10.03 Region 5 Children's Museum Site Selection Request for Proposal

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Mission: The mission of Region 5 Children's Museum is to bring together the region's children and families in shared experiences that are grounded locally and open to the wider worid. Dynamic, material-rich environments, exhibits, events, &programs engage children in the joy of play and the wonder of learning. Organizational Goals: There are six areas in which the Museum intends to channel its efforts and measure its mission success.The Children's Museum will be: • A consistently rich array of play and learning experiences and environments that strengthen connections to the region and create openings to the world beyond; • An indispensable asset in the region for families of all backgrounds to meet and engage around common interests and priorities for their children; • A recognized regional convener that advances the larger regional agenda around children and the challenges and opportunities they face; • An organization that connects and helps grow regional assets; people, nature, schools, business, agriculture, and the arts; • A disciplined organization engaged in learning for itself, children and families, and the region; • A sustainable organization that leverages regional assets, enjoys diverse support, and monitors selected measures. 5. Audience and How Peoale�sit The sustainability of the Children's Museum depends on easy access for various audiences traveling from a large geographic region. While the museum will be enjoyed by a broad cross- section of the general public, our core audience will consist of children twelve years old and younger, their parents, siblings, grandparents, caregivers, and educators living in and visiting the five-county region. Special attention and effort will be leveraged to reach children experiencing participation barriers. When considering location and access, it is important to remember that every child visiting the Children's Museum will be accompanied by an adult, and the configuration of each visit may vary widely. We know from market research industry studies that most visits to a children's museum are decided by the female head of household, that is true whether the child's mother is attending or not. On the majority of visits, children are accompanied by either or both parents and arrive by car, or are brought by either or either or both grandparent, which seems especially true on school breaks during holidays and over the summer. Multi-generational family groups, including aunts, uncles, and cousins may visit in one or more vehicles. During the school year, it is the intention that all schools in the five-county region will be visiting the museum via field trips. While the children and chaperones will arrive on school buses, sometimes parents and even grandparents join the field trip by driving separately, increasing the need for weekday parking spots. Children may arrive with their childcare provider, and sometimes play-dates at the Children's Museum will be arranged by parent friend-groups. Weather permitting, it is not uncommon for families to bike to the children's museum, or for nearby neighbors to enjoy walking to the museum. In urban centers, public transportation is often an option with fare discounts offered. Home schoolers will visit, supplementing their at- home curriculum and will often use the museum as a venue to meet-up with other home school families. To reach children experiencing participation barriers, shuttle services may be chartered, along with accompanying volunteers and social service providers. To be successful, the Children's Museum will need to be accessible in multi-modal ways to welcome a wide- range of visitation diversity. 4of7