Community Engagement - Great River Children's Museum

Children's Museum, Community Engagement, Events

Flourishing: Insights and Inspiration from InterActivity 2024

“Kasserian Ingera?”

“And how are the children?” is a traditional greeting among the Massai tribe from Africa. Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, plenary speaker and recipient of this year’s Great Friend to Kids award, posed this question at this year’s InterActivity conference hosted by the Association of Children’s Museums in Madison, Wisconsin.

This year’s theme was Flourish. How can children’s museums uplift their communities by helping children reach their full potential and help communities flourish?

Throughout the three-day conference, Executive Director Cassie Miles, Program & Outreach Manager Kylie Conover, Communications Specialist Hailey Thielen, and Board and Committee Member Vincent Miles participated in interactive sessions, all focused on the theme of flourishing.

Kylie presenting, at the emerging children's museum conference.

At the Emerging Children’s Museum pre-conference Program & Outreach Manager, Kylie, along with Bethany Ball and Tennille Adams of the Children’s Museum of the Magic Valley in Twin Falls, Idaho, presented The Grant-Writing Game is Afoot.

In this session, they helped emerging children’s museums discover the needs of their community, how they can meet those needs, and how to develop programming through grant writing — all in the style of a Holmes & Watson mystery!

Board and Committee Member Dr. Vincent Miles, PsyD LP led the session, Building Resilience: A Conversation on Executive Burnout. Participants learned how to identify and address burnout, as well as strategies on how to combat burnout, build resilience, and promote healthy organizations.

The InterActivity conference also hosts dedicated sessions for Executive Directors. These sessions provide a platform for museum leadership to discuss trends in the industry and opportunities to better serve children and families in an ever evolving world. They also get to the heart of establishing a culture of respect, positivity, and adaptability to promote health and wellness for the people that spend the most time at the children’s museum – staff and volunteers!

At the Madison Children’s Museum, staff explored their innovative natural outdoor playscape. They gained insights into designing play spaces using sustainable and affordable materials and discovering how these natural spaces can offer unique and educational experiences for children.

The trip also included a visit to Dr. Evermor’s Sculpture Park, known for its massive sculptures crafted from scrap metal. One of Dr. Evermor’s works is showcased on the rooftop of the Madison Children’s Museum. This rooftop sculpture exemplifies a collaborative effort with local artists, highlighting the power of community and artistic partnership. A partnership that Great River Children’s Museum values deeply and will be demonstrated through commissioned art pieces created by many artists with ties to Central Minnesota.

Keynote small talks from artist Lynda Barry, neuroscientist Dr. Richard J. Davidson, and Charles Hua, Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy and Loan, emphasized the transformative power of creativity, the brain’s capacity for resilience and happiness, and how healthy environments foster well-being. The speakers inspired attendees to think holistically about how they can support and nurture the potential within their own communities, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to truly flourish.

A hands-on workshop led by artist Lynda Barry unleashed hidden creativity. Her techniques, taught to both kids and adults alike, are based on the premise that everyone can draw. She started her brief talk by She started the session having everyone draw with eyes closed. Can you guess what each drawing is supposed to be?

Barry’s workshop was a powerful reminder that creativity resides in everyone and that the act of creating can be a source of profound fulfillment and connection. Creativity is not a talent, but a fundamental aspect of human experience that everyone can tap into!

Of course, InterActivity wouldn’t have been complete without an evening at the Madison Children’s Museum!

This celebration provided the perfect opportunity for museum professionals to relax, connect, and experience the museum’s exhibits and activities firsthand.

With over 1,000 museum professionals in attendance from all over the world, this year’s InterActivity was the largest yet. With so many in attendance, the event was a vibrant hub of activity, collaboration, and innovation.

The conference closed on an uplifting note, leaving participants inspired and equipped with new ideas and strategies to help their communities flourish so we can say “Sepati Ingera!”

“The Kids are Well!”

Children's Museum, Community Engagement, Events

Building Block(s) Party – Breaking Ground and Building Community

On Saturday, October 7th over 1,000 people from all over Central Minnesota came together to celebrate a historic milestone for Great River Children’s Museum, breaking ground. This spectacular turnout shows the enthusiasm Central Minnesota has for GRCM and a space our community can enjoy for generations to come.

But what does building community look like? At Great River Children’s Museum, access and inclusion are at our core. We want to provide a space for children and families of all backgrounds with opportunities to play, follow their curiosity, and discover their potential.

