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RECENT PRESS RELEASES
Providence Children’s
Museum Nets $103,000 at Spring Gala
Introducing the FETCH! Lab at Providence
Children’s Museum
New Exhibit Opens at Providence Children's Museum: Iway
Providence Children¹s Museum Wins National Award
On Friday, September
21, Providence Children’s Museum celebrates the opening of the new,
hands-on FETCH!™ Lab, featuring a trove of kid-tested science and
engineering challenges.
Based on the
popular PBS children’s television program, FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman™,
this new activity station recreates the big colorful doghouse that is
home to the animated canine host of the series. FETCH! Lab
activities, led by Museum educators, encourage children, ages 5 to 11,
to build, test, revise and share their ideas. The Lab gets kids
to dig into mind-stretching challenges and hone problem-solving skills
while encouraging positive attitudes about science and engineering.
FETCH! Lab
opening events kick off at 6 PM on Friday, September 21, led by Ruff
Ruffman, the wisecracking dog from the television program, and kids
from the cast of FETCH! Museum visitors join Ruff in a parade
through the Museum, check out the big doghouse, and get to work testing
their wits on science and engineering challenges! They’ll throw
their weight around in a series of balancing challenges; tinker with
tiny seesaws; trick, tease and train their brains; examine bird beaks
to discover their favorite foods; and more! The Museum will be
open free of charge from 5:00 to 8:00 PM for MetLife Family Friday.
The fun and
learning continue all weekend during FETCH! Fest. On Saturday,
September 22, in the FETCH! Lab, kids go on a Rescue Mission, designing
devices to retrieve “space capsules” from a tub of water, and on
Sunday, September 23, they design and build indoor kites and learn what
makes them fly. Activities take place between 1:00 and 4:00 PM
both days and are free with Museum admission.
TM/© 2007
WGBH Educational Foundation. FETCH!, FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman, the
characters, and related indicia are trademarks of the WGBH Educational
Foundation. All rights reserved. Local funding for the FETCH! Lab
provided by the Amgen Foundation. MetLife Family Friday sponsored
by the MetLife Foundation.
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New Exhibit Opens at Providence Children's Museum
Iway
Friday,
November 17, 2006
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is bringing in a whole new construction crew to work on the Iway - the mammoth I-195 relocation project taking place in Providence, Rhode Island. This new crew, large in number, but small in size, will be facing engineering and construction challenges of a different proportion. New roadways and bridges through Providence and across the river will be constructed - but on a kid-sized scale. This crew of junior engineers begins construction November 17 in the new Iway exhibit at Providence Children's Museum.
Donning hardhats and safety vests, kids will get right to work in the new exhibit - operating a crane to lift I-beams, completing finish work atop a kid-sized replica of the Iway bridge, and constructing their own arch bridges strong enough to walk across. Families will solve tabletop challenges with beam, arch, cantilever bridges and more.
Providence
Children's Museum and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation
have teamed in a unique partnership to increase public awareness about
the relocation of I-195, while engaging kids (and grown-ups) in an
investigation of roadways and bridges. Exploring problem solving in a
whole new way, kids will face challenges that engineers and architects
confront when building roadways. Families will experiment with the
fascinating physics of bridges while they learn about the history of
the I-195 relocation project - and witness the amazing engineering
feats taking place within sight of the Museum as the construction of
the new Iway progresses. The new exhibit is made possible by a grant
from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
Providence Children's Museum Wins National Award
May 12, 2006
Providence Children¹s Museum has been awarded the 2006 MetLife Foundation and Association of Children¹s Museums Promising Practice Replication Award for it¹s highly acclaimed Families Together Program. Families Together - a partnership between the Museum and the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families - provides therapeutic visitations for children and parents separated by court order due to abuse or neglect. "It is a considerable honor to be recognized by our peers in the children¹s museum field," said Janice O¹Donnell, the Museum¹s Executive Director. "Children¹s museums are amazingly dynamic and innovative institutions, yet none has a program like Families Together. This is a wonderful opportunity to spread the word."
Established in 1999, the Promising Practice Award provides recognition and inspiration for children¹s museums to develop programs that are inclusive, meet community needs, encourage community partnerships and promote lifelong learning. The Promising Practice Replication Award was launched in 2004 and was open to Providence Children¹s Museum as a previous Promising Practice Award winner. It provides the Museum with a $10,000 grant to develop a "tool kit" to further share the practice with other children¹s museums across the country. In 2003, the program was a finalist for the highly competitive Innovations in American Government Award. Patricia McGinnis, President for the Council for Excellence in Government, said, "There are more than 300 children¹s museums in the United States. Families Together is a wonderful model that can be replicated in every one of them."
Started in 1992, Families Together uses a creative and highly effective approach to help court-separated families and train child welfare workers. "Court-ordered separation is traumatic for parents and children," said Heidi Brinig, Director of Families Together. "Because the Museum is designed to inspire learning between parents and children, it is the perfect place for families who are struggling to rebuild damaged relationships." Visitation is understood to be one of the most critical factors for families involved with a child welfare system. Rebuilding relationships is imperative for families hoping to live together once again. Instead of the ordinary settings for such visits - sterile government office buildings or noisy fast-food restaurants - Providence Children¹s Museum offers families a welcoming, stimulating, safe environment. Through shared learning and play, the program helps participants rebuild relationships and strengthen parenting skills. In addition, caseworkers receive a more complete picture of each family, which leads to more accurate and valid recommendations to family court judges. Families Together has developed a comprehensive program offering guidance and training to DCYF staff and is changing visitation practices throughout Rhode Island.
Providence Children's Museum is located at 100 South Street in
Providence's Jewelry District. Hours: September - March, open
Tuesday through Sunday, 9 AM to 6 PM; April - August, open 7 days, 9 AM
to 6 PM. Open during school vacations, Monday holidays and
selected Fridays until 8 PM. Museum admission is $6.50 per
person; always free for children under one and Museum members. Call
(401) 273-KIDS or visit www.childrenmuseum.org
