ACM Ambassador Program

ACM seeks staff at museum member institutions to serve as Ambassadors to build a sense of field-wide community. The ideal ambassador is enthusiastic about ACM and the benefits of membership. We encourage staff from all areas of operation: education, exhibits, visitor services, development, operations, finance, etc., to apply.

ACM invites U.S. member museums to host one of the five exhibits being developed for the Freeman Foundation Asian Culture Exhibit Series.  

The exhibits feature the cultures of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam and will travel rent-free to at least forty host museums beginning in June 2015. Among the benefits of hosting one of the five exhibits:

• Increase understanding of Asian cultures in your visitors.
• Develop new audiences by connecting with Asian families in your community.
• Build staff and institutional capacity for creating exhibits about culture and hosting traveling exhibits. 

 Learn about eligibility requirements and download the application. 

Application deadline: Tuesday, February 11, 2014.  

Questions? Elizabeth Moloney, Development and Initiatives Manager.

Look for Hand to Hand, coming soon to your mailbox! Centered around the theme of The Future of Exhibits: Where Are We Headed?, this issue features:

• Exhibits: Which Way to Go? by Alissa Rupp, The Portico Group 
• Barter, Borrow or Trade: Adding Art and Artists to the Mix by Anne Fullenkamp, Children's Museum of Pittsburgh
• In Support of Things that Live in the Cracks, an interview with Peggy Monahan, New York Hall of Science by Robin Meiser, Providence Children's Museum

Read a digital copy or learn more about obtaining a subscription for Hand to Hand.

ACM is pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Rehkamp as Program Officer, Education. Before joining ACM this month, Jennifer served at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) where she was a member of the Let's Move! Museums and Gardens team. In this role she developed and facilitated a webinar series that featured children's museums. She was also a member of the IMLS African American History and Culture Forum team which was responsible for organizing a blog series and an in-person conference. Additionally, she managed a grant portfolio of 158 awards totaling over $27 million. Previously she worked at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and owned and operated a business for six years.

Jennifer received a Master of Arts in Museum Studies from George Washington University and interned at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. She served as a Smithsonian Institution summer camp instructor for two summers.

• First stop: SmallTalks at the historic Orpheum. Be inspired by Alberto Ríos--Arizona's first poet-laureate--and Chris and Lena Jacome, a dynamic flamenco duo. 
• Keynote addresses to get you headed in the right direction: Ralph Smith, Managing Director, Campaign for Grade Level Reading, and Senior Vice President, Annie E. Casey Foundation; and Tom Kelley, General Manager, IDEO the renown innovation and creativity guru.
• See the sights: Evening Events and study tours at the Children's Museum of Phoenix, i.d.e.a. Museum, and the Arizona Science Center. 

Register Today! Questions about registration? Email ACM.

Hosted by the Children's Museum of Phoenix; co-hosted by the i.d.e.a. Museum and Children's Museum of Tucson.

Featured sponsorship! Share your business' message with key decision makers at children's museums. Start off InterActivity by sponsoring the leadership breakfast for $5,000. As a sponsor, your company will be the exclusive corporate participant in the room with more than 100 CEOs and leaders from emerging and open museums. Plus, time to address the participants and distribute materials.

Details are available in the InterActivity 2014 Prospectus.

Contact Elizabeth Moloney, Development and Initiatives Manager, for additional information. 

Contact Sharon Chiat, CMP, Program Manager, Events, 703.224.3100, ext 109 to complete your InterActivity 2014 marketing plans.

Susan Broad DuPage Children's Museum

ACM honors Susan Broad on her illustrious career as she is set to retire this month as president and CEO of DuPage Children's Museum (DCM) after twenty-two years of service. 

Sue's leadership, vision, and hard work at DCM were critical in securing two Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grants, RedTricycle's recognition of the museum as the Most Awesome Museum in the Chicagoland region, and special recognition from the McCormick Foundation of the role the museum continues to play in the educational development of young children.

We greatly appreciate and thank Sue for her contributions in advancing the children's museum field.

• February 4: National Science Foundation, EHR Core Research, $1,500,000
• February 10: President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards, $10,000
• February 14: American Alliance of Museums, Museum Assessment Program, up to $4,000 in services  
• March 10: National Gardening Association, Garden Grant, $1,500 

International museum grant seekers, visit the Foundation Center's website for funding opportunities. 

MAP helps museums:

• Strengthen their operations 
• Plan for the future
• Meet national standards  
• Improve communications between staff, board, and other constituents
• Increase credibility with potential funders and donors 

Questions? Email MAP.

• Arts Educator/Assistant Education Coordinator, Mississippi Children's Museum (Jackson) 
• Early Childhood Education Manager, Sciencenter (Ithaca, NY)
• Director of Early Childhood Education Initiatives, COSI (Columbus, Ohio)
• Assistant/Associate Professor, The Graduate Program in Museum Studies, Syracuse University (NY)
• Associate Director of Education, Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose (CA)
• Exhibits Director/Developer, Four Corners School of Outdoor Education (Monticello, UT)