April 28-30, 2009 Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Museum Host: Please Touch Museum® Latest News! InterActivity 2009 Theme Statement Hotel and Travel Information Registration Information Online Registration is Open! Award, Recognition & Scholarship Opportunities Exhibiting, Sponsoring & Advertising Prospectus   InterActivity 2009: Declare Your Impact is supported by grants from: William Penn Foundation Pennsylvania Historical and Museums Commission Target

InterActivity 2009: Declare Your Impact!

Children's museums are one of the fastest growing cultural institutions in the United States. In 1975, there were approximately 38 children's museums. Today, there are more than 300 and there is a combined total of nearly $1 billion in capital campaigns underway. Why? Because children's museums uniquely provide something that has otherwise been missing from communities: a safe, enriching environment that nurtures creativity, play and lifelong learning.

By demonstrating diversity in action, growing healthy families and communities and making the case for the importance of play in the learning lives of infants through adults, children's museums impact entire communities.

Children's museums are helping to revitalize downtown economies; to advocate for afterschool program funding; to restore a child's natural connection to the outdoors; to save art, music, science and history education in the schools; and to ensure that cloud watching and bubble making not become lost art forms. InterActivity 2009 will showcase the many ways children's museums are making an impact. Join ACM in Philadelphia and Declare Your Impact!

InterActivity 2009 Program Committee

Latest News!

Fifteen years ago green building was just a good idea. Today it's a global movement. In less than five years, the number
of LEED-certified children's museums has gone from zero to more than 10 percent. In a field dedicated to nurturing the
next generation, a children's museum must consider the environmental impact of its building, operations and programs.

Richard Fedrizzi, founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1993, was appointed President &
CEO in April 2004. Under his leadership, the Council has spearheaded a far-reaching agenda that has cemented its
role as a leader in the global sustainability movement.

A cornerstone of that agenda has been the evolution of the internationally recognized LEED Green Building Rating
System through a comprehensive realignment and technical upgrade of all the existing rating systems along with
enhancements to their usability. Additionally USGBC has incorporated aspects that address the unique needs of homes, neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, the retail sector and large property owners, with a special emphasis on LEED for
Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance, in recognition of the huge need to bring existing buildings up to higher
levels of ongoing performance.

At InterActivity, Fedrizzi will address the environmental challenges that confront us, and the crucial role that green building
plays in meeting these challenges. The greening of children's museums is a major opportunity - one that provides for
significant energy savings and natural resource conservation while delivering inarguable health benefits for children,
families and communities.

Greg Mortenson is the cofounder of nonprofit Central Asia Institute, Pennies For Peace, and co-author of New York Times bestseller Three Cups of Tea which has been a # 1 New York Times bestseller for 83 weeks since its January 2007 release,
and was Time Magazine Asia Book of The Year.

Mortenson was born in Minnesota in 1957. He grew up on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (1958 to 1973), where
his father Dempsey, founded Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center a teaching hospital, and his mother, Jerene, started the International School Moshi. He served in the U.S. Army in Germany during the Cold War (1977-1979), where he received the
Army Commendation Medal, and later graduated from the University of South Dakota (1983), and pursued graduate studies in neurophysiology.

On July 24th, 1992, Mortenson's younger sister, Christa, died from a massive seizure after a lifelong struggle with epilepsy
on the eve of a trip to visit Dysersville, Iowa, where the baseball movie, 'Field of Dreams', was filmed in a cornfield. In 1993, to honor his sister's memory, Mortenson climbed Pakistan's K2, the world's second highest mountain in the Karakoram range.

After K2, while recovering in a local village called Korphe, Mortenson met a group of children sitting in the dirt writing with sticks
in the sand, and made a promise to help them build a school. From that rash promise, grew a remarkable humanitarian campaign, in which Mortenson has dedicated his life to promote education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan
and Afghanistan.

As of 2008, Mortenson has established more than 78 schools in rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan,
which provide education to more than 28,000 children, including 18,000 girls, where few education opportunities existed before.

Please Touch Museum, ACM's museum host for InterActivity 2009, hosted an opening gala at its new location at the
beautifully restored, historic Memorial Hall in Fairmont Park on Friday, October 3. The grand celebration was complete
with local musicians and performers; cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres and delicious desserts; dancing; and free reign for
guests to explore the museum’s exciting new exhibits and magnificently restored building. The public Grand Opening for
Please Touch Museum will be October 18.