At our Building Block(s) Party, 300+ children and their caring adults toured our future museum space. The future museum will be over 31,000 sq ft and will be home to eight exhibit areas, program spaces, teaching kitchen, community room, rooftop deck, and more!

Children and families also explored a host of construction themed activities like Touch-a-Construction Truck, building their own children’s museum with Marshmallow Engineering, exploring physics with our Cement Station (oobleck!), and other activities full of digging, building, and most importantly, playing!

What does it take to build a community event like this? It took 64 volunteers over 177 hours to help us build this event from the ground up.

It also took…

300 pounds of cornstarch to make 147 gallons of oobleck.

2,000 pounds of sand for our Digging Station.

20 cases of marshmallows for Marshmallow Engineering.

300 water balloons for our Wrecking Ball Balloon station where kids got the opportunity to “knock down” the museum walls, making for a true groundbreaking!

Over 40 gallons of ice cream at our Make-your-Own Dirt Cake Station.

240 kids construction hats.

And endless smiles!

We are truly grateful for all of our volunteers and sponsors who came together to make our Building Block(s) Party possible, we couldn’t have asked for a better turn out. We are thrilled to embark on this exciting journey toward our grand opening date of late 2024!

As we mark the start of construction we reflect how Great River Children’s Museum will be more than a building. Our dynamic, interactive environments and experiences are a gateway to the world and its people for children and families of all backgrounds and will include:

Curriculum complementary field trips rooted in play and exploration.
Outreach activities to bring museum programming to parks, festivals, schools, and other community venues.
Spaces to bring people together for co-learning, group gatherings, birthdays, corporate outings, and more!

We need your support to make this happen. You can help us Chart the Course by supporting program development and providing funding for interactive loose parts to supplement all the fun! Donate today at: https://campaign.greatrivercm.org/

Children's Museum, Community Engagement, Events

Leveraging our voices: Uplifting our shared mission at InterActivity

At the end of April, the Great River Children’s Museum team traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana for the 2023 Association of Children’s Museums InterActivity Conference. Executive Director Cassie Miles, Program and Outreach Manager Kylie Conover, and Board and Committee Member Vincent Mies represented the museum and participated in three days of conversations, panels, and information sessions. And, of course, there was time for play throughout as well! The Louisiana Children’s Museum in New Orleans hosted 700+ ACM InterActivity attendees in their new space which sits on over 8 acres of park land.

InterActivity attendees come from children’s museums that span the globe, from South Korea and Singapore, to the island of Curaçoa.

For this and many other reasons, attending the ACM InterActivity Conference is a great way to make connections to other children’s museum professionals, access resources to support programming and operations, and to discuss opportunities for the advancement of our shared mission. These connections are extremely valuable to our team now and in the future when we are open to the public.

Program & Outreach Manager, Kylie was able to give some insight on building meaningful connections with communities as a presenter this year at ACM alongside Beth Housewert from Golisano Children’s Museum.

The focus of the session that Kylie took part in was on community engagement during the emerging stages of a museum’s life. Kylie and Beth posed 4 different questions to consider before starting a program to a room of emerging museum professionals. Kylie spoke specifically about our Play Explore and Learn Labs, Camp Beyond, work alongside Yes Network, and our fantastic Pop-Up Museum Experiences in partnership with Great River Regional Library. In each case we are able to take what we’re learning from communities throughout Central Minnesota and incorporate feedback into future program plans. The work that we are doing now will set us up for success when we open our doors. Listening to the needs of our community is the best metric for our program planning.

Executive Director, Cassie Miles, participated in leadership roundtable discussions and sessions focused on guiding the vision forward, building a network of invested community members, and supporting children and families through the world’s ever evolving technological changes. Panel sessions provoked thoughtful discussions about integrating expertise from other sectors, connecting with community leaders, financial forecasting, and leveraging the voices of children’s museums in support of lifelong playful learning. No matter the topic, access to play and the power of play to empower children’s creativity and curiosity is at the core of what we do.

In the words of Dr. Calvin Mackie, keynote speaker at the opening day of the event, “The highest form of wealth does not come from making money, it comes from making a difference” and there may be no better way to summarize how we feel after meeting an incredible group of people at InterActivity 2023.

Children's Museum, Community Engagement, Facilities

Local artists: Team up with us!

