June 9, 2008

ACM NEWS

Kids Dig Dirt! Green Paper
ACM is delighted to announce the release of the Kids Dig Dirt! Green Paper. This new ACM publication is a product of a dynamic planning project funded by the Civil Society Institute, which explored the ways that children's museums can connect children to nature through outdoor play. The Green Paper proposes that children's museums integrate outdoor spaces and experiences that connect children and families to nature. It describes the crucial impact that hands-on, immersive nature play can have on individual health, environmental health and sustainable development. The Green Paper provides the vision as well as guiding principles and resources for developing outdoor environments in children's museums.

A full-color PDF of the Green Paper is available free-of-charge to ACM members on the Good to Grow! Web site. Single printed copies are also available for purchase.

To download a copy:
1. Go to www.GoodtoGrow.org/museum_member.aspx.
2. On the right side of the page, log in to the "Members Only" section.
Username: ChildrensMuseums
Password: Play2Learn
3. In the top navigation bar, click on "Good to Grow! Products."
4. Look for the Kids Dig Dirt! Green Paper and Resources section.

Submit an InterActivity 2009 Session Proposal
Proposals are due June 30, 2008. To make the submission process as easy as possible, ACM is accepting proposals online. New for 2009: ACM has added Membership, Play, Diversity and Health session tracks to the major discipline areas familiar to all. To view the 2009 theme statement and submit your session, click the link below:
Submit InterActivity 2009 Session Proposals

InterActivity 2008 Session Presentations Available Electronically
Misplaced a session handout? Couldn't make it to Denver? Looking for the most current professional development resources for staff? More than 40 presentations/handouts from the annual meeting are available to download. Simply log on and select the "Bulletin Board" section of the Member's Only Web site: Discover InterActivity 2008 Content.

Discount School Supply Discount
For the past 20 years, Discount School Supply has served as a leading developer, manufacturer and retailer of educational products for childcare programs, preschools, elementary schools and museums. As an ACM Affinity Partner, Discount School Supply will offer ACM members a 10% discount and special freight terms on all items in its catalog.

Members should site the source code, "MUSEUM," to activate the discount when ordering. This members-only discount applies to all items in the Discount School Supply catalog. To order online, visit: www.DiscountSchoolSupply.com.

MEMBER NEWS

Congratulations to Mid-Michigan Children's Museum (Saginaw), which opened its doors to the public in time for the summer season with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 5. Students from local Plainfield Elementary joined in the festivities. The museum features 11 interactive galleries, including "Outdoors, Year Round," "Aunt Sugar's Farm" and "Night N' Day."

Strong National Museum of Play® (Rochester, NY) will launch the American Journal of Play, the first interdisciplinary journal dedicated solely to the study of play. The inaugural issue, available in late July, will feature academic articles ranging from a neuroscientist's assertion that the rising tide of ADHD among children might be slowed by starting each school day off with recess, to a historian's panoramic journey through the changing playscape of American childhood since pre-industrial times.

The American Journal of Play aims to increase awareness and understanding of the role of play in learning and human development and the ways in which play illuminates American cultural history. Published quarterly, the journal is intended for museum professionals, educators, psychologists, play therapists, sociologists, anthropologists, folklorists, historians, toy and game designers, policy makers and others interested in children and the importance of play.

For additional information or to subscribe to the American Journal of Play, visit: www.AmericanJournalOfPlay.org/

Kudos is due to Lynn Meadows Discovery Center (Gulfport, MS), which was awarded a $55,000 grant by The Emeril Lagasse Foundation for construction of the WINGS Performing Arts and Education Center for Youth, the first of its kind in Mississippi. The current phase of construction, due for completion this year, includes a two-story building that connects to the museum and the adjoining gym. The grant will support the final construction phase of the project involving the renovation of the gymnasium into a state-of-the-art theater that will include acoustic and lighting equipment and stage components.

Wonderscope Children's Museum (Shawnee, KS) and The Children's Museum of Kansas City (KS) have merged to create Wonderscope Children's Museum of Kansas City. Current Wonderscope Board Member Lauranne Hess has been appointed executive director of the new organization, which will be located in the current Wonderscope Children's Museum building in Shawnee.

OPPORTUNITIES

Communicating the Museum Conference
The Communicating the Museum Conference will explore the following areas: Audience Research and Development, Advertising, Programming and New Media. Each area will be broken down into keynote speeches and interactive sessions, with the goal of deconstructing success stories so that museums may apply them to future communication strategies.

The conference will take place June 25-28 in Venice, Italy. For registration and other information, please visit: www.CommunicatingTheMuseum.com/registration.html

Natural Learning Initiative's Design Institute: Design for Children IN Nature
The Natural Learning Initiative, College of Design, NC State University, promotes the importance of the natural environment in the daily experience of all children and families through environmental design, action research, education and dissemination of information. The aim of the Design Institute is to assist organizations in designing environments that will bring children in closer contact with nature.

The institute will take place August 7-9 at Marbles Kids Museum (Raleigh, NC). Click here for registration and additional information.

Youth PSA Competition
By Kids For Kids and DoSomething.org are encouraging children to discover the social issue or cause that matters most to them and then "Do Something" to raise awareness about it. Children are invited to create a public service announcement (PSA) for the "Advertise Your Cause" Media Challenge.

Contest winners will receive $10,000 and national media exposure for the winning PSA. The competition is open to students ages five through 19 who have not yet graduated from high school. The deadline is August 31. For more information, please visit:
www.bkfk.com/Modules/Competition/Competition.aspx?section=sayit

CLASSIFIED

There are 7 grant and award opportunities on the National Grants and Awards Calendar. Here are some upcoming deadlines:
Archer Daniels Midland Company, Community Partnership Grants - June 30
Mattel Children's Foundation, Domestic Grantmaking Program - July 15
The American Legion, Child Welfare Foundation - July 15

There are 12 openings on the ACM Museum Jobs section. Here are some of the latest postings:
Garden State Discovery Museum [Educational Programs Manager] (Cherry Hill, NJ)
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library [Director, Annenberg Presidential Learning Center] (Simi Valley, CA)
The Building for Kids, Inc. [DaVinci Studio Director] (Appleton, WI)

There are 75 exhibits on the ACM Exhibits Marketplace. Here are some of the latest postings:
"Learning Lounge: Smart Moves with Food and Fitness" - 300 sq. ft.
"Pizza: Any Way You Slice It!" - 2,000 sq. ft.
"Scholastic's The Magic School Bus™ Kicks Up A Storm" - 2,500 sq. ft.

All E-Updates are available online. We welcome member contributions: press clippings, exhibit information, major announcements. Please forward all materials for the E-Update and ACMForum to acm@ChildrensMuseums.org.