Association of Children's Museums

MetLife Foundation & ACM Promising Practice Award Application

Back to all ACM Award, Recognition and Scholarship Applications

Deadline: February 15, 2010

Application Process:

Applicants must complete the online application in one sitting.
ACM recommends that applicants prepare their answers for the essay questions ahead of time and save their answers.
ACM will send a confirmation email letting you know your application has been submitted.

The Award: MetLife Foundation and Association of Children's Museums Promising Practice Award rewards excellence and provides recognition for innovative and creative practices in children's museums; promotes management practices that support alternative and creative 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. A total of $20,000 will be presented to selected museums at InterActivity 2010 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Although the cash award is unrestricted, recipient museums are encouraged to use the award to further refine, expand or evaluate promising practices. Additionally, three honorable mention applicants will each receive a complimentary registration to InterActivity 2011.

Category: Investing in green practices is a growing trend in children’s museums. Nearly 15 percent of ACM member institutions have committed themselves to be LEED-certified children’s museums; an additional number of museums have looked into ways to make their exhibits, institutional policies, programs and operations environmentally responsible. As community leaders serving children and families nationwide, children’s museums model and reinforce the importance of adopting green practices to increase energy and environmental conservation, as well as to improve the health of children, families and communities. The 2010 Promising Practice Award will honor the broad scope of promising green practices (building design, exhibits, programs, operations and management practices) in children’s museums.

Eligibility: Museum applicants may apply individually or on behalf of a consortium of museums. Please note: to be eligible for a 2010 Promising Practice Award and to be included in the summary of applicants, your museum must:

must support green practices (building design, operations, policy, programs, exhibits and/or initiatives) that motivate children and families to incorporate green practices into every day life.
existing programs -- regardless of age -- are eligible. This means programs that promote energy effienciency, conservation, recycling, reducing trash, sustainable farming, sustainable fishing, use of public transportation, awareness of global footprint, etc...
be an ACM current, open, nonprofit museum member located in the United States and;
have not received a Promising Practice cash award in 2008 or 2009.

Selection Criteria and Narrative Requirements: Applications will be evaluated by an impartial panel of experts (Selection Committee) in the children's museum and health fields. Please note: One of the three cash awards will be designated for a "small" museum, defined as a museum with an annual operating budget of $499,999 or less (ACM Level 1 or II memberships). The Selection Committee will deliberate each entry based on applicants' narrative response to the application questions listed below. Award recipients will be notified in March 2010. Please answer the following questions in a narrative not to exceed 1,825 words in length.

Application Process: Applicants must complete the online application in one sitting; ACM recommends that applicants prepare their answers for the essay questions ahead of time. ACM will send a confirmation email once your application has been submitted.

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

Name (First, Last):
Title:
ACM Member Museum:
Phone:
Email:
Please check your ACM membership level:	Full Level I (Budgets under $250,000) Full Level II (Budgets $250,000-$499,999) Full Level III (Budgets $500,000-$999,999)	Full Level IV (Budgets $1 million-$2,999,999) Full Level V (Budgets $3 million-$4,999,999) Full Level VI (Budgets $5 million and above)
Describe the problem/solution that your promising practice addresses. Click here for sample descriptions. 75 word limit
How does your promising practice motivate children and families to incorporate green practices into every day life. 250 word limit
How is your promising practice novel or innovative? What resources (time, personnel, funding) would be needed for other children's museums to replicate this practice? 300 word limit
How have you measured, or how do you plan to measure, the effectiveness of your promising practice? What were/are the goals of your evaluation? 250 word limit
How does your museum's internal management team support your promising practice? 250 word limit
How does the promising practice enhance or support your museum's mission or strategic direction? 250 word limit
To support your application, you may upload electronic files/scans of brochures, press clippings or letters of endorsement. Total file size limit is 4 MB
Consent to Share Promising Practice If my museum is awarded a 2010 MetLife Foundation and Association of Children's Museums Promising Practice Award, I agree to do the following: send a museum representative to InterActivity 2010 to accept the award; write a press release about award and distribute it to local media outlets; send ACM all award press clippings; write a case study about the practice for ACM's journal Hand to Hand; and send a museum representative to InterActivity 2010 to participate in the Promising Practice Award Showcase session.
	I have read and understand the requirements to share and promote my promising practice.
Supervisor Name:
My Supervisor:	My supervisor endorses this application.
		**Please only press the Submit button once and wait for the Thank You page to appear to confirm that your email has been sent.

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Three Sample Problem/Solution Descriptions from Prior Award Summaries

What has been missing for some time has been quality curriculum for afterschool programs, and training for their educators that recognize the unique challenges and advantages of Out-Of-School-Time settings. KIDS @fterschool was created to address both of these needs. KIDS @fterschool presents a full year of interdisciplinary activities within a pedagogical framework that teaches educators effective presentation skills, question asking strategies and other techniques. And, most importantly, KIDS is disseminated for free on our Web site.

Often at museums, schools and other public places, young children act up to the point where parents become so overwhelmed they can't focus on anything else around them. The Wakanheza project teaches museum staff and others how to guide effectively such situations in the moment, rather than judging and attempting to fix an individual or situation. Wakanheza is a statewide partnership lead by the Minnesota Children's Museum.

Personal vehicles are the number one cause of Washington's toxic air pollution, sending more than one million tons of pollution into the air each year. "Education & Fun Rolled Into One!" is Imagine Children's Museum's solution that improves the community's awareness about the benefits of public transportation and addresses the museum's critical shortage of parking for patrons accustomed to the convenience of driving.