There are several accomplishments for which the Children’s Museum of the Upstate could gloat. To start – of the approximately 350 children’s museums across the world, Greenville’s three level, nearly 80,000-square-foot, interactive institution is the 10th largest (and the seventh biggest in the nation). Next, after only two short years in business, the museum already has been hailed a regional destination and attractive tourist site and has experienced tremendous success in terms of growth in membership and attendance. While all of these facts are worthy of accolade for any start-up entity, according to some business leaders, the thing to write home about after visiting the Children’s Museum of the Upstate is their commitment to ensuring that all community members have access to their services.
According to the American Association of Museums, there are close to 17,500 museums in the United States. The estimated number of visitors per year to U.S. museums is 850 million. While traditional museum going offers cultural and artistically expansive qualities, children’s museums are known for being innovative science centers where children learn through play and exploration.
Children’s museums are popular because they offer unique family experiences with exhibits designed for both children and adults. Dozens of imaginative exhibits draw in crowds at the Children’s Museum of the Upstate including: the BI-LO Market which gives visitors an experience as both customer and employee of a store by exploring the details of various store positions in a sprawling child-sized grocery store; Grandma Betty’s Farm, a realistic farmhouse with a kitchen, plantable vegetable garden and animals like a cow that can be milked; and Start Your Engines, a speed racing exhibit which introduces visitors to basic principles of aerodynamics and mimics racing with driver simulation, tire changing station and the ability to design and build their own race car.
Children’s museums provide positive effects on the development, scientific understanding and expression of children. Despite this fact, Mary Sellers, president and CEO of the Children’s Museum of the Upstate, recently revealed a finding within the museum industry which showed that many residents who live near museums, specifically African American, Latino and low resource communities, do not visit the museums frequently, or at all, unless the trips are integrated into the school environment. Sellers says this troubling truth is what prompted their museum to develop intensive outreach initiatives to allow easy accessibility to all potential museum goers at the preliminary stages of their business planning. The museum has two tracks to support the efforts: the “Accessibility Program” which is a scholarship program for children enrolled at Title I designated schools; and the “Beta Program” which specifically focuses on opening the children’s museum world to entire families in under-served communities.
Making the vision of inclusiveness a reality for the Children’s Museum has required the support and development of strategic partnerships with local philanthropic foundations, other non-profit organizations and mainstream businesses and corporations. Cathy Jones, executive director of the Governor’s School for the Arts Foundation beams about their partnership with the museum and the Governor’s School to produce Ignite, a three week arts intensive summer camp designed to “ignite” a love for the arts in rising 7th and 8th graders from high poverty centers in the Greenville County school system. The project was funded by the Hollingsworth Foundation and gave over 50 participants exposure beyond previous experience to science and art including dance, drama, visual arts, creative writing and music.
The ability for the Children’s Museum of the Upstate to spark creativity and humanitarianism is the driving force behind the Youths Empowered through Service (YES) program sponsored by Michelin of North America according to Herb Johnson, Michelin’s director of community relations. Johnson says the goals of the museum mesh well with the Michelin’s focus areas for community development. The YES program provides life skills to 6-8th graders who volunteer at the museum on Saturdays to provide tours and short skits and to produce a newsletter for younger kids and those less fortunate. The Children’s Museum of the Upstate has many other partners and sponsors of its services including: the International Center for the Upstate, Clemson University, the Greenville Hospital System, 3M and AFL Global. William and Annette Bradshaw of Bradshaw Automotive, sponsor of the Start Your Engines exhibit, say it has been a wonderful experience for their family to watch the children of the Upstate reap the benefits from the world-class discoveries offered by the museum. They believe that the museum provides an atmosphere needed for children to thrive and grow “and become a vital part of our community.” In addition to service focused programs, several entities such as the Meyer Center underwrite day and evening activities at the museum with open admission for the public. Upcoming events at the Children’s Museum include the TD Bank sponsored “Noon-Year’s Eve” celebration for families and kids who may not be awake to bring in the New Year.
Sellers says that the business partnerships that have been developed to foster inclusion are not cursory by design because every visit to the museum creates the opportunity to instill a lifetime appreciation for museum going while creating special moments. She recalls the touching account of a homeless family who was able to attend the museum as a result of the United Way’s Fund-A-Family program. As part of the day’s events, each family represented created a family crest. Sellers says that the art project allowed one father of five who began the day slightly socially reserved to become fully engaged with his family, stating that they would keep the memoir of their visit because one day the crest would hang in their new home. Stories like these are the successes that make supporters of the Children’s Museum of the Upstate feel the most proud.