2012 Promising Practice Awards
Due to technical difficulties, the application deadline has been extended to:
February 21, 2012
The MetLife Foundation & ACM Promising Practice Awards rewards excellence and provides recognition for innovative and creative practices in children’s museums; promotes management practices that support alternative and creative research and programming; builds a body of knowledge of exemplary programs and practices; and establishes models for the advancement of the children’s museum field at-large.
There are two award and honorable mention opportunities.
Questions? Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Program Officer, Education, or call: 703.224.3100 ex.103
U.S. Promising Practice Award Competition
Three children's museums will be granted a total of $30,000 ($10,000 per museum); each award recipient will be presented with a MetLife Foundation & ACM Promising Practice crystal award. All recipients will be recognized during the InterActivity 2012 afternoon plenary session, elevated as leaders in the children's museum field at the Promising Practice Showcase at InterActivity 2013 and eligible to apply for a $10,000 restricted grant through the MetLife Foundation & ACM Replication Award Program.
Each honorable mention museum will recieve a complimentary registration to attend the full InterActivity 2013 conference scheduled April 30-May 2, 2013, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
All award and honorable mention museums will be promoted through ACM press outreach and their practice summary will be included in the Promising Practice Award database.
- To apply, museum representatives should first read the theme, eligibility, selection criteria and narrative requirements outlined on this page, then complete a U.S. Application PDF.
If you have any questions, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
International Promising Practice Award Competition
One award recipient will be presented with a MetLife Foundation and ACM Promising Practice crystal award and a total of $10,000 in U.S. dollars. The recipient will be recognized during the InterActivity 2012 opening plenary session, elevated as a leader in the children's museum field at the InterActivity 2013 Promising Practice Showcase and eligible to apply for a $10,000 restricted grant through the MetLife Foundation & ACM Replication Award Program.
Each honorable mention museum will recieve a complimentary registration to attend the full InterActivity 2013 conference scheduled April 30-May 2, 2013, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
All award and honorable mention museums will be promoted through ACM press outreach and their practice summary will be included in the Promising Practice Award database.
- To apply, museum representatives should first read the theme, eligibility, selection criteria and narrative requirements outlined on this page, then complete an International Application PDF.
Theme
The world in the 21st century is increasingly interconnected. As people of all nations begin to understand the imperative to work together as a unified, global community, the responsibility of educating and preparing children to become future global citizens is essential.
To be a global citizen and thrive in the worldwide community, children must learn to:
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respect the rights, values and opinions of others;
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appreciate and celebrate diversity;
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think creatively and critically so that they may act responsibly in all aspects of life — including social, economic and cultural;
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and understand the interdependence between people, the environment and the impacts of actions, both locally and globally.
Children’s museums nurture future global citizens through essential partnerships, programs and learning environments that allow children to build fundamental skills through play, exploration and discovery, enabling children to gain the attitudes and skills to proactively make the world a more inclusive, sustainable place. The 2012 Promising Practice Award will recognize programs, exhibits, partnerships and museum policies in children’s museums that prepare children to become global citizens by highlighting cultural competency, environmental stewardship and creative and critical thinking.
Eligibility
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To be eligible for the 2012 Promising Practice Award and to be included in the summary of applicants, an applicant must: be a nonprofit children's museum open to the public, a member in good standing of the Association of Children's Museums; and submit a promising practice application that supports methods that prepare children to become global citizens by February 13, 2012.
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A consortium of museums may submit a single application, with the intension and understanding that if selected as a winner, the grant and recognition would only be shared among those museums in the consortium that are both nonprofit open children's museums and current members of the Association of Children's Museums.
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Exhibits, programs, partnerships and /or museum policies that supports methods that prepare children to become global citizens are each eligible and suitable as a Promising Practice.
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The applicant agrees, if selected for an award, that a representative from the museum will accept its Promising Practice Award in person at InterActivity 2012 (May 10-12, 2012) in Portland, Oregon. The applicant understands all InterActivity registration and travel expenses and arrangements are entirely the responsibility of the museum.
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The applicant agrees, if selected, that a museum representative will participate in a Promising Practice Award Showcase session at InterActivity 2013 (April 30-May 2, 2013) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Again, the applicant understands all InterActivity registration and travel expenses and arrangements are entirely the responsibility of the museum. (Museums may choose to use a portion of the unrestricted cash award to pay for said expenses.)
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Museums that recieved a Promising Practice Award in 2011 or 2010 are not eligible to submit for the 2012 Award.
Selection Criteria and Narrative Requirements
Applications will be evaluated by a Selection Committee consisting of an independent panel of professionals. The Selection Committee will deliberate each entry based on the narrative responses to the application questions. In the U.S. MetLife & ACM Promising Practice Award competition, at least one of the awardees will be selected from the pool of museum applicants which has an annual opperating budget of $499,999 or less. ACM encourages all museums to include research findings and references that support the museum's promising practice in their narrative responses.
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All award recipients will be notified in March 2012.
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Questions: Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Program Officer, Education