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Children's Museum of Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh, PA
Year: 2009
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Since 1983, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh has inspired millions of children and adults, inside its 80,000 square feet of fun and exploration. It has also reached beyond its four walls through innovative community programming such as the Charm Bracelet Project, created to rejuvenate the museum’s Northside neighborhood. The project engages institutions, or “charms,” from diverse sectors to discuss ideas, implement projects, and collaborate on initiatives, forging the links in the “bracelet.” These collaborations are working to change the Northside from a neglected and isolated urban area into a vibrant city neighborhood.

Cincinnati Museum Center – Cincinnati, OH
Year: 2009
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Cincinnati Museum Center is a national model of excellence as an educational and cultural complex that has successfully merged cultural institutions under the historic Union Terminal’s great half-dome. The combined Cincinnati History Museum, Museum of Natural History and Science, the Duke Energy Children’s Museum, the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theatre, the Cincinnati Historical Society Library & Archives, the Geier Family Collections & Research Center, and the Richard & Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve represent the largest cultural institution in the city and the most visited museum in Ohio.

Indianapolis Museum of Art – Indianapolis, IN
Year: 2009
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), formerly known as the Art Association of Indianapolis, was founded more than 125 years ago on the principal that art should be cultivated, studied, and available to all. Today, the IMA upholds these original tenets through programs like Viewfinders, an art viewing program that invites children to visit the museum with their teachers, think creatively, and share their ideas about the art with one another; and the Museum Apprentice Program, an initiative for high school students that supports mentorships with prominent artists on projects that develop leadership skills and expose them to the arts fields. Happily, visitors can appreciate the most comprehensive visual arts institution in Indiana for free, a recent and impactful change.

Museum of Science and Industry, Tampa – Tampa, FL
Year: 2009
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Over its 50-year history, the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) has grown from a small two-room museum into a 74-acre facility and the most visited museum in Florida. The museum is strategic, entrepreneurial, and committed to serving its diverse community. MOSI’s Y.E.S Team, a leadership development/mentorship program for at-risk teens, has resulted in more than 200 placements in paid positions within the museum, and Meet the Scientist Days inspire local students with stories of triumphing over poverty and hardship from some of America’s greatest Hispanic scientists. Children have a special niche at MOSI in the Kids in Charge! Children's Science Center, run by the only active youth board to oversee a large children’s museum in the United States.

Tennessee Aquarium – Chattanooga, TN
Year: 2009
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Founded just 17 years ago, the Tennessee Aquarium has dedicated its staff and resources to educating the next generation of environmental stewards, protecting and restoring wildlife through conservation and research, and providing community leadership through partnerships and collaborations. All of these goals are dynamically reflected in a robust array of educational exhibits and programs, including the River Journey and Ocean Journey buildings, which highlight freshwater and saltwater creatures, respectively, and the River Gorge Explorer, a 70-passenger, high-speed catamaran that takes adventurers into the protected Tennessee River Gorge. Through its work, the aquarium has contributed to the ecological well-being and cultural and economic revitalization of its Chattanooga community.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center – Cody, WY
Year: 2008
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Operating as seven distinct institutions—the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum, the Draper Museum of Natural History, the Plains Indian Museum, the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, the McCracken Research Library, and the Cody Institute for Western American Studies— the Buffalo Bill Historical Center contains 35,000 artifacts, 20,000 books, and more than 500,000 photographs, all of which are available for study and appreciation by the 200,000 people who visit the center each year.

Franklin Institute – Philadelphia, PA
Year: 2008
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Founded in 1824 and dedicated to the same spirit of discovery and inquiry as its namesake, Benjamin Franklin, The Franklin Institute has a distinct reputation, both nationally and internationally, as a premier science center. Over the years, The Franklin Institute has evolved and flourished, while always remaining true to its mission of instilling in its visitors a passion for learning about science and technology through interactive exhibits, educational programs, and outreach.

General Lew Wallace Study and Museum – Crawfordsville, IN
Year: 2008
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
General Lew Wallace is best known as the author of Ben-Hur, the best-selling novel of the 19th century. But he was also a Union general in the Civil War, a military judge at Abraham Lincoln’s assassination trial, a statesman, governor, violinist, artist, architect, and inventor. So it is fitting that the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum uses Wallace’s illustrious life and accomplishments as a lens through which lessons of leadership, strong character, and lifelong learning can be taught to visitors and the community that it serves.

