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The ACM Diversity Initiative
began in 2004 with the formation of the Diversity Committee.
The Committee is comprised of ACM Board members, ACM staff and
other children's museum professionals committed to advancing
the inclusiveness and diversity of children's museums. To this
end, the Committee took a number of steps to stimulate change
in the field. |
Click on any of the links below to learn more
about the Committee's activities. Want more information? Contact
ACM.
The Need for Diversity
Statements
The mission for all children's museum comes down
to being the "town square for children and families, where
play inspires creativity and lifelong learning." As a town
square, a children's museum is a place open to all community members.
That implies that the children's museum is a welcoming institution
for people of all backgrounds.
So why is it important for a children's museum
to have a diversity statement? Quite simply, because implications
and good intentions are not enough. A diversity statement tells
the community at large that the institution will take action and
assume accountability.
Is there a one-size fits all diversity statement?
No. There are approximately 350 open children's museums around the
world, however, each is distinct in its setting, its exhibits and
the ways in which each museum reaches out, listens and includes
its community.
To help museums create a diversity statement that
fits their museum, ACM and the Diversity in Action Commitee has
been working with members at InterActivity conferences on draft
pledges, polling members on diversity priorities and creating diversity
templates. This work has been and continues to an on-going, open
process. Anyone wishing to send ACM its museum diversity pledge
or constructive feedback about creating a pledge may email ACM.
ACM
Diversity Statement
On April 27, 2005, the ACM Board
approved the ACM Diversity Statement, provided below. We encourage
member institutions to download
the entire statement for dissemination to museum staff and as
a guide in developing individual diversity statements.
The Association of Children’s
Museums is an international professional organization representing
children’s museums and institutions dedicated to serving children.
Our mission is to build the capacity of children’s museums
to serve as town squares where play inspires creativity and lifelong
learning. The Association and its members are committed to honoring,
practicing and promoting diversity, and believe that children’s
museums have unique opportunities to do so by:
- Engaging children and families in exploring
and appreciating their own cultures and the diverse cultures and
lifestyles of others.
- Enhancing children’s cultural competency,
their skills and ability to be active and successful in an increasingly
diverse and global society.
- Playing an active role in building inclusive
communities through exhibits, programs, advocacy and partnerships
that reflect and celebrate our diverse communities.
- Enhancing staff and organizational capacity
to attract, welcome and serve a diverse audience and membership.
- Modeling diversity-in-action for children
by ensuring that our boards and staff at every level reflect and
benefit from our diverse communities.
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Diversity Pledge Template
Goal: Have a diverse, cross-section of
individuals in communities across the United States understand that
their children's museum seeks to be inclusive and welcoming to all
children and families.
Strategy: Provide ACM children's museums
resources, recommendations and tools to access, improve and communicate
their commitment to diversity.
Tactic: Provide a Diversity Pledge Template,
which is written in plain language that individual museums can customize
and promote at their museum.
Diversity Pledge Template
Download the Word version of this template
Diversity is at the heart of the work that children's
museums do to create new town squares where play inspires lifelong
learning. To insure that our town square accurately reflects the
communities that surround and support our museum, are run by a staff
and are governed by a Board representative of these communities,
we, insert museum name here, pledge:
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To put diversity into action in all aspects
of our museum, in our operations, in our exhibits, in our communications
and marketing efforts, in our programs and educational offerings;
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To foster inclusion on our Board and actively
support increased leadership roles for our staff with diverse
backgrounds;
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To focus externally, engage, listen
and respond to all members of our community.
Enacted Museum Diversity
Statement
Creative Discovery Museum (Chattanooga, TN)
The Board of Directors approved the following
Diversity Statement October 22, 2007.
The Creative Discovery Museum's vision is to be
a community museum in the truest sense of the word: A place where
children and families from all backgrounds come together to play
and learn, a place that truly stimulates the curiosity and creativity
of every child. As a community museum, we believe that embracing
diversity at all levels is important and we pledge:
To put diversity into action in all aspects of
our museum, in our operations, in our exhibits, in our communications
and marketing efforts, in our programs and educational offerings;
To foster inclusion on our boards and staffs and
actively support increased leadership roles for our staff with diverse
backgrounds;
To focus externally, engage, listen and
respond to all members of our community.
Diversity
in Action Showcase
The Diversity in Action Showcase was created
to give ACM colleagues a venue to share their current efforts and
work in promoting diversity. ACM
is currently accepting applications from members interested to participate
in the 2008 Diversity in Action Showcase.
Read the below summaries from 2007 Showcase participants
to learn how museums are addressing diversity through partnerships,
programs, exhibits, events and employee development.
