Washington, D.C. - From June 6-8, 2002, children's museum professionals will gather for the first time since 9/11 to reaffirm their important role as new town squares for children and families. InterActivity 2002, the Association of Children's Museums' (ACM) annual conference, will convene over 400 children's museum professionals, educators, and researchers from the United States and around the world to discuss the latest trends in the children's museum field and the wider arenas of learning and play. This year marks ACM's first internationally held conference in Ottawa-Hull, Canada, hosted by the Canadian Children's Museum, Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Last year over 31 million children and families visited children's museums, down slightly from 33 million in 2000. These attendance figures reported by ACM members show a field holding strong in the wake of 9/11 and a weakened economy. In fact, the role of children's museums as community gathering places - indeed, new town squares - was strengthened following 9/11 when many children's museums:served as free places for families to connect with other families, provided information on how to talk with young children about tragedy, and provided free counseling to visiting families.

Children's museums are continually increasing their role in the community from within the museum and through increased outreach efforts. In fact, outreach attendance reported by ACM's member children's museums has nearly doubled in the past year from 3.9 to 6.6 million. Janet Rice Elman, Executive Director of the Association of Children's Museums commented, "This growth is a direct result of the expanding role of children's museums as integral community partners. Children's museums are not waiting for visitors to come to them - they are reaching out to new audiences through school visits and other collaborative efforts."

And in general, children's museums have boomed in number and attendance in the past decade. For example, the current attendance figure of 31 million visitors has more than tripled since 1991 when ACM member museums reported overall attendance at eight million - this is a 388% increase. Furthermore, since 1990 over 100 children's museums have opened to the public. ACM currently has approximately 215 museum members as well as 80 emerging museum members not yet open to the public. The numbers speak for themselves - the growth of children's museums has been tremendous.

As children's museums continue to grow and set the standards for informal learning through play, world-renowned experts in early learning and community building are similarly taking a look at the role of children's museums in fostering early learning in a community setting. Keynote speakers at InterActivity will expand on these ideas while challenging children's museum professionals to think in new and different ways.

The following speakers will set the tone for the conference, addressing philosophical issues related to the children's museum community:

· Dr. Valora Washington, CEO of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee will give an opening keynote on crossing the borders of childhood with a focus on the role of children's museums as gateways to communities. [June 6, 9:00am]
· W. Richard West, Director of the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution will address the diverse living cultures in the museum community and the voices used to express the commonalities within this field. [June 6, 12:00pm]
· Dr. Patrice Engle, Senior Advisor of Early Childhood Development for UNICEF, New York, will accept the Great Friend to Kids Award on behalf of UNICEF and keynote on the importance of early childhood development initiatives around the world. [June 7, 9:00am]
· Lynn Johnston, Creator, Artist, and Author of For Better or For Worse will accept the first annual Kids' Voices Award and keynote on the inherent fiber of today's family. She will address how her comic strip has created a safe medium for honest discussions between children and families. [June 8, 9:00am]

UNICEF will receive the 2002 Great Friend to Kids Award. This award was initiated in 1991 by ACM to honor individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions toward strengthening education and improving the lives of children. UNICEF is the leading global children's organization with programs that place special emphasis on the areas of education for all, especially girls, and the importance of early childhood development. Dr. Patrice Engle will speak on behalf of UNICEF and talk specifically about her work in early childhood development.

ACM is also proud to present the first annual Kids' Voices Award. In addition to recognizing lifetime achievement though the Great Friend to Kids Award, the Kids' Voices Award pays tribute to other individuals or organizations that forged and nurtured opportunities for kids' voices to be heard and valued. This award recognizes journalists, commentators, authors, and others who have cultivated a vital forum for giving voice to children and the issues they face in contemporary society. This year's recipient is Lynn Johnston, author of the popular comic strip For Better or For Worse. Ms. Johnston's strip deals honestly with both the lighthearted and the serious aspects of family life and has, for 23 years, effectively brought families together for laughter, tears and dialogue.

In addition to these honors, three children's museums will be awarded for their innovative programming and management practices that define the role of children's museums in the community in unique and meaningful ways. The MetLife Foundation and Association of Children's Museums Promising Practice Awards will be presented in a ceremony on June 6.

InterActivity 2002 is supported by Civil Society Institute, Klutz, Inc., Lord Cultural Resources Planning & Management, The Roy L. Shafer Company, White Oak Associates, Inc., as well as Chicago Children's Museum, The Children's Museum, Boston, The Children's Museum of Houston, Children's Museum of Manhattan, Exploration Place, Inc., Minnesota Children's Museum, The Pittsburgh Children's Museum, Please Touch Museum®.

ACM is the professional service organization that endeavors to expand the capacity and further the vision of children's museums around the world. ACM's vision is to bring children and families together in a new kind of town square where play inspires lifelong learning. Founded in 1962 as a support group for directors, ACM has broadened its services and purpose as an international association
with over 400 members.