Lower East Side Tenement Museum – New York, NY
Year: 2008
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Between 1815 and 1914, more than 30 million immigrants poured into America looking for decent work and a safe place to live. Some 7,000 people from 20 countries made their way to 97 Orchard Street, a New York City tenement. Today, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum recreates homes and stories of tenants who lived in these cramped spaces with stifling ventilation, poor lighting, and lack of privacy. Since 1988, the Tenement Museum has been integral in the education of visitors, from both the United States and abroad, interested in the history of immigrants in America.

Norton Gallery and School of Art, Inc. – West Palm Beach, FL
Year: 2008
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Students who participate in the Norton Museum of Art’s seven-week summer internship program love coming to work on Monday mornings. Each week offers enriching experiences designed to expose the 10 high school, college, and grad school interns to myriad museum career paths. This program is just one of the Norton Museum’s many efforts to reach out to the community it serves. Another program that connects the museum to its audience is the Progressive Afterschool Art Community Education (PACE) program, which provides 750 students in underserved populations the chance to participate in free, first-rate arts education. By playing a significant role in the art education of thousands of visitors and community members, the Norton Museum of Art has proven itself to be an important contributor to the community of West Palm Beach.

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute – Birmingham, AL
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Since opening in 1992, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has made its goal to become the nation’s premier educational center for studying the Civil Rights Movement and the global struggle for human rights.

Brookfield Zoo of the Chicago Zoological Society – Brookfield, IL
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The primary goal of any zoo, according to the Chicago Zoological Society, is to educate the public about environmental conservation, in hopes of preserving the world’s natural habitats and resources for future generations. Since Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo opened its doors to the public in 1934, it has taken this mission seriously, creating a host of programs to educate students, parents, teachers, and other community members about their responsibilities as world citizens and to inspire them to enter scientific fields.

National Museum of Women in the Arts – Washington, DC
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Since opening its doors to the public 20 years ago, the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) has welcomed over 3.5 million visitors, cultivated a collection of 3,500 objects, and presented more than 200 art exhibitions. The brainchild of Wilhelmina Holladay – who, after searching through a college textbook in the 1960s, found that women were greatly underrepresented in the world of “high art” – the NMWA has grown from a private collection to a museum near the National Mall, where anyone can come and appreciate the contribution of artists from Frida Kahlo to Marie Cassatt.

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry – Portland, OR
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Part brain-powered playground for kids and adults, part cutting-edge classroom for communities across the state, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) serves to inspire wonder for the kid in each of its visitors.

Vermont Historical Society – Barre, VT
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
For 170 years, the Vermont Historical Society has set the standard for connecting Green Mountain state residents, scholars, educators, and students with their rich heritage and with one another.

Artrain USA – Ann Arbor, MI
Year: 2006
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
When Artrain USA chugs into town, communities are changed. Housed in vintage train cars and pulled by locomotives, the traveling museum brings world-class art exhibitions to communities across the country that may have little or no access to art museums.

John G. Shedd Aquarium – Chicago, IL
Year: 2006
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Spreading conservation awareness messages is one way the 75-year-old John G. Shedd Aquarium is fulfilling its mission to show that marine life connects people to the living world and inspires people to make a difference. The Shedd Aquarium’s conservation awareness campaigns and its multi-faceted educational programs reflect its strong leadership in the field and ensure its place as one of the most popular destinations in Chicago.

Lincoln Children’s Zoo – Lincoln, NE
Year: 2006
Amount: $10,000  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Lincoln Children’s Zoo is a natural oasis in the heart of downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. The institution has seen great changes in the city and its demographics during its 40-year existence and has responded with a range of programs that make the natural world accessible to even the most underserved groups.

COSI Toledo – Toledo, OH
Year: 2005
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
In the seven years since COSI Toledo opened, the hands-on science museum has become a close partner with local school systems and other community organizations in bringing the joy of scientific discovery to children of all ages. From college fairs to camp-ins, from one-time experiences to multiyear programs, COSI Toledo is dedicated to community service that reveals to the world, a world of science.

