ACM has helped many dedicated individuals take
the idea of starting a children's museum from a dream to a
fully functioning reality. We can help you too.
A Growing Field
There are 341 ACM Children's Museum Members, representing
a total of 23 countries. Approximately 24% of these children's
museums are in the start-up phase. In 1975 there were approximately
38 children’s museums in the United States. Eighty new
children’s museums opened between 1976 and 1990. Since
1990, an additional 100 have opened.
Starting a children's museum
can be a long process and takes a large investment of time, talent
and funding. The good news is that there are many resources available
to help you along the way.
A Children's museum is
defined as an institution committed to serving the needs and interests
of children by providing exhibits and programs that stimulate curiosity
and motivate learning. Children's museums vary greatly in style,
size and content. Because of this creativity and diversity, the
field is on a continuum of exciting change.
To more fully understand
the definition and use of children's museums, ACM offers some useful
publications.
Collective Vision: Starting and Sustaining
a Children's Museum
This 325 page publication includes 14 chapters and a list of resources
and recommended reading. The only book of its kind, it addresses
all the considerations in starting a museum for children including
finding space, hiring staff, developing programming, beginning an
endowment, writing a business plan and much more.
Capturing the Vision
The visual companion to Collective Vision, this book includes
beautifully photographed images of children's museums from the inside
out. As an extra bonus, the publication also include a CD of most
of the images found in the book. It is useful for developing presentations
to potential funders and for the community.
The Case for Children's Museums
This slim publication packs a collection of noted research, quotes
from early learning experts and statistics from the children's museum
field that frames the argument for why children's museum are an
important and worthy community investment.
ACM Membership Directory
Each year ACM collects detailed data about children's museums in
ACM's membership. This publication is not only a great networking
tool, but a great resource for learning about the numbers of existing
and emerging children's museums — from the number of staff,
to square footage, to operating budgets and expenses.
To find out how to order
any of these and other ACM publications, please visit the ACM
Publications Page.
Is
there a children's museum near me, either established or emerging?
This is an important question.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, two-thirds
of new employer firms survive at least two years, and about half
survive at least four years. While there are many factors that determine
the survival success of a children's museum, location and demographics
are an important part of the mix.
You may discover there
is another group of individuals in the process of launching a children's
museum. Starting a children's museum takes a group of dedicated
people in a community; joining forces with another project near
you can provide an even stronger contingency for success.
To learn where ACM member
children's museums are located, either established and under development,
please go to the Visit
a Children's Museum page.
ACM Emerging Museum Members
are entitled to three free queries from ACM's comprehensive statistical
database. ACM's basic museum data is updated annually and fully
updated biennially. Members can submit queries to generate museum
metrics and field reports. Queries are extremely valuable for marketing,
fundraising and general museum planning for an emerging children's
museum.
If you are an ACM Member,
please visit the Members
Only section for details on how to request a query.
You may also consider purchasing the ACM Membership Directory.
This publication is not only a great networking tool, but a great
resource for learning about the numbers of existing and emerging
children's museums — from the number of staff, to square footage,
to operating budgets and expenses. To find out how to order this
and other ACM publications, please visit the ACM
Publications Page.
On
average, how long does it take to open a children's museum?
According to data collected
in 2004 and published in the ACM Membership Directory, the
average planning time for starting a children's museum is 3.61 years
(136 respondents). The ACM Membership Directory is not only
a great networking tool, but also a great resource for learning
about the numbers of existing and emerging children's museums—
from the number of staff, to square footage, to operating budgets
and expenses. To find out how to order this and other ACM publications,
please visit the ACM
Publications Page.
What
is a non-profit? Are all children's museums non-profits?
Most (98 percent) of ACM
member children's museums in the United States are non-profit 501(c)3
organizations. A non-profit is an organization established for charitable,
educational, or humanitarian purposes which receives tax relief
from the Federal Government as their work is for the "greater
good." Requirements to register as a nonprofit organization
are outlined by the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service.
As a non-profit, you are
expected to have a Board of Directors, as well as a mission statement,
to ensure the proper operation of your organization.
ACM recommends two resources
to help you form a Board.
First, ACM's comprehensive
publication Collective Vision: Starting and Sustaining a Children's
Museum has two chapters dedicated to the subject: Chapter 3
"Audience & Mission" and Chapter 4 "Governance."
Collective Vision
is a 325 page publication that includes 14 chapters and a list of
resources and recommended reading. The only book of its kind, it
addresses all the considerations in starting a museum for children
including finding space, hiring staff, developing programming, beginning
an endowment, writing a business plan and much more. To find out
how to this and other ACM publications, please visit the ACM
Publications Page.
Secondly, you may find
several recommendations and resources by visiting ACM's ally BoardSource.
Particularly important
in museum planning is a professionally done "feasibility study"
that addresses the demographics, profile, and economic stability
of a community to determine whether a children's museum is economically
viable. More information on this topic is included in Collective
Vision: Starting and Sustaining a Children's Museum Chapter
2 "To Start… Or Not to Start."