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2007 Showcase Descriptions
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Juntos al Kinder/Together
to Kindergarten
Long
Island Children's Museum
Garden City, NY
Monique van Putten
Early Childhood Manager
Phone: 516-224-5852
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Preparing
for Kindergarten can be a challenge, especially for families
new to the United States with limited English proficiency. Juntos
al Kinder (Spanish for "Together to Kindergarten")
helps Spanish-speaking families prepare for Kindergarten by
teaching preschoolers a base of English words and introducing
them to a classroom setting and by offering parenting classes
in the summer, with free transportation included. Participating
families receive a free family membership. |
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Language for the Eye
National
Children's Museum & Imagination Stage
Washington, DC
Jillian Finkle
Manager of Theatre & Early Childhood
Phone: 202-675-4169
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Language for the
Eye is a hands-on portable exhibit created through a partnership
between National Children's Museum and Imagination Stage, a
regional children's theatre located in Bethesda, MD. The exhibit
explores deafness, deaf culture and the accomplishments of deaf
individuals. The exhibit tours schools, community centers and
libraries where visitors explore sound, communication, technology
and famous people who are deaf. Interactive programs and assemblies
also provide answers to questions about Deaf life. |
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Project Reach Out
Discovery
Center at Murfree Spring
Murfreesboro, TN
Rachel Anderson
Development & Communications Director
Phone: 615-890-2300
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Project
Reach Out is an effort to share the museum's programming with
all students. The museum offers students who qualify for free
and reduced price lunches in the Murfreesboro City and Rutherford
County Schools. Project Reach Out provides free access to museum-lead
science, health, arts and culture programs.Students are also
invited to attend field trips and special events celebrating
Martin Luther King Day, Hispanic Open House, Chinese New Year,
as well as performances by Telling Tales, the Wood & String
Puppet Theater and La Musica Fabulosa. The museum also loans
portiable discovery boxes based on exhibits such as "Windows
on the World" which features goods sold in open air markets
in Laos, Mexico, Kenya and other countries, to school and community
groups.
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Stories of Our Community
Bay
Area Discovery Museum
Sausalito, CA
Janet Petitpas
Deputy Director
Phone: 415-339-3910
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The Bay Area Discovery
Museum partnered with Active Arts Theater for Young Audiences
and Marin County youth artists to create "Stories of Our
Community," an original theater piece celebrating the history
and founding of the community to house African-American shipyard
workers during World War II. The production highlights how theater
can explore the history of Marin City and uses student performers,
ages 9-14 in the play.
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Friends' Discovery Camp
Creative
Discovery Museum
Chattanooga, TN
Rebecca Littleton
Revenue Programs Manager
Phone: 423-756-2738
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Friends'
Discovery Camp is an inclusive day camp rich in social and sensory
experiences designed to meet the needs of children with autism
and their typically developing peers. The Creative Discovery
Museum partnered with Siskin Children's Institute, T.C. Thompson
Children's Hospital and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
to create the two-week-long summer camp.
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The Community Admission Pass Program
Stepping
Stones Museum for Children
Norwalk, CT
Sharon Anderson
Director of Community Relations
Phone: 203-899-0606
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Stepping Stones Museum
for Children created the Community Admission Pass Program by
partnering with more than 70 local community organizations whose
clients include underserved families in the Norwalk community.
Each agency decides how to distribute museum passes to their
clients. In 2007 Stepping Stones expect visits from more than
1,400 children and families through the program.
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Friendship Journeys
Chicago
Children's Museum
Chicago, IL
Natalie Bortoli
Director of Student & Educator Programs
312-464-7699
Keith McCormick
Director of Cultural Programs
312-464-8248
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Friendship
Journeys was created by Chicago Children's Museum and The Art
Institute of Chicago as part of the yearlong, citywide Silk
Road Project. Families from three culturally and ethnically
distinct neighborhoods over the span of three months participated
art activities to create new friendships, share artistic experiences,
conversations and perspectives on their own cultural traditions
as they related to the art and culture of the historic Silk
Road.
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Genesis at the Crossroads
Genesis
at the Crossroads
Chicago, IL
Dr. Wendy Sternberg
Founder & Executive Director
Phone: 773-929-0224
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Genesis at the Crossroads' peace
quilting project, One Peace at a Time, engages ethnically diverse
students at children's museums, community and afterschool programs
to create quilt squares to express their thoughts on world peace.
