Minnesota Children's Museum
Programs
Program 1 [2021]
Experience and Outreach: Play is critical, as it builds bodies and brains. Minnesota Children's Museum's experience and outreach includes all aspects of championing the power of play in our community and providing a high-quality visitor experience at the museum. This includes admissions, memberships, field trips and other group events, special programming, safety, operations, evaluation, community partnerships, access programs, parent resources, and other work to support and encourage playful learning both at the Museum and beyond the walls.At the Museum, the mission is sparking children's learning through play. Statement continued on Schedule O.The museum's vision for the community is: Kids play more. Adults do, too. All families thrive as a happier, healthier and more innovative community through the radiant power of play.The Museum serves the community as a welcoming space for all families to engage in playful learning. Core to the Museum's mission is providing open-ended play experiences that not only delight children, but also help instill a lifelong love of learning by nurturing real-world skills children need. The Museum encourages parents to support their children's playful learning to maximize skill development in the critical early childhood years. There is a strong commitment to ensure all families have access to the museum through the Play for All access program and efforts to improve the Museum's impact with families facing adversities through community partnerships. Free online resources for parents and caregivers are also available for all. Through this work, the Museum envisions a community that grows more inclusive as families play together and learn from each other.The Museum operates eleven galleries developed with the latest research in playful learning. The Museum is the leading producer of traveling exhibits for the children's museum industry, reaching hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. The Museum's current portfolio consists of 12 active exhibits, which are rented to children's museums, science museums, and other family-serving entities across North America. The Museum's traveling exhibit program leverages the museum's core strength of producing engaging exhibits that foster children's learning.The pandemic took a serious toll on Minnesota Children's Museum. The museum was forced to close twice -- once from March 2020 into August 2020 and again from November 2020 into January 2021 -- periods that coincided with the museum's busiest attendance seasons. Upon reopening each time, the museum coped with state-mandated capacity restrictions and audience hesitancy that severely reduced attendance and revenue. Total attendance in FY21 was 89,000 visitors, compared to 450,000 in FY19 (the most recent complete fiscal year prior to the pandemic). The base of paid member families declined from 15,150 in FY19 to 7,450 in FY21.The organization made necessary but difficult choices to cut expenses. The museum laid off valued staff, eliminated programs serving youth volunteers, scaled back initiatives focused on families in need, and delayed improvements to experiences. The museum also sought and received government aid and initiated an emergency fundraising campaign, efforts that have helped the organization survive the first 18 months of the pandemic.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2020 – Jun 30, 2021Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$4.1MProgram 2 [2021]
Traveling Exhibit Production & Design: Includes exhibit maintenance for active exhibits on tour throughout North America, along with the design and production of new exhibits to build the museum's portfolio of traveling exhibits.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2020 – Jun 30, 2021Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$764.3KExperience And Outreach
Experience and Outreach: Play is critical, as it builds bodies and brains. Minnesota Children's Museum's experience and outreach includes all aspects of championing the power of play in our community and providing a high-quality visitor experience at the museum. This includes admissions, memberships, field trips and other group events, special programming, safety, operations, evaluation, community partnerships, access programs, parent resources, and other work to support and encourage playful learning both at the Museum and beyond the walls.At the Museum, the mission is sparking children's learning through play. Statement continued on Schedule O.The museum's vision for the community is: Kids play more. Adults do, too. All families thrive as a happier, healthier and more innovative community through the radiant power of play.The Museum serves the community as a welcoming space for all families to engage in playful learning. Core to the Museum's mission is providing open-ended play experiences that not only delight children, but also help instill a lifelong love of learning by nurturing real-world skills children need. The Museum encourages parents to support their children's playful learning to maximize skill development in the critical early childhood years. There is a strong commitment to ensure all families have access to the museum through the Play for All access program and efforts to improve the Museum's impact with families facing adversities through community partnerships. Free online resources for parents and caregivers are also available for all. Through this work, the Museum envisions a community that grows more inclusive as families play together and learn from each other.The Museum operates eleven galleries developed with the latest research in playful learning. The Museum is the leading producer of traveling exhibits for the children's museum industry, reaching hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. The Museum's current portfolio consists of 13 active exhibits, which are rented to children's museums, science museums, and other family-serving entities across North America. The Museum's traveling exhibit program leverages the museum's core strength of producing engaging exhibits that foster children's learning.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2021 – Jun 30, 2022Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$4.6M
Copyright 2026. All rights reserved to Chario Inc. (d.b.a. Impala)