During the coming year of museum demolition, design and construction, we are seeking to engage artists with connections to St. Cloud and Central Minnesota to design and build work that will be integrated into the museum. We are seeking to connect with and engage artists interested in working with the museum- as teachers, public artists and other creative partners.

As we envision a welcoming, flourishing Greater St. Cloud where all children look forward to a future that offers expanding opportunities, we center play as essential to children’s learning and increased connections to the diversities of the world around them.

Great River Children’s Museum has launched a major capital campaign to raise $13.5mm and remodel a 25,000 square foot building located 2 blocks west of the metro bus depot and immediately north of highway 23 on 7th Ave. S in downtown St. Cloud. We have engaged with professional exhibit designers (Split Rock Studios-St. Paul, MN, Haizlip Studio-Memphis, TN, and Boss Display-Columbus, OH), architects (GLT Architects-St. Cloud, MN) and construction management (BCI Construction-Sauk Rapids, MN). This team was selected based on their talents and their belief that there are opportunities at every stage of development to maximize learning, playfulness, and involve our Central Minnesota neighbors in this effort.

Our intention is to engage artists in a variety of roles as we build and develop the museum. To start, we would like all interested artists to Complete This Interest Form

The above Google Form is our preferred submission method. If you are unable to use the form or do not have a google account login, alternative submission includes submitting up to 5 work samples including a list of relevant experience and a statement of interest to art@greatrivercm.org. Video submissions are also accepted. Submissions are due on or before January 22nd, 2023.

Eligibility:

Artists with ties to Central Minnesota will receive priority consideration.
Artists who have experience working on large scale projects are encouraged to apply as well as professional artists who are new to the field of public art.

Selection Process:

Artist interest form submissions and work samples will be reviewed by the GRCM Art Team.
A selected group of artists will be invited to develop proposals.
Three (3) artists will be chosen to produce designs for specific high-priority locations within the museum.
Remaining artists will remain under consideration for over a dozen other art needs within the museum.

Please send any questions to: art@greatrivercm.org

All inquiries will receive a response by January 22nd.

More information about Great River Children’s Museum or stay up to date by signing up for our newsletter.

Children's Museum, Community Engagement, PLAY

Learning together as we go

By Jane Ellison, GRCM board member and volunteer

Great River Children’s Museum offered a Play, Explore and Learn (PEL) Lab for Somali families on October 8 at our downtown building. This was a rich co-learning experience, where families learned about the children’s museum and children’s learning through play. GRCM volunteers listened to suggestions for the future museum and were able to field test a welcoming display of cultural fabrics, carvings, metalwork, and local artwork.

The PEL Lab offered activities one might find in the future exhibits, and efforts were made to integrate Somali materials, such as hijabs for the baby dolls and children’s books in English and Somali.

The program included time for parents and children to play together, storytelling, snack and play for children while parents learned about museum plans and gave input on ways to incorporate Somali culture into the Community Connections exhibit. The PEL Lab closed with a multi-cultural music performance by the Lullaby Singers for parents and children together. The singing experience was SO enjoyable – some children brought the baby dolls to hold on their laps while listening to the music and a few of the parents joined the performers in a fun sing-a-long. Everyone left with smiles. No wonder music is a universal language.

GRCM volunteers were impressed with the kindness and cooperation among the fifteen children from 8 mos. – 13 years. Older children included and helped younger children, independently creating an amazing bus big enough for all – with a door that opened and closed, and an awesome steering wheel.

We are continuing to learn from the wider community that has much to offer the museum with its talents, ideas, creativity, support and encouragement. Many thanks to the Cultural Navigators Anisa and Naima, video production team Mohamed (XIDIG TV) and Bashir (C.A.I.R.O.), volunteers, and the Lullaby Singers!

Community Engagement

Exploring Local Treasures through Geocaching

By Jayne Balicky, GRCM exhibits committee member and Early Childhood Special Education teacher District 742

As a member of the Great River Children’s Museum exhibits committee, I am especially excited to know our exhibits were designed to celebrate all that is great about Central Minnesota. You see, I love living here and raising my children here. I’m also always looking for ways to share with my kids the beauty of St. Cloud and its surrounding areas.

This summer, my family learned about a new way to explore our local treasures—through geocaching. Geocaching is a bit like treasure hunting, where people use GPS coordinates to search for hidden objects. Geocaching is actually not new… it’s been around over 20 years. More recently, it became popular during the pandemic as a family-friendly way to enjoy the outdoors.

