camping Exhibit
Glow Show Shines a Light on Student Art
MCM’s new, custom-crafted camping exhibit celebrates Wisconsin’s family tradition of outdoor recreation.
New Neighbors
Next time you’re on the second floor in Possible-opolisTM, be sure to peek into the doll house to see its newest residents—little mice!
By Kia Karlen, Director of Education
Arts and culture have the power to create meaningful experiences for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of memory loss. At Madison Children’s Museum, we see this theory jump to life in our popular SPARK! programming.
Each month, participants from throughout our community gather at MCM for programs that combine art-looking, art-making, reflection, and sharing. SPARK! also includes special intergenerational sessions where area Girl Scouts
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participate and work toward badges related to making friends and learning about their elders.
SPARK! was established at MCM in 2011 and is currently supported by Dane Arts, with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation. In the last fiscal year, 35 cultural programs reached 338 people and a second workshop was opened up. MCM is one of ten museums statewide serving Wisconsin residents with SPARK! activities. To register, call 608.256.6445, ext. 156.
MCM also hosts Meeting of the Minds, a program of the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin. To learn more or to register for this weekly program, contact Pat Wilson, ADAW Family Support Coordinator, 608.232.3406.
Awakening Memories through the Power of Art
Downtown family fun returns with exciting activities inside and outside the museum, live entertainment, an inflatable obstacle course, and a kids’ parade around the Capitol Square.
8 a.m.–1 p.m. Free Safety Saturday activities
9:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Free admission to Madison Children’s Museum
10 a.m.–noon Float making Bike decorating and helmet fittings Pioneer fun at the Log Cabin
Noon–12:30 p.m. Parade on Capitol Square
SummerPalooza 2014 is a partnership between Rotary Club of Madison and Madison Children’s Museum, and made possible by BMO Harris Bank. Additional support is provided by Habush, Habush & Rottier, S.C.
Saturday
June 14 10 am – 3 pm
Free admission & activities
“ The program has been helpful and has done a great deal to help me stay alert and interested in all the activities we engage in during class and in my everyday life.” — SPARK! participant
July 19 & 208830 N. Greenview Dr., Middleton, WI
Tickets are on sale for the American Girl Benefit Sale for Saturday July 19 and are $7 each. Sunday’s Markdown Sale tickets are free and are distributed on-site starting at 6 a.m.
Visit MadisonChildrensMuseum.org for all sale details.
Original Samantha Silent Auction Items!
This year, Samantha Parkington outfits, accessories and furniture can be bid on individually during a silent auction from 8 a.m.–1 p.m. A partnership with Mead Public Library in Sheboygan has made this unique private collection of original Pleasant Company Samantha items available to our annual fundraiser.
Sunday, July 133:05 p.m. game time, The Duck Pond 2920 N. Sherman Ave., Madison
$10 tickets available at mallardsgroups.com use group password “museum”
Join us to root for the Mallards and enjoy scores of MCM-style family fun!
• Create a recycled CD case display
• Help make and decorate a paper maché Maynard G. Mallard
• Share and record your favorite ballgame stories
• Get a chance to win great MCM prizes
Tickets are $10 each and include a free Mallards hat. Plus, $2 of each ticket pur-chase supports the children’s museum.
Bring new or gently used sports equipment to support MSCR.
Day in a Kid’s Life
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On May 7, we invited all area kids to share their stories online using the hashtag #DayinaKidsLife. Pictured at right is just a sample of the many stories we gathered to celebrate and document kids’ lives. Check out more of these great submissions at DayinaKidsLife.com.
Day in a Kid’s Life is a project of KidShare and the UW Public Humanities Fellows Program, funded by the Institute of Library and Museum Services and EmcArts, with generous support from the UW Center for the Humanities and the A.W. Mellon Foundation, through the Public Humanities Fellows Program.
“ McKay Nursery donated 11 fruit trees to Lincoln School. We are planting them along our Wellness Path.”
“ Having fun showing off the super hero shirts they created at daycare today.”
“ Checking out the human brain at MCM.”
MadisonChildrensMuseum.org
2014 MCM
Day at the Mallards
B e n e F I t S A l e
27th27th
Ages 21 & up
Tickets: $12, available online on our Special Events page
Fun in the Sun, Friday, June 20, 6–10 p.m.
Celebrate the start of summer! Make your own hula hoop or a musical shaker, build sand castles, and enjoy a rooftop samba party with the Handphibians.
Summer Speakeasy, Friday, July 25, 6–10 p.m.
Head back to the roaring 1920s for a Prohibition-Era party featuring the music of The Viper and His Famous Orchestra.
Adult Swim is presented by Zendesk.
DIve IntO SuMMer’S
Adult Swim Parties
Adult Swim
for Madison Children’s Museum & American Girl’s Fund for Children
NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE
PAIDMADISON, WI
PERMIT NO. 2930
100 N. Hamilton Street Madison, WI 53703 MadisonChildrensMuseum.org608.256.6445
S u m m er H O U RSOpen 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday–Sunday
Open Mondays during the summer!
MCM will be CLOSEDFriday, July 4 Saturday, August 23 Until noon Sunday, August 24
Free Fa m i ly n i ghtEnjoy FrEE admission from 5–8 p.m.
July 2 and August 6
reg i ster f o r S u m m er C a m psWeekly camps: June 16–Aug. 8
Visit MadisonChildrensMuseum.org/camps
Madison Children’s Museum thanks its lead donors:
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SAturDAy, AuguSt 23, 2014
with Wonder
Expect untamed fun at this year’s Wonder Ball while helping to make sure that all area children can make the trek to Madison Children’s Museum. Individual tickets for the gala are $175 and sponsorships with tables for eight start at $1,500. reserve your seat by contacting Cedric Johnson at 608.354.0537 or [email protected].
Title Sponsors are Michael Best & Friedrich LLP., and JP Morgan Chase. Major sponsors are American Girl, CUNA Mutual Group, J.H. Findorff & Son, Kraft Foods, and Park Bank.
Please note that the museum will be closed August 23 and until noon August 24 to accommodate the fundraiser.