Collective Vision
is a 325 page publication that includes 14 chapters and a list of
resources and recommended reading. The only book of its kind, it
addresses all the considerations in starting a museum for children
including finding space, hiring staff, developing programming, beginning
an endowment, writing a business plan and much more. To find out
how to this and other ACM publications, please visit the ACM
Publications Page.
Feasibility studies range
greatly in price and, therefore depth, from initial audience profiles
to site selection, to full-on museum planning. Contacting consultants
who are trained to work with start-up children's museums on feasibility
studies and preliminary plans is highly recommended. Visit ACM's
Products & Services List page to learn which consultants
are ACM Corporate Members. Please note: While ACM is pleased to
highlight its Corporate Members, it is unable to endorse the products
or services of any member.
How
do I develop exhibits? Where do I find exhibits?
Children's Museums
get their exhibits through several routes: they rent or buy
them from other organizations, they develop them with the
help of exhibit designers and fabricators or they develop
exhibits themselves in-house in their own exhibits department.
Many do a combination of the three above.
Most smaller children's
museums do not have large exhibits departments where exhibits are
developed and built on-site. Exhibit design firms, can be very helpful
even in the beginning stages of developing a children's museum.
Because children's museums are so unique, designing ideas start
at the very basic stages of your project. Talking to experts is
a key to doing it right the first time.
More information on this
topic is included in Collective Vision: Starting and Sustaining
a Children's Museum Chapter 6, "Exhibits."
Collective Vision
is a 325-page publication that includes 14 chapters and a
list of resources and recommended reading. The only book of
its kind, it addresses all the considerations in starting
a museum for children including finding space, hiring staff,
developing programming, beginning an endowment, writing a
business plan and much more. To find out how to this and other
ACM publications, please visit the ACM
Publications Page.
Visit ACM's
Products & Services List page to learn which
exhibit design firms are ACM Corporate Members. Please note:
While ACM is pleased to highlight its Corporate Members, it
is unable to endorse the products or services of any member.
Visit the ACM
Exhibits Marketplace for a list of exhibits available
for rent or for sale. ACM Exhibit Marketplace listings include
exhibit descriptions, rental fees, available dates and contact
information for the producing museum or company.
The Youth
Museum Exhibits Collaborative (YMEC) is another resource
for exhibit rentals. YMEC was founded in 1990 to develop and
travel engaging exhibits for children, their parents, teachers
and caregivers. Each exhibit targets
children 5- to 12-years-old and their families and occupies
a 1,200 square foot area. The exhibits include a range of
hands-on experiences designed to meet the American Disabilities
Act (ADA) specifications and contain dual language text (English-Spanish
and English-French). They are available for rent by museums
outside of the Collaborative and come complete with an educational
program manual, marketing and sponsorship information and
detailed information on installation and support.
For those who do not have an degree in Education,
there are a number of excellent resources available to gain a basic
understanding about educational theory. Here are just a couple.
Collective Vision: Starting
and Sustaining a Children's Museum Chapter 5 "Educational
Theory & Learning Styles" covers some of the basic issues
and ideas about educational theory and the surrounding issues that
make the children's museum field so powerful. Children's Museums
are designed around the concept that learning through play is an
effective tool for children and adults alike.
Collective Vision
is a 325 page publication that includes 14 chapters and a list of
resources and recommended reading. The only book of its kind, it
addresses all the considerations in starting a museum for children
including finding space, hiring staff, developing programming, beginning
an endowment, writing a business plan and much more.
The Case for Children's Museum bibliography
contains more than 30 references to well-respected books, specific
education journals articles and independent published studies. Additionally,
this slim publication packs a collection of noted research, quotes
from early learning experts and statistics from the children's museum
field that frames the argument for why children's museum are an
important and worthy community investment.
Hand to Hand, ACM's quarterly journal,
has several issues that provide an excellent primer to educational
theories as well as cutting-edge research. Back issues of Hand
to Hand are available for purchase. Additionally, ACM maintains
a Hand to Hand index to help you identify those issues that
match your interests.
To find out how to order
any of the above ACM publications, please visit the ACM
Publications Page.
Even though your museum
may be a non-profit, it is still very much a business and like any
other business, careful planning is needed to help ensure its longevity
and success. Developing a business plan is a very important step
to starting a children's museum. Following are a few resources.
Collective Vision: Starting
and Sustaining a Children's Museum Chapter 10: "Planning
& Budget" discusses the issue of museum planning and includes
an outline of key tactics to include in a business plan as well
as examples of budget projections.
Collective Vision
is a 325 page publication that includes 14 chapters and a list of
resources and recommended reading. The only book of its kind, it
addresses all the considerations in starting a museum for children
including finding space, hiring staff, developing programming, beginning
an endowment, writing a business plan and much more. To find out
how to this and other ACM publications, please visit the ACM
Publications Page.
You may decide to seek
help developing your business plan from a museum planning firm.
Visit ACM's
Products & Services List page to learn which museum planning
firms are ACM Corporate Members. Please note: While ACM is pleased
to highlight its Corporate Members, it is unable to endorse the
products or services of any member.