It was remarkably easy to begin our new hobby. We downloaded the free Geocaching app. After creating an account, we gained access to hundreds of local treasures, called “caches”. Using clues and the GPS included in the Geocaching app, we’ve now found over 40 local caches! Each cache looks a little different, but all are a container of some kind. Inside each cache is a log sheet, so you can make a record of your find. There are often small trinkets or toys, too, and feel free to take one if you have something to leave behind in its place.

My seven-year-old is hooked on geocaching, and is especially good at tracking down our treasures, but my four-year-old also has fun and has found several caches on her own, too. Along the way we’ve checked out beautiful local communities, trails, and parks. If you’re in search of some family fun this fall, give geocaching a try! You’ll be amazed at the treasures that await right where we live.

Community Engagement, Exhibits

Organic ways to grow and connect

This summer we’ve been able to connect with children, families, and community members in our region outside of St. Cloud. Families and caregivers are excited to learn that a children’s museum is coming to Central Minnesota! Through our partnership with Great River Regional Library, and through visits to various farmers markets, we’ve been able to provide simple and interactive programming for kids and their caring adults to enjoy and learn through play.

Farmers markets are a great way to meet neighbors in your community. Supporting your local farmers market is an important piece of community involvement too. Not only are you getting fresh and nourishing food that you need, but you’re also connecting with local growers!

The farmers market is a great place to learn where your food comes from and how it’s grown by simply chatting with the farmers and growers. You can ask them where the food gets planted, how long it takes to grow, when it was picked, and more. Sometimes, they might even have recipes and cooking ideas to share. After all, they’re the ones who are there from seed to sprout!

Taking a walk through the farmers market is a great way to learn more about your community and those around you. It can be a great place to try new foods, learn about local arts and trades, and meet new people. For some kids, farmers markets can be a more comfortable environment to experiment with food, ask questions, and in our case spend some time playing while learning about Great River Children’s Museum.

We’re designing an exhibit space that will celebrate the diversity of Central Minnesota’s communities through art, food, and music. The goal is to demonstrate that even though we’re all different and come from different backgrounds or cultures, we are all connected. Community Connections will include a Global Market to explore food, spices, and more from different cultures and parts of the world. You and the kids you love will be able to explore various scents by smelling spices, textures by touching food, and colors and sizes by assembling flower bouquets and sorting produce.

We want to thank all of the local farmers markets that have allowed us to be there with a fun and engaging experience for children and their caring adults. We’ve met and connected with so many amazing people!

Children's Museum, Community Engagement

A Great (River!) Partnership

Great River Children’s Museum and Great River Regional Library share a common goal to spark curiosity and learning while encouraging the exploration of new ideas.

Over the next year, Great River Children’s Museum and Great River Regional Library are proud to be bringing the communities of Central Minnesota a small glimpse of the future of Great River Children’s Museum (“GRCM”) through Pop-up Exhibit Experiences hosted by libraries around the region! This is the perfect opportunity to share the potential of future museum exhibits, programming, and experiences with those we look forward to serving in our region.

The library’s goal to have a patron-centered organization is an excellent fit with the museum’s plan to bring play and exploration to Central Minnesota’s children and families.

“The library has specific goals to try new ideas, innovate, and create partnerships that promote libraries and their services, so this feels like a natural extension of key parts of our goals,” says GRRL’s Beth Stolpman.

Great River Children’s Museum aspires to be a place where there is something for everyone and all are welcome, much like Great River Regional Library. Our goal is to bring awareness to those in our region who may not know we are in development. Library patrons outside of the St. Cloud metro area will get a sneak peek of what the future holds for Great River Children’s Museum through displays and exhibit related programming in the familiarity of their local library.

GRRL Librarian Jade Lauber, said, “We are so excited to have the opportunity to have the pop-up exhibits from Great River Children’s Museum! These exhibits will give our patrons the chance to experience what the museum has to offer, and will be an excellent addition to our summer programming. This year, we have a lot of outdoor, nature, and camping activities tying into our annual Summer Reading Program, ‘Read Beyond the Beaten Path.’ We can’t wait to see how well the museum’s Pop-up Exhibit Experiences compliment our existing library resources and programs, and how our patrons will interact with the exhibits!”

Cohort 1 of the Pop-up Exhibit Experiences begin Sunday, May 1 2022 at these Great River Regional Library locations: Annandale, Becker, Clearwater, Paynesville, Pierz, Richmond, and Swanville.