Please Touch Museum exhibit and museum highlights include:

Registration Information

Registration Rates

Instructions to Register Online

To Register Yourself:

1. Go to https://members.childrensmuseums.org

2. Click “View and register for InterActivity”

3. Log on using your ACM username and password.

• If you need a logon/password reminder, please email acm@ChildrensMuseums.org.

To Register a Group:

• Each staff member must have an online account with ACM. Attendees of InterActivity 2006, 2007 or 2008
  may already have an account. Staff members who you plan to register can check if they have an account or set
  one up by visiting https://members.childrensmuseums.org and clicking “Log on.”

• Once your staff member(s) have created an account, please allow one business day for ACM to link them with your institutional account and you may then proceed with registering and paying as a group.

• Please note that you are not required to register everyone together as a group to take advantage of the Take 5! Rebate;
  you can register staff either through their individual online accounts or through your institutional account. The advantage
  of registering everyone through the institutional account is that you can pay for all the registrations at once.
  

• To register multiple staff and pay all at once:

  1. Go to https://members.childrensmuseums.org

  2. Click “View and register for InterActivity”

  3. Log on using your ACM username and password. After logging on, choose “Register myself” to register the
     institutional account holder and/or choose “Register someone else” to complete the registration process for
     each staff member in your group.

Registration Discounts

Early Bird and Advance Registration Discounts
Early Bird Rate allows individuals to save up to $100 by registering by February 28. Advance Rate allows individuals to save up to $30 by registering by April 3. See the registration rate matrix for a complete list of prices.

ACM Member Discount
ACM members receive a discount on InterActivity registration, as well as a host of other benefits. If you are not currently a member, join ACM now and Save!

Student Registration Rate
To qualify for the student registration rate for InterActivity, an attendee must be a full-time student in a degree-granting program and not a full-time museum employee. Student must fax or mail a copy of his/her current student ID to ACM whether registering online or via a paper form.

Take 5! Rebate
The Take 5! Discount has evolved into a rebate offer. Member institutions sending five or more individuals (full-time and part-time staff members, interns, volunteers, Board and Trustee members) to InterActivity will receive a rebate totaling five percent of the institution's total InterActivity registration fees. Surcharges, membership dues, pre- and post-conference registration fees, tours and ticketed events are not included in calculating the total InterActivity registration fees. The rebate will be issued to the member institution as a check and mailed by June 30. Only full InterActivity registration fees paid by the institution count toward the Take 5! Rebate offer. Institutions are not required to register all of its group at one time. Institutions may register additional museum-sponsored individuals online through April 3, and on-site to qualify for the Take 5! Rebate. ACM's InterActivity cancellation policy will apply to all Take 5! Registrations. A canceled registration that reduces the number of individuals an institution sends to the full InterActivity conference to less than five will void the Take 5! Rebate.

2009 Diversity in Action InterActivity Scholarship
Application Deadline: January 19, 2009

The Diversity in Action InterActivity Scholarship provides selected individuals with complimentary registration and lodging at InterActivity 2009. The purpose of the scholarship program is to encourage professional development and retention of museum staff of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Individuals employed for at least one year at an international or U.S. ACM member children's museum that is in good standing are eligible to apply for a scholarship. Additional eligibility requirements are listed in the application. Apply now online.

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Award, Recognition & Scholarship Opportunities

2009 MetLife Foundation and Association of Children's Museums Promising Practice Award

Who: Nonprofit ACM U.S. children's museums members that are in good standing are eligible for this award.

What: Measurable impact is the theme for the 2009 Award. Children's museums that can demonstrate how its innovative program, exhibit and/or management practice has impacted the health, diversity or play of children, families and/or communities through measurable evaluation will be recognized for the 2009 Award. A maximum of three cash awards totaling $20,000 will be presented to selected museums. One of the awards is designated for a small museum with an annual budget of $499,999 or less.

How: Apply online

Deadline: January 19, 2009

Where: Awards presented at InterActivity 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.

2009 MetLife Foundation and Association of Children's Museums Promising Practice Replication Award

Who: The award competition is open to prior cash award recipients of the Promising Practice Award that are voting members in good standing with the ACM. Prior recipients of the Replication Award are not eligible to apply for the same practice.

What: The Promising Practice Replication Award, a cash award of $10,000, will be given to a museum previously honored with the Promising Practice Award program (1999-2008). The Replication Award winner will be expected to document the program development process and to create a “tool kit” that will enable other museums to replicate the program in their own communities.

How: Apply online

Deadline: January 19, 2009

Where: Awards presented at InterActivity 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.