Levine Museum of the New South – Charlotte, NC
Year: 2005
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Levine Museum of the New South is not afraid to tackle challenging social issues in order to build a better community. In 2004 the museum embarked on an extraordinary project that enabled the citizens of Charlotte to examine issues of equity, race, and inclusion in the context of the history of school desegregation. The project left a deep impression on the residents of Charlotte and earned the museum a place among the 2005 recipients of the National Award for Museum Service.

Pratt Museum – Homer, AK
Year: 2005
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Pratt Museum's commitment to building strong community partnerships, especially with native villages around Kachemak Bay, helped earn it a place among the 2005 recipients. Permeating its many community programs and exhibits is an invitation by the Pratt Museum to make connections between worlds--human and nonhuman, land and sea, native and non-native, scientific and spiritual. The museum asks its visitors to stop, listen, reflect, and think in new ways, and be moved to fully participate in community life.

Chicago Botanic Garden – Chicago, IL
Year: 2004
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Chicago Botanic Garden knows that while young students want to learn about the natural world, many teachers may be insecure about teaching science. This is one reason it has developed extensive programs for teachers, science education initiatives for youth, training and certificate programs in horticultural therapy, a burgeoning School of the Chicago Botanic Garden for adult learners, and a Web site with sample lesson plans and links to plant information listings. With the aim of strengthening science literacy in youth, especially among the city's large African-American and Hispanic populations, the Chicago Botanic Garden has a number of successful on-and off-site programs. Through its growing programs, the Chicago Botanic Garden is cultivating the next generation of plant scientists and environmental stewards.

Western Folklife Center, Inc. – Elko, NV
Year: 2004
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
About one-fifth of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, which support diverse populations with rich artistic traditions. The Western Folklife Center is one of relatively few museums focused on rural life. Headquartered in Elko, Nevada, the center serves its widely dispersed local audience with world-class programming and exhibits, most notably with its annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. With its 23-year history of fieldwork, unique archival collections, annual Gathering event, and collaborations with the Library of Congress's American Folklife Center and other national partners, the center's regional and local impact may be easy to overlook. The center's educational programs reach approximately 5,000 Elko County schoolchildren annually with programs that include writing workshops and cowboy poetry presentations in the schools, hands-on activities at the center, and tours of exhibits.

Zoological Society of San Diego – San Diego, CA
Year: 2004
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
More than five million people visit the world-renowned San Diego Zoo and its Wild Animal Park annually. In addition to combining education and fun for millions of visitors, the Zoological Society of San Diego is involved in conservation projects that span the globe, and it engages individuals in interactive education and mentorship programs, meaningful volunteer opportunities, unique outreach programs, and innovative research projects. The Zoological Society serves its local community through more than 80 formal, in-depth educational programs delivered on site, in schools, and through other community services. The Zoological Society's free and discount-rate programs ensure that children of all socioeconomic levels can enjoy the resources of the Zoo and Wild Animal Park. The Zoological Society's outreach programs and assemblies benefit schools throughout San Diego County. The combined efforts of staff and community partners have resulted in quality programs for diverse audiences.

Carnegie Science Center – Pittsburgh, PA
Year: 2003
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The world-class Carnegie Science Center is one of the most visited science centers in the country with an average of 690,000 visitors annually. Located on the North Side of Pittsburgh, bordering on Manchester, in an inner-city neighborhood with an 85 percent minority, middle- to lower-income population, the CSC is in a neighborhood of nearly 6,600 high tech companies. Yet many area residents have little opportunity to increase their awareness of and comfort level with the benefits of science, math, and technology. CSC strives to develop the science literacy and participation of all area residents. The benefits of the Carnegie Science Center's educational outreach programs go beyond teaching science; they build community pride and engagement and a sense of hope for the future.

San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts – San Angelo, TX
Year: 2003
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts serves a 16-county area of West Texas that is geographically large but generally has a small, scattered population. The downtown of San Angelo (population 90,000) has faced serious decline in recent years, and its school district, struggling with extremely limited resources, has severely cut back its fine arts educational offerings. During this time the museum not only maintained a balanced budget, but raised $7 million for a new building and its endowment. In an average year, the museum offers more than 4,000 hours of programming for its community. More than one third of the museum's budget is dedicated to education. It offers curriculum-linked museum visits for school children and a stunning array of weekend, evening, and summer-long classes for learners of all ages.

