Children's Museum Of The Lowcountry
The Mission of the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry is to spark a love of learning in all children of the tri-county area through interactive, interdisciplinary, hands-on environments and experiences with the arts, sciences and humanities while fostering creative thinking, problem solving skills and each child's belief in his/her own potential.
Description:
The Children's Museum of the Lowcountry is a self-guided museum serving all children in the Lowcountry ages 0 to 12. Through the art of play and exploration, children learn about medievel times, physics, gardening, art, the water cycle, building large structures, fine motor skills, and shrimping in the Lowcountry. Hands-on exhibits include: The Creativity Castle (Art Room), Castle Stories, Raceways, Waterwise, Shrimping on the Anna Marie, Building Zone, Totally Toddler, and the Children's Garden.
History:
The Children's Museum of the Lowcountry (CML) was founded in 1995 by a group of dedicated
parents, intent on improving the lives of children in the tri-county area (Berkeley, Dorchester and
Charleston Counties) through the arts. The next two years of planning and research lead to CML adopting a broader vision that incorporated the
sciences and humanities. In 1998 the mission of CML was adopted by the board - to spark a love of learning in all children in the tri-county area through hands-on experiences in the arts, sciences and
humanities, and increase critical thinking skills in children and a belief in their own potential. 1998 also witnessed the Museum's mission in action through the Museum's Bridging the Lowcountry, a nine-week, hands-on curriculum on bridges incorporating the state and national educational standards and modeling innovative and exciting learning in the school setting. The results were powerful. Teachers wanted CML back in their classroom, but more importantly, students decided they loved to learn. In the words of one student, "I never worked so hard on a project before - I did it because the Children's Museum made the activities real. We didn't just do problems in a textbook!" The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation extended the success of this program in 2000 by awarding CML with a grant to implement teacher training and hands-on bridge kits for the three tri-county school districts. Again CML met with success. Carole Poole, the Social Studies Coordinator of Berkeley County School District wrote a letter to the editor of The Post & Courier commenting on her impressions of the training, "The lessons will hold the students' interest and will actively engage students in high-level, creative thinking activities. Good learning takes place under those circumstances."
While the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry strove to provide the highest quality educational, hands-on experiences for all children, families and teachers in the tri-county area, the Board launched an extensive site search. In 2000 the City of Charleston signed a lease with CML donating a downtown site for forty years to the Museum. This lease was enhanced in 2002 with the inclusion of an additional small shed and
outdoor exhibit area. Ground was broken in 2002, 4.2 million was raised for capital funds and opening day was planned for September 21, 2003! This opening day, and eleven more days in the upcoming year, admission was free to the public made possible by a grant from Target Stores. Thus, the Board, staff and community have persisted over the years to meet the Museum's mission, raise funds for the Museum and open its doors with several programs in place to serve all children. However, CML would like to do more for the children who cannot afford to pay admission to our Museum. Our accessibility outreach for the first two years of operation has and will continue to focus on the disadvantaged youth in the City of Charleston.
Contact person: Laura Buschman, Volunteer And Visitor Services Coordinator, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (843) 853-1042
Address:
Web Site: http://www.explorecml.org
| Last updated on May 29, 2009 |