Universal Design for Learning Award

Who: Nonprofit ACM U.S. children's museums members that are in good standing are eligible for this award.

What: The award is an innovative collaboration between VSA arts and ACM identifies model programs in children’s museums that demonstrate learning standards for inclusive practice and provide sub-awards and technical assistance to the selected museums to refine and document their practices for dissemination. A maximum of three cash awards totaling $30,000 will be presented to selected museums.

How: Apply online

Deadline: January 19, 2009

Where: Awards presented at InterActivity 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.

Diversity in Action Showcase

Who: International and U.S. ACM children's museums members that are in good standing are eligible for this recognition.

What: The Diversity in Action Showcase was created to give ACM colleagues a venue to share their current efforts and work in promoting, supporting and celebrating diversity in their institutions as it relates to staff, visitors and/or the community. Looking for ideas of what kinds of programs to submit? See summaries of the 2008 Showcase.

How: Apply online

Deadline: March 19 , 2009

Where: Selected models will be shared with the field at InterActivity 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.

2009 Diversity in Action InterActivity Scholarship

Who: Individuals employed for at least one year at an international or U.S. ACM member children's museum that is in good standing are eligible for this award. Additional eligibility requirements are listed in the application.

What: The goals of the scholarship program are to encourage retention and professional development of museum staff of diverse backgrounds.

How: Apply online

Deadline: January 19 , 2009

Where: Selected individuals will receive complimentary registration and lodging at InterActivity 2009 in Philadelphia, PA.

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Philadelphia City, Hotel and Travel Information

About Philadelphia
Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth most populous city in the United States. It is the fifth largest metropolitan area and fourth largest urban area by population in the United States, the nation's fourth largest consumer media market as ranked by the Nielsen Media Research, and the 49th most populous city in the world. A commercial, educational, and cultural center, the city was once the second-largest in the British Empire (after London) and the social and geographical center of the original 13 American colonies. During the 18th century, it eclipsed New York City in political and social importance, with Benjamin Franklin taking a large role in Philadelphia's early rise to prominence.

Philadelphia Offers:

• 29 Historic Sites

• 30 Museums

• 16 Outdoor attractions

• 27 Performing Arts Centers
  

The city is known for its hoagies, scrapple, soft pretzels, water ice, and is home to the cheesesteak. Geno's and Pat's, two famed cheesesteak outlets, are located at Philadelphia’s Italian Market.

According to a study prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Philadelphia and its surrounding region had the fourth highest GDP among American cities, with a total "city GDP" of $312 billion in 2005. Only New York, Los Angeles and Chicago had higher total economic output levels.

Philadelphia is home to the following “first in America” institutions:

Weather

Philadelphia falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Average temperature that time of year is mid-60’s. While there is no dress code for the conference, most attendees wear business casual attire and are encouraged to dress in layers to be most comfortable.

Hotel Information

Sheraton Philadelphia City Center is just four blocks from the Pennsylvania Convention Center, and in walking distance of Love Park, the Franklin Institute and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and is surrounded by the city’s cultural and corporate headquarters.

Splash around in the indoor pool, rejuvenate with a workout at our fitness center, or lounge on the spacious sun deck. Unwind in one of its newly renovated 759 guest rooms, conduct business with a Wireless High Speed Internet connection, or relax in the famously comfortable Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed, and order dinner in.

Reserving Your Hotel Room

The conference room rate is $199 per night for a single or double room.

Call 800-325-3535 (toll free) before April 4, 2009, and inform the reservations agent that you are attending
the Association of Children's Museums conference.

You can also book your room online:

Travel

By Train:

Amtrak services Philadelphia daily and is located on 30th Street (800) 872-7245

Philadelphia International Airport

Philadelphia International Airport: The Sheraton is 12 miles from the Philadelphia International Airport. The cost of a cab from the airport to the hotel is approximately $32.00 and should take 25-30 min depending on traffic.

Directions from airport to hotel:

• Follow airport signs to I-95 North to Exit #22 676 West.

• Take 676 West to Broad Street Exit and go to 15th Street.

• Follow 15th Street one half block to Spring Street.

• Turn right on Spring Street and go one block to 16th Street.

• Make a right onto 16th Street and go down one quarter block.

• Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel is located on the left.

Taxi Services:

• All City Taxi – 215-467-6666
  

• City Cab Co – 215-492-6500
  

• J&J Transportation – 215-634-2688
  

• Quaker City Cab – 215-729-5706
  

• United Cab – 215-423-8000

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