USS Constitution Museum – Boston, MA
Year: 2003
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The year 1995 was a watershed year for the USS Constitution Museum. It was the year the museum decided to augment its 20-year program of on-site interpretation of USS CONSTITUTION to include education programming for a national audience. In its seven-year transformation, the museum became a truly national resource touching thousands of students and families across the country and creating partnerships with educators, school districts, and sister museums. The educational outreach programs and services of the USS Constitution Museum can serve as a model for other national symbols to seek to inform and educate our citizenry about our nation's past.

Please Touch Museum – Philadelphia, PA
Year: 2002
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Since 1990, Please Touch Museum has collaborated with social service agencies, community associations, local school districts and Head Start providers to deliver innovative programs that serve nontraditional museum visitors. For example, ACES (Achievement through Community Service, Education and Skill-building), a mentoring, work-based learning program, serves 25 at-risk teenagers from four Philadelphia inner city high schools. And, the Museum's Family Court Project offers activities and resources that facilitate court-supervised visits between children and their non-custodial parents. Each year approximately 12,000 Philadelphia public school students from pre-K to 1st grade visit the Museum for free. With more than one dozen different community programs, Please Touch Museum honors its commitment to "leave no child behind."

Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art – Loretto, PA
Year: 2002
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Museum attracts 71,000 visitors annually, 85 percent of whom reside in isolated and economically disadvantaged rural counties. (The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has the largest rural population in the United States.) The Museum's educational outreach programs will serve over 35,000 area students this year, and as many as 50,000 in 2003. Partnership opportunities with area schools have increased 500 percent since 1996, 48 percent in the last year alone. In partnership with the Center for Excellence for Remote and Medically Underserved Areas, the Museum also provides educational programs via videoconferencing for those unable to travel.

Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo – Bronx, NY
Year: 2002
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
As one of New York City's leading cultural institutions, the Bronx Zoo serves the community in ways that go beyond animals and exhibits. The organization provides local school districts with innovative, award-winning approaches to science and environmental education, offers after-school programs for the homeless, at-risk and gifted children, and female leaders of tomorrow and works to protect the local ecosystem for the enjoyment of all Bronx residents. The Bronx Zoo provides free visits and informal science education to over 32,000 New York City children each year. It is also the largest employer of youth in the borough, providing early employment opportunities, transferable skills, and meaningful work experience to thousands of Bronxites.

The Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose – San Jose, CA
Year: 2001
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The sounds of wonder and discovery at Children's Discovery Museum are just as sharp as architect Ricardo Legorreta's building design. In the 52,000-square-foot facility, San Jose's children learn about the world around them and one another through concrete experiences. In a community where people speak 144 different languages and where one in five children lives in poverty, the Museum is a learning hub that inspires children of all ages and backgrounds. Over 150 exhibits and special programs meet the needs of children to learn by doing. In Discovery Youth for example, a diverse group of adolescents uses on-site multimedia equipment to build Web sites and develop technical expertise. And since 1993, BioSite (Students Investigating Their Environment) has helped 1,000 children explore the environment around the Guadalupe River. Countless other programs exemplify the thoughtful relevance of this Museum's programming.

The Miami Museum of Science – Miami, FL
Year: 2001
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
For more than a decade the Miami Museum of Science has received national recognition for its innovative programming for adolescents. The Musem has developed target programs that address the gender and diversity barriers that prevent large numbers of females and minorities from entering the fields of science and mathematics. For example, in the Museum's Upward Bound Math and Science Center, students received mentoring, college preparation classes, professional internships, computer access and field research experiences, resulting in 100 percent of graduating seniors in enrolling in colleges and universities. The Museum has forged partnerships with a wide range of organizations including Miami-Dade County Public Schools, community-based groups, private enterprises, and government funding agencies.

The New England Aquarium – Boston, MA
Year: 2001
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The New England Aquarium is dedicated to presenting, promoting, and protecting the world of water. Located on Boston's waterfront, the Aquarium's mission is fulfilled in part through exhibits, education, and research. However, one of its highest priorities is to be a responsive community member. To build bridges from Boston's neighborhoods, the Aquarium has established long term sustainable partnerships with organizations that serve youth, both in and out of school. The Afterschool Intiative serves over 400 children enrolled with the Boys and Girls Clubs and Citizens Schools. Tailored to the needs of each partner, the program includes hands on science activities, teen internships, and family field trips. The Harbor Discoveries summer camp located on a Boston Harbor Island features four aquatic themed weeks. Over 500 children participate, and over 250 Boston children receive scholarships.