Genesis then gives the individually designed squares to professional
quilters who create finished quilts, which are then donated
to children in Iraqi. Examples of the quilt making process have
also been used to create an international traveling exhibit
of the same name, "One Peace at a Time." |
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We Are Maine Exhibit
Children's
Museum of Maine
Portland, ME
Sheryl Mays
Education Director
Phone: 207-828-1234 (ex 228)
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"We
Are Maine" is an exhibit exploring the global and ethnic
traditions of Maine's communities. The exhibit was created in
collaboration with 20 Maine families, some of whom are refugees
while others are immigrants who arrived years ago. The exhibit's
centerpiece is a first-voice collection of videos, narrated
by a young family member that explore the daily activities of
families and how they continue to celebrate cultural traditions
through food, holidays, language, music and dance. A video storytelling
kiosk enables visitors to record their own family traditions
that can be added to the exhibit.
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Dream Keepers
Children's
Museum of Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, TN
Mary Ann Damos
Children's Museum of Oak Ridge
Phone: 865-482-1074
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The Children's Museum
of Oak Ridge hosts Dream Keepers with the local Martin Luther
King Day Celebration Committee in Oak Ridge, TN. Though music,
storytelling, crafts an other activities, children learn about
the Civil Rights Movement and the life and work of Dr. King.
The museum also hosts an annual International Festival each
February that features food, performers and crafts. A highlight
of the International Festival are cultural booths representing
more than 30 countries. |
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Inside/Outside: Skin Deep
Curious
Kid's Museum
St. Joseph, MI
Patricia Adams
Executive Director
Phone: 269-983-2549
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The
"Inside/Outside: Skin Deep" is an exhibit developed
in collaboration with Calling All Colors, a non-profit organization
that strives to create racial and cultural harmony by bringing
together elementary students in the three local school districts
that surround the museum. The exhibit examines the science of
skin color and avoids using racially charged language to describe
the physical differences and simularities between people.
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Creative Technology
Capital
E! Museum for Children
Wellington, New Zealand
Stuart Grant
Executive Director
Ph. +64-4-913-3734
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The museum's free scholarship
programs helps children, who carry the hopes of their disparate
communities, to discover and express themselves through original
music, video, animation and live performance. Through technological
partnerships, children are able to share their expressions and
experiences with children in other cities and countries, and
by doing so more deeply understand fresh perspectives on an
ever-changing world.
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InterActivity
Diversity Scholarship Program
This program encourages the professional
development of ethnically diverse professionals in the children's
museum field by providing complimentary registration and lodging
for InterActivity. Click
here for Information about applying for a 2008 InterActivity
scholarship. top
Museums
and Diversity Initiative
In 2005, ACM joined a national consortium
of associations and museums, led by the American Association of
Museums (AAM), to establish the national Museums
and Diversity Initiative. For more information on the initiative,
visit
AAM's Web site. top
Suggested Readings
| Children, these special souls,
are also the keenest observers of human nature-they see and
feel everything: smiles, scorn, pleasure and sternness. They
observe facial expressions, hand and body movements, voices
and even silence. They filter these observations and interactions
to determine how others perceive them, but more significantly,
these encounters shape how they see themselves. Are we fully
welcoming all children into the museum with our eyes, voice
and touch in a way that says, "Your being here makes me
happy"? |
-- Exerpt from "In the Eyes of a
Child: What Do Children Think about Diversity?" by Georgina
Ngozi.
Download
the entire article.
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While not a comprehensive list of readings, the
following books and articles for children, parents, educators and
museum professionals are provided for consideration. If you have
a suggestion for this list, please email ACM.
The
Skin You Live In
Whimsical Picture Book Teaches Children Acceptance At An Early
Age
What began as a whimsical way for author Michael
Tyler to convey to his young son that skin color does not define
a person's value is now a lyrical tool for caregivers to share with
children. The rhyming picture book The Skin You Live In (published
by Chicago Children's Museum), by Michael Tyler with illustrations
by David Lee Csicsko, can help parents and teachers tackle tough
topics-differences, friendship, acceptance, self-esteem and diversity-in
a fun, accessible way. This publication is available on Amazon.com
Crucial Conversations:
Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
A how-to book for handling "life's most difficult
and important conversations." Topics include preparation, transformation
of anger into dialogue, cultivation of a "safe" conversation
culture, and the art of persuasion. Written by Kerry Patterson,
Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler and Stephen Covey. This
publication is available on Amazon.com
Translation Nation:
Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United
States
Pulitzer Prize-winning Guatemalan-American journalist
Hector Tobar finds a "parallel nation" in his cross-country
trips from "futbol" leagues in Alabama to a rapidly growing
Spanish-language newspaper in Kansas. A quick, interesting look
at what one reviewer calls "redefining the experience of the
American immigrant." This publication is available through
Penguin
Publishing.
Volunteer Recruitment
(& Membership Development) Book, The 3rd edition
This book is filled with recruitment ideas on
where to look for volunteers, why people do or do not volunteer,
how to select the right recruitment technique, what diversity means
to your organization, and an appendix on how to recruit via the
Internet. Written by Susan J. Ellis. This publication is available
through the Energize,
Inc. bookstore.
