What makes us different
A children’s museum is defined as a nonprofit educational and cultural institution committed to serving the needs and interests of children by providing exhibits and programs that stimulate curiosity and motivate learning.
- Children learn through guided play and exploration that is designed just for them
- The museum is not subject matter focused, instead it is play focused to stimulate informal learning experiences, exhibits, and programming on social competency skills and emotional development
- Exhibits are interactive and made for exploration with minimal adult assistance
- Focused on the needs of children ages 0-10 or early elementary ages
The Four Dimensions
of Children’s Museums
as identified by the Association of Children's Museums
local destinations
● Children’s museums are experts in designing learning spaces that elevate naturalistic and child-centered learning that incorporate the latest evidence in positive child development and encourage positive adult child interactions.
● Children’s museums fulfill their role as responsive, audience focused institutions by striving to reflect and address community needs in their exhibit content.
● Children’s museum staff are trained in techniques for working with objects as teaching tools and in exhibits that communicate their meaning or message to visitors.
educational labratories
● Children’s museums generally operate outside of the strictures of formal education systems, allowing them to act as incubators and innovators, testing and developing child-centered and play-based pedagogies for engaging children in learning.
● Children’s museums rely on staff with expertise in learning
theories, child development, and pedagogy to develop impactful and cutting-edge programs and experiences for their visitors.
● Children’s museums contribute new knowledge to educational and museum literature through their own research and assessment practices, documenting the impact and value of their programs, exhibits, and services.
community resources
● Children’s museums act as cultural gateways, often serving as the first point of entry for building lifelong museum going habits.
● Children’s museums are an important part of the social service fabric of their communities, providing
resources such as health information, parenting classes,
and teacher trainings.
● Children’s museums are a symbol of how a community treats and respects children. The presence of a children’s
museum helps create more child-friendly communities.
● Children’s museums are often anchor institutions for community revitalization efforts.
advocates for children
● Children’s museums are constantly responding to the current needs of the children and families in their communities, from health to academics to social issues, as seen in their exhibits, outreach,
and programming.
● Children’s museums cultivate deep and wide-ranging relationships with partners from all sectors to best serve all children and families in their communities, and address critical social issues affecting them.
● Children’s museums share a commitment to equity and inclusion, with subsidized attendance programs, programs for children and families with special needs, multicultural programming, and more.
Hear from excited children
“i like going to children’s museums on vacation. i wish we had one here. They’re fun! they have all kinds of exhibits and things to do for playing and learning”
- Naomi, 7
“I like to learn. i’d like a museum where i can touch the stuff and it’s just for kids. it’d be cool if it was about math and art and sports and all the stuff. not just some of the stuff.”
- thomas, 6
“There’s not a lot of kids stuff to do around nashville and the children’s museums are too far away. there are lots of people coming here and it would be nice to have one for everyone. it’d be really welcoming.”