Albright-Knox Art Gallery – Buffalo, NY
Year: 2000
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery enjoys an international reputation for its outstanding collection of modern and contemporary art and its innovative special exhibitions. Its programming and community partnerships extol the cultural richness of Western New York and make the arts accessible to a wider audience. The Gallery is particularly proud of ARTStart, an inner-city collaboration that encourages self-awareness and self-confidence in over 4000 “at risk” youngsters annually by providing structured outlets for their creativity and imagination. An active proponent of cultural tourism, the Gallery also spearheaded “The Summer of Monet” campaign, a major collaborative of cultural organizations in Western New York that capitalized on the influx of tourists attending the exhibition “Monet at Giverny: Masterpieces from the Musée Marmottan.” The economic impact on the City of Buffalo, as a result of this joint promotion, was estimated at $11.3 million.

Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository – Kodiak, AK
Year: 2000
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Alutiiq Museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing the culture of the Alutiiq, a Native Alaskan people. The museum seeks to unite Native values and Western academic practice and involves people of many backgrounds in the care of Alutiiq heritage to foster historic preservation, instill cultural pride, and teach tolerance. Through the museum’s “Community Archaeology” and “Site Stewardship” programs, volunteers give thousands of hours to protect and study threatened archaeological sites. Local media help revitalize the Alutiiq language and share cultural lessons through the museum’s “Alutiiq Word of the Week” program. And in partnership with nine remote village schools, the museum helps students preserve and explore artistic traditions in an annual “Rural School Art Show.”

Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia – Beckley, WV
Year: 2000
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Operating in the rugged mountains of the region since 1977, the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia has grown from its humble origins as a van that traveled from school to school with learning enrichment programs. Now the Museum offers hands-on exhibits, a planetarium, a science room, a recreated pioneer village, and educational programs. A recent museum exhibition, “Page After Page,” inspired young visitors by highlighting West Virginia children’s authors. The pilot “Transition to School Program” is designed to bring special needs preschoolers and their families into the Museum for afternoons of fun, learning, and socialization. The “Artist-in-Residence School Program” has introduced thousands of schoolchildren to the thrill of live theater, native arts-and-crafts, dance, story-telling and traditional Appalachian music.

Lincoln Park Zoo – Chicago, IL
Year: 1999
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Established in 1868, Lincoln Park Zoo, the last free major cultural institution in Chicago, attracts nearly four million visitors a year. The zoo is a leader in making science education meaningful and relevant for Chicago’s teachers and students. They serve the public through a series of outstanding programs. The Malott Family Zoo Intern program has trained and employed more than 125 underserved city high school students as zoo interpreters. The Zootrition after-school program enrolls approximately 1,100 eight- to twelve- year olds and 85 chaperones and teachers every year. The program is dedicated to nutrition education, particularly for inner-city children. BioLINCS is a three- year teacher development program providing interdisciplinary science literacy training for fifty K-8 teachers in the Chicago Public Schools.

Nevada Museum of Art – Reno, NV
Year: 1999
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Nevada Museum of Art’s commitment to become a cultural resource for every member of its community drives its programming. By creating innovative programs, the NMA makes the museum experience more accessible to Nevada’s growing community. Youth ArtWorks was developed by the NMA in partnership with the Reno Police Department and Sierra Arts Foundation in 1996 to redirect youth involved in graffiti vandalism. Since then, the program has expanded to embrace school-to-work objectives to educate, train, and mentor youth in the arts. The Hands/ON program creates free intergenerational learning experiences for families and the school services program offers tour and workshop opportunities for public school students presently without visual art educators in the elementary grades. Designed by museum education staff in partnership with elementary school teachers, Art Odyssey aims to make objects in the NMA’s permanent collection accessible to students and educators while integrating art into

St. Simons Island Lighthouse Museum – St. Simons, GA
Year: 1999
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
St. Simon’s Island Lighthouse Museum developed an outstanding county-wide Heritage Education Program. Utilizing all the historic sites and museums in the area, the program assists students in their examination of their community’s history as it relates to them. A week-long workshop for 25 teachers is provided each summer in which they learn hands-on activities that engage and excite children about the history that surrounds them. A comprehensive Heritage Resource Guide developed by museum staff is provided to each teacher and placed in each school throughout the district. Now in its sixth year, the curriculum-based educational initiative is used in every school in Glynn County, Georgia, reaching over 11,000 students and serving a 38% ethnic minority constituency.

