The Miami Children’s Museum (formerly the Miami Youth Museum) is a non-profiteducational institution located on Watson Island in the city of Miami, Florida.[1] The museum focuses on programs, classes and learning materials related to arts, culture, community and communication. They also provide support for bilingual and special needs children.
Miami Children's Museum logoMiami Children's Museum during the day
Historyedit
Founded in 1983, the museum was originally named the Miami Youth Museum.[2] In 1985, the museum opened a 2,000 square-foot facility in a mall on Sunset Drive. In 1986, the museum was relocated to the Bakery Center shopping mall in South Miami and expanded their facility to 4,000 square feet. During this time the museum's attendance increased from around 10,000 to nearly 20,000. Over the next few years the museum continued to expand in both exhibition space and in attendance, in part due to the community outreach program established in 1987. The museum reached a peak of 47,686 visitor capacity during this time, and the community outreach program expanded to serve 899,000 people.
In 1991, the museum received its first grant from the State of Florida Cultural Facilities. The next year the museum board began plans for the construction of a new facility, and over the next few years received nearly $2 million dollars including a lead gift of $1 million. One of these grants was a prestigious Institute of Museum and Library Services grant.
The pending demolition of the Bakery Center in 1996 forced the museum to temporarily relocate to the Miracle Center in Coral Gables, Florida. At this time, the museum was looking for a site for the new facility. In partnership with Miami Dade County, the museum secured a site at the Vizcaya Metro-Rail Station in 1996. The following year, 1997, the museum changed its name to Miami Children’s Museum.
In 2000, neighborhood opposition and the threat of protracted litigation caused the Board of Directors of Miami Children’s Museum to seek a new site for the building. A new leadership committee was formed to find a new building site, chaired by Alan Potamkin and Norman Braman, and the committee raised $8.2 million by the end of 2000. They identified a site on Watson Island and in 2001 the plans were finalized. In 2002 the State of Florida awarded $500,000 to the museum, bringing funding from the State to $2.4 million. The campaign achieved over 90% of the goal, $16.1 million in the first six months of the year. In 2003, the Miami Children’s Museum (MCM) opened in a new 56,500 square foot facility on Watson Island, near Downtown Miami, where it is still located today. The facility was designed by Arquitectonica, and the museum continued to expand the scope of their facilities through the construction of a charter school area in 2005 and 2006, helped in part by a $500,000 grant from the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.
The museum now includes 14 permanent galleries, pre-school classrooms, a parent/teacher resource center, a Kid Smart educational gift shop, a 200-seat auditorium and a Subway restaurant. The museum now claims to have had over 5 million guests since 2003 and to reach over 400,000 annual visitors.
Referencesedit
^Graber, Woody (2022-11-21). "Miami Children's Museum announces opening of Winter Wonderland exhibit | Biscayne Bay Tribune#". Retrieved 2023-01-27.
^"Miami Children's Museum preparing to expand by 47%". Miami Today. 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
External linksedit
Miami Children's Museum
November 26, 2023
miami, children, museum, miami, children, museum, formerly, miami, youth, museum, profit, educational, institution, located, watson, island, city, miami, florida, museum, focuses, programs, classes, learning, materials, related, arts, culture, community, commu. The Miami Children s Museum formerly the Miami Youth Museum is a non profit educational institution located on Watson Island in the city of Miami Florida 1 The museum focuses on programs classes and learning materials related to arts culture community and communication They also provide support for bilingual and special needs children Miami Children s MuseumLocation within FloridaEstablished1983Location980 MacArthur Causeway Miami Florida United StatesCoordinates25 47 05 N 80 10 35 W 25 784698 N 80 176519 W 25 784698 80 176519TypeChildren s MuseumDirectorDeborah SpiegelmanPublic transit accessMetrobus S lineWebsiteMiami Children s MuseumMiami Children s Museum logoMiami Children s Museum during the dayHistory editFounded in 1983 the museum was originally named the Miami Youth Museum 2 In 1985 the museum opened a 2 000 square foot facility in a mall on Sunset Drive In 1986 the museum was relocated to the Bakery Center shopping mall in South Miami and expanded their facility to 4 000 square feet During this time the museum s attendance increased from around 10 000 to nearly 20 000 Over the next few years the museum continued to expand in both exhibition space and in attendance in part due to the community outreach program established in 1987 The museum reached a peak of 47 686 visitor capacity during this time and the community outreach program expanded to serve 899 000 people In 1991 the museum received its first grant from the State of Florida Cultural Facilities The next year the museum board began plans for the construction of a new facility and over the next few years received nearly 2 million dollars including a lead gift of 1 million One of these grants was a prestigious Institute of Museum and Library Services grant The pending demolition of the Bakery Center in 1996 forced the museum to temporarily relocate to the Miracle Center in Coral Gables Florida At this time the museum was looking for a site for the new facility In partnership with Miami Dade County the museum secured a site at the Vizcaya Metro Rail Station in 1996 The following year 1997 the museum changed its name to Miami Children s Museum In 2000 neighborhood opposition and the threat of protracted litigation caused the Board of Directors of Miami Children s Museum to seek a new site for the building A new leadership committee was formed to find a new building site chaired by Alan Potamkin and Norman Braman and the committee raised 8 2 million by the end of 2000 They identified a site on Watson Island and in 2001 the plans were finalized In 2002 the State of Florida awarded 500 000 to the museum bringing funding from the State to 2 4 million The campaign achieved over 90 of the goal 16 1 million in the first six months of the year In 2003 the Miami Children s Museum MCM opened in a new 56 500 square foot facility on Watson Island near Downtown Miami where it is still located today The facility was designed by Arquitectonica and the museum continued to expand the scope of their facilities through the construction of a charter school area in 2005 and 2006 helped in part by a 500 000 grant from the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs The museum now includes 14 permanent galleries pre school classrooms a parent teacher resource center a Kid Smart educational gift shop a 200 seat auditorium and a Subway restaurant The museum now claims to have had over 5 million guests since 2003 and to reach over 400 000 annual visitors References edit Graber Woody 2022 11 21 Miami Children s Museum announces opening of Winter Wonderland exhibit Biscayne Bay Tribune Retrieved 2023 01 27 Miami Children s Museum preparing to expand by 47 Miami Today 2017 09 19 Retrieved 2023 01 27 External links editMiami Children s Museum Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Miami Children 27s Museum amp oldid 1135945644, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