Leisure Decisions
Influencing African American Use of Museums
Based on two recent research studies, this report
explores variables that could account for current patterns of museum
use by African Americans: socio-economic, institutional, cultural/ethnic,
and regional factors. This characterization of leisure patterns
attempts to capture the range of African-American museum-going attitudes
and behaviors. Survey instruments and tables included. Written by
John H. Falk, the publication is available through the American
Association of Museums bookstore.
Museum News Flies
in the Buttermilk: Museums, Diversity & the Will to Change
Lonnie G. Bunch wrote this article in the
July/August 2000 issue of Museum News. The Smithsonian Institution
has named Bunch as the first director of the National Museum of
African American History and Culture, effective July 2005. AAM's
award-winning magazine has been covering trends in the field and
issues facing the museum community for the past 85 years. The publication
is available through the American
Association of Museums bookstore.
Museum News (July/August
2005) In Search of the American Museum
Tuliza Fleming wrote this article in the July/August
2005 issue of Museum News. She is the Curator for American Art at
The Dayton Art Institute. Fleming has served in numerous professional
research and curatorial positions including that of guest curator
for Breaking Racial Barriers: African Americans in the Harmon Foundation
Collection at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
The publication is available through the American
Association of Museums bookstore.
Tempered Radicals
How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work
Author Debra E. Meyerson calls them "tempered
radicals": people who want to become valued and successful
members of their organizations without compromising who they are
and what they believe. Meyerson further argues that these "everyday
leaders" act as crucial sources of new ideas, alternative perspectives,
and organizational learning and change. Drawing from 15 years of
research and the compelling stories of tempered radicals in a variety
of organizations, Meyerson illustrates a spectrum of innovative
ways - from cautious to increasingly bold - that individuals "rock
the boat" from inside the corporate ship and steer a course
for powerful, positive change. This publication is available through
Harvard
Business School Publishing.
Museums in the Life
of a City Strategies for Community Partnerships
This final report describes the goals, pilot partnerships,
and results of the Museums in the Life of a City Initiative.
This project was established to enhance the appreciation of cultural
diversity by building partnerships between museums and communities.
Portia Hamilton-Sperr, Project Director American Association of
Museums. The publication is available through the American
Association of Museums bookstore.
Cultivating Diversity
in Fundraising
Raising money in today's diverse communities is
a growing challenge for fund raisers and philanthropists, requiring
thoughtful strategies, successful collaborations, and a respectful
understanding of people's differences. This book examines the ways
in which fund raisers can use an understanding of ethnic differences
to create a vibrant and balanced nonprofit center through individual
and collaborative efforts, taking into account location, population
served, and community demographics. Written by Janice Gow Pettey.
This publication is available through John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Building Museum
& School Partnerships
Museum educators and school teachers met
for three workshops on establishing closer working relations between
schools and museums. Each partner's expectations of the other, learning
theories in museums, field trips, outreach projects, community as
classroom, and cultural diversity constitute the core contents of
the book. An appendix includes an array of successful program materials
used by museums in Pennsylvania. Edited by Beverly Sheppard. American
Association of Museums / Pennsylvania Federation of Museums &
Historical Organizations. The publication is available through the
American
Association of Museums bookstore.
Race, Ethnicity and Self:
Identity in Multicultural Perspective
This collection of articles examines the impact
of race and ethnicity on individual identity development in the
United States. Theory and research is presented about African Americans,
Asian Americans, Native American Indians, Whites, Puerto Ricans,
and Vietnamese Americans. Articles by a multicultural group of authors
provide a theoretical framework through which to discuss the concept
of self across cultures, and address such issues as the relationship
of power and dominance to attitudes of race, and the challenge of
a biracial heritage.
Written by Elizabeth P. Salett and Diane R. Koslow. This publication
is available through the National
MultiCultural Institute bookstore.
Giraffe & Elephant:
A Diversity Fable
This book captures with stunning simplicity the
complex issues that we face daily throughout the course of the 21st
Century. It goes straight to the core of the matter difference
and provides a jumping-off place for true conversation to
finally take place. Written by R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. This publication
is available through Diversity
Inc. bookstore.
Positive Trends
in Learning: Meeting the Needs of a Rapidly Changing World
The report avoids discussion of fads or
trends that many would consider negative. It is set in the context
of lifelong learning in order
to reinforce its value for the education of students at any age
and in any setting. The report has many relevant chapters including,
The Growing Diversity of Students Is Affecting Educational Planning
and Practice in All Settings. Written by by Dee Dickerson is also
an interesting read available on line at New
Horizons. top
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Created to to give children and families
the opportunity to experience cultures of Asia, the Asian
Exhibit Initiative features these cultures:
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