Belknap Mill Society – Laconia, NH
Year: 1998
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Belknap Mill Society is credited with saving the oldest unaltered brick textile mill in the U.S. Equally impressive, the Belknap Mill Society has cultivated a network of partnerships to provide year-round community service, help rehabilitate downtown Laconia, and bring an appreciation of the arts and humanities to the townspeople. The Society is revitalizing its downtown by serving as a meeting place for businesses and families, coordinating publicity with local merchants, participating in city events, and drawing new audiences into the city. The Society led the way in creating a new park, which serves as a venue for concerts and walking tours. Using the park as a catalyst for further downtown revitalization, the Society has positioned itself as a leader in the business and cultural community and has changed Laconia. Citizens take pride in their heritage and work together to create a common vision for the future.

Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village – Dearborn, MI
Year: 1998
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village has developed the Youth Mentorship Program, a small yet intense program targeting twelve at-risk students and families with a combination of job training, community service and mentoring. Through the program, students not only learn valuable job and communication skills, but also gain self-confidence and self-esteem and are ready to give something back to the community. The twelve students commit four hours each day, Monday through Thursday, to working in the Museum. On Friday, students learn from their service projects, which have included work with the local Head Start program, research into domestic abuse in the area, and an exploration of the needs of homeless shelters. Sixty museum staff members volunteer twelve hours a week to teach job skills and mentor the students. A local community resource center provides counseling, parenting classes and other assistance to the students and families. Results have been impressive--student attendance

New Jersey Historical Society – Newark, NJ
Year: 1998
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The New Jersey Historical Society is undergoing a remarkable transformation from an "antiquarian" organization to an "open" institution, by targeting children and adults in Newark who have not visited the Society in the past. The Historical Society has developed a program that reaches children in their worlds-school, after school, family and peers. Its after school program provides a safe place for children to learn, and is based on partnerships with a number of social services agencies and groups. The Society's new building, which opened this year, was introduced to students as a community resource, a safe place to visit with family and friends. The Society also has a new series of family programs that attracts a new audience of families from the after school groups. In a city where the population faces many economic and social challenges, the students' willingness to return to the Society for free family programs is a testament to their understanding and commitment to their new "comm

Children's Museum of Indianapolis – Indianapolis, IN
Year: 1997
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis has a long tradition of going beyond traditional museum programs to help its inner city neighbors, both children and adults, be strong, healthy, and vital. Community service activities include free admission for inner city children, after-school activities and clubs for youth, family involvement programs, and construction of a Festival Park with open access to neighbors for gatherings. The Museum also recently allocated staff and funding to establish a community initiatives department, which is collaborating with social services agencies, corporations, and the city to develop a vision for serving the community-including child care, urban beautification, economic and housing development, and a master plan to create a "new village" in the museum neighborhood.

Museum of Fine Arts - Houston – Houston, TX
Year: 1997
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston was established in 1900 as an outreach program for the public schools, since then it has developed into a major art museum. Education and public programming remain at the heart of the museum, and the museum draws upon the diversity of the community. One successful program is "Artists and Schools at Work", in which local artists, teachers, students at area schools, and community leaders work together to create new works of public art to be displayed at community centers.

National Aquarium in Baltimore – Baltimore, MD
Year: 1997
Amount:  
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
From its beginning, the National Aquarium in Baltimore has been committed to serving the diverse needs of the Baltimore community. Programs such as AccessAquarium, Deaf Awareness Day, and First Saturdays and Sundays offer exclusive access to (and activities for) physically and mentally challenged visitors. Unique educational opportunities--on-site tours, gallery and classroom activities--are available to 200,000 Maryland students and teachers. Other partnerships with local citizens include the Henry Hall program's scholarships; the training of teen-age "ocean ambassadors" in YouthALIVE! - Aquarium on Wheels; and free teacher training and classroom materials for participants in the Adopt-a-School program. Undergraduate and graduate internships and a high school employment/volunteer program are additional offerings for young residents.

An * indicates that the grant is statewide.