The impact of early math literacy is crucial for supporting children's development and setting them up for a bright future. By starting early, making math fun, and including parents/caregivers—all areas in which children’s museums excel—we can create a world where everyone feels confidence in their abilities to do math.

The Association of Children's Museums (ACM) is excited to announce a new partnership with the Simons Foundation, Nurturing Numeracy Skills & Math Literacy in Children’s Museums, to engage and support a cohort of smaller children’s museums to develop ideas, strategies, activities, and resources. This program is funded by Simons Foundation International and administered by the Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture division.

ACM will support a cohort of 20 smaller museums (ACM member museums at Levels 1-3, having annual operating budgets of less than $1 million) starting in December 2024 through June 2026. Cohort museums will
1) visit the Simons Foundation in New York City, February 24 & 25, 2025 (travel expenses for the Project Lead will be covered by the Simons Foundation);
2) conduct parent/caregiver learning and listening sessions in their community to better understand the needs of parents/caregivers related to supporting their child’s math literacy;
3) participate in an active community of practice to network and share information and ideas which includes regular virtual meetings, starting with the virtual kick-off meeting on December 12, 2024 from 11:00-12:00 ET/8:00-9:00 PT, and in-person gatherings and workshops at InterActivity in May 2025 and May 2026;
4) develop, pilot, and assess your initial experience idea (program, activity, event, exhibit component, etc.), and refine and continue to offer experiences;
5) create methods and/or resources for reaching and supporting parents/caregivers.
6) conduct evaluation of final versions of experiences.

Cohort museums receive a stipend of $15,550 to help offset the costs of participation (such as staff time, materials, marketing, listening sessions & assessment, and travel and registration for InterActivity in 2025 and 2026).

More details on the project, eligibility, requirements for participating museums, and benefits of participating can be found HERE.

The application period is open until October 24, 2024. Application review will take place through November, with decisions and notifications going out the week of November 25.

Questions? Contact Savita Madan at Savita.Madan@childrensmuseums.org

This project was made possible by funding from the Simons Foundation.

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* 1. Applicant Name

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* 2. Title

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* 3. Email

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* 4. Museum name

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* 5. City in which the museum is located

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* 6. State in which the museum is located

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* 7. Which best fits the community in which your museum is located (select one)?

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* 8. What was your museum's annual operating budget for the most recent fiscal year?

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* 9. How many staff does your museum have (please list the number of FT, number of PT, and number of volunteers separately in the comment box)?

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* 10. Does your museum participate in Museums for All?

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* 11. If No, does your museum participate in another Access program (e.g., Card to Culture (MA), San Francisco Museums For All, your own museum access program, etc.)? If you answered Yes to #10, please select "NA".

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* 12. If Yes, please share the link to information about the access program, ideally one that is on your museum’s website. If you answered No to #11, please put "NA" in the comment box.

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* 13. Please briefly describe the demographics of the guests your museum serves.

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* 14. Are you able to dedicate a lead staff person to manage the project for your museum (Project Lead)? In addition to managing and coordinating your museum’s work on the project, the Project Lead will be expected to attend cohort virtual meetings in Dec 2024, Jan 2025, Mar & Apr 2025, Jun-Nov 2025, Jan & Feb 2026 (exact days/times TBD), and the in-person meetings/workshops in late February 2025 in New York City, in May 2025 at InterActivity in Albuquerque, NM, and in May 2026 at InterActivity in San Diego, CA (expenses are covered for all meeting/workshop travel for the Project Lead)

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* 15. Please describe your museum’s experience with front end evaluation (i.e., gathering information to understand what visitors know about a topic, what questions and misconceptions they may have, or what content resonates with them, through listening sessions, focus groups, etc.) with parents/caregivers and/or community members, if any. Please share what method(s) you used, and an example of what you learned and how it influenced the experience you created. If you do not have this experience, please put “NA” in the box. Please note prior experience with front-end evaluations is not required to be selected to the cohort.

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* 16. Please share your interest in participating in this project.

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* 17. Does your museum offer experiences (exhibits, programs, events, etc.), now or in the recent past, that are designed to help children develop numeracy skills, math literacy, and/or math confidence? Please note this is not required to be selected to the cohort, but it may be helpful for the project's work.

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* 18. If Yes, please describe one of these experiences. If you answered No to #17, please put "NA" in the comment box.

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* 19. Does your museum offer experiences (exhibits, programs, events, etc.), now or in the recent past, that are designed to help parents/caregivers gain confidence and capacity to help their child develop numeracy skills, math literacy, and/or math confidence? Please note this is not required to be selected to the cohort, but it may be helpful for the project's work.

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* 20. If Yes, please describe one of these experiences. If you answered No to #19, please put "NA" in the comment box.

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* 21. How could participating in this project benefit your museum and the visitors you serve?

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