Finally, ACM can provide
copies of sample plans from its member institutions to current members. Contact ACM
to request sample plans.
What
else does ACM offer to help me get my project off the ground?
ACM is here to support
the children's museum field, in every stage of their development.
The mission of ACM is to build the capacity of children's museums
to serve as town squares for children and families where play inspires
creativity and lifelong learning. Following are some of the resources
ACM offers.
InterActivity
ACM's annual conferences are great experiences for those interested
in starting a museum. Annually, ACM offers a one-day pre-conference
for Emerging Museum professionals. The most recent Emerging
Museums Pre-Conference was in April 2008. The next Emerging
Museums Pre-Conference will take place at InterActivity 2009
on April 27 in Philadelphia. For details, please click
here. Many sessions offered as part of the InterActivity
conference program address the concerns of emerging museum
professionals as well. InterActivity 2009: Declare Your Impact is
scheduled for April 28 - 30, 2008, in Philadelphia, PA, and will
be hosted by the Please Touch Museum. Visit the ACM
InterActivity page for conference updates.
ACM's Products and Services
List
This is a comprehensive list of ACM' Corporate Members who work
in the children's museum field. Their areas of expertise range from
Educational Products, Materials and Services, Architecture Planning,
Exhibit Fabrication and Design, Museum Insurance, Management and
Fundraising Consultation and more. Visit ACM's
Products & Services List page to learn which firms are ACM
Corporate Members. Please note: While ACM is pleased to highlight
its Corporate Members, it is unable to endorse the products or services
of any member.
ACM
Membership
There
are many benefits to ACM membership!
Inclusion as an integral member of ACM,
the premiere organization serving, representing and advocating
for the children's museum field.
Networking opportunities
Discounts on member products, services
and institutes
Marketing opportunities
Free subscription to member publications
Access to ACM's Members Only online community
and discussion board
There are two categories
of membership for those starting a children's museum.
Individuals who are just
beginning to think about starting a museum and want to take advantage
of the many benefits of membership, may join as an Individual Member.
Individuals who are farther
along in the process and who have established their emerging museum
as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization are welcome to join as an Emerging
Museum Member.
Visit ACM's
Membership page for a complete list of benefits and to download
a membership application.
Museum
Education Roundtable
621 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Phone: (202) 547-8378
Fax: (202) 547-8344
Email: info@mer-online.org
Museum
Store Association
4100 East Mississippi Avenue, Suite 800
Denver, CO 80246-3055
Phone: (303) 504-9223
Fax: (303) 504-9585
Email: info@museumdistrict.com
Museum
Trustee Association
2025 M Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036-3309
Phone: (202) 367-1180
Fax: (202) 367-2180
Email: coordinator@mta-hq.org
Association
of Midwest Museums
PO Box 11940
St. Louis, MO 63112-0040
Phone: (314) 746-4557
Fax: (314) 746-4569
Serves: IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI
Mid-Atlantic
Association of Museums
800 East Lombard Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: (410) 223-1194
Fax: (410) 223-2773
Email: info@midatlanticmuseums.org
Serves: DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA
Mountain
Plains Museum Association
7110 West David Drive
Littleton, CO 80128-5405
Phone: (303) 979-9358
Fax: (303) 979-3553
Email: info@mountplainsmuseums.org
Serves: CO, KS, MT, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WY
New
England Museum Association
22 Mill Street, Suite 409
Arlington, MA 02476
Phone: (781) 641-0013
Fax: (781) 641-0053
Serves: CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT
Southeastern
Museums Conference
PO Box 9003
Atlanta, GA 31106
Phone: (404) 378-3153
Fax: (404) 370-1612
Email: direct@semcdirect.net
Serves: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV
Western
Museums Association
2960 San Pablo Ave
Berkeley, CA 94702
Phone: (510) 238-9700
Fax: (510) 238-9701
Email: info@westmuse.org
Serves: AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT, WA
International
Museum Associations
Canadian
Museums Association
280 Metcalfe Street, Suite 400
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1R7
CANADA
Phone: (613) 567-0099
Fax: (613) 233-5438
Email: info@museums.ca
CHILDMUS
A forum for children's museum professionals
Click on the link above to subscribe, unsubscribe or manage your
account
MMCNET
A forum for museum management professionals that intends to stimulate
discussion on museum management and provide a place for museum administrators
to exchange best (or worst) practices. To subscribe, send a message
to:
MMCNET-REQUEST@TCM.ORG
In the message text, type SUBSCRIBE
MUSEUM-L
A newsgroup for museum professionals. To subscribe, send a message
to:
LISTSERV@home.ease.lsoft.com
In the message text, type: SUBSCRIBE MUSEUM-L first name last name
MUSEUM-ED
Created in response to an EDCOM luncheon at AAM in Philadelphia
in 1995, Museum-Ed is an open, non-moderated discussion list that
serves as a forum for museum educators. To subscribe, visit their
Web site and click on talk@museum-ed.org Discussion List. If you
have questions, email contact@museum-ed.org.
