Museum as a Resource was designed in partnership with the National Head Start Association, museums in Washington, DC and Dayton, Ohio, with support from the Freddie Mac Foundation and the Mead Foundation.
The program helps adults shed stereotypes about learning in museums and develop confidence in exposing children to enriching experiences in the community.
Parents learn what’s in local collections, what free and what fee-based public services various museums offer, and how to “play museum” with their own and their children’s art work and photographs.
Museum as a Resource works with adults first and then supports opportunities for parents to test their new skills in supervised Family Field Trips.
- Using collections and materials from museums such as postcards, small posters, and family materials adults explore how to connect what children are learning in school with resources in the community.
- Weekend Family Field trips to museum organized family programs or for independent exploration reinforce the sociability of learning and reduce one of the barriers to the use of community resources.