GRCM will also be taking part in this years Llama Llama Pajama Party at the St. Cloud Great River Regional Library on May 10th from 5-7pm. Come by to chat with us and enjoy an activity as well as a coloring contest, storytime, prizes, and more provided by United Way of Central Minnesota, GRRL, and others.

We look forward to connecting with the patrons of Great River Regional Library and to all future partnership opportunities that will support children, their families, and their love of learning through play!

Children's Museum, Community Engagement

Connecting with Children’s Museums in Greater Minnesota

During 2021, we focused on building relationships and partnerships that will strengthen our ability to serve Central Minnesota families when our doors open. Establishing collaborative relationships with children’s museums across the state was a top priority and an effective way to spread our mission beyond our region.

Thus, the Greater Minnesota Children’s Museum Coalition was formed. We are joined by 7 other children’s museums across Minnesota to make a difference in the lives of children and their caring adults throughout the entire state.

Coalition Picture — From left: Peter Olson (WonderTrek Children’s Museum), Greg Reigstad (Great River Children’s Museum), Janie Heitz (Children’s Discovery Museum), and Katie Ganoe (Otter Cove Children’s Museum)

Greater Minnesota Children’s Museum Coalition members will serve nearly 500,000 guests annually, capturing visitors from nearly 100% of the state’s 87 counties. The coalition includes Otter Cove Children’s Museum, the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, Duluth Children’s Museum, Spark Children’s Museum, and more. We aim to focus on the areas surrounding the Twin Cities that may not receive as much support.

Our goal is to raise the voice of children’s museums to:

Reveal the impact children’s museums have on early childhood development
Strengthen bonds between children, their caring adults, and our shared communities
Increase cross-cultural competency through early exposure to diverse ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds
Drive economic development and improve quality of life of families in the regions we serve
Bridge the gap in funding for children’s museums in greater Minnesota
Drive tourism to Greater Minnesota

Collectively, the coalition has submitted a bill requesting $36M in state funds towards capital projects underway at children’s museums throughout greater Minnesota. Many of the museums will use this funding for building and exhibit design, renovations and construction in order to create and expand our abilities to spark joy and enhance learning through play! A substantial economic return of 5x the investment will be experienced through direct, indirect, and induced spending and job creation.

For more information, please visit the respective organization’s website. Click here to find them!

Community Engagement, Facilities

Painting a partnership with herARTS in Action

By Sarah Drake, CEO & Teaching Artist of herARTS in Action

When I (herARTS in Action) was presented with the opportunity to create artwork for Great River Children’s Museum, I knew I needed to invite the children I work with at my artist residencies to help. The space is transforming for the kids, and their families, to use while learning and having fun, so they needed a voice.

In the summer of 2021, I was able to tie this to my work with the United Way of Central Minnesota and 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC). I also happened to have some students in paid mentorship with me as well. They got hands-on experience in not only the creative but also the business side of how projects work.

Woman Painting — Sarah Drake adds finishing touches to the window murals

Students aged 1-20 and with heritage indigenous to this land, Africa, Asia, central and north Americas, and Europe, and with various religious backgrounds and abilities worked on the project. The common theme that emerged from them all: The Mississippi River and activities to do in, on, and around it.

Hanging in the windows, you can see the river as it starts in the spring at the headwaters, meanders down through St. Cloud in the summer and fall, and ends up in the Twin Cities in the winter. The seven clans of the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe are represented in the animals.

You may have read this far and recently drove by GRCM and are thinking to yourself, I didn’t see any artwork in the museum’s north windows on 7th Avenue. You’re right! To keep them safe, they were temporarily taken down during demolition. They will be back up soon though. AND with some new additions!

Thanks to my classes through United Way, we have another group of students working on artwork for the windows in the south building. As spring flowers start to peek through the snow, the artwork will be popping up in the GRCM windows again!

Thank you to all of the funders who made this possible, the organization sites, but even more so to the kids who shared their brilliant ideas and talents!

The project for Great River Children’s Museum was possible because of funding from the Morgan Family Foundation and United Way 21CCLC. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Visit www.herartsinaction.org for more information about the organization and for a copy of Sarah’s first published book “Nanou’s Promise: A Journey Beyond Hauling Water.” She wrote and created the collage art for the book, which is inspired by her volunteerism in Burkina Faso for access to clean water, sanitation, and education.