Editor's Note: In light of the recent shootings in Blacksburg VA, the
following article by the Institute of Museum and Library Services
highlights the value of community institutions reaching out and offering
support in difficult times. On April 23, 2007, Louisiana Children's
Museum Executive Director Julia Bland called and offered encouragement
to Mort Sajadian, Ph.D., executive director and CEO of Amazement Square,
a children's museum based in Lynchburg, VA, that serves the community of
Blacksburg.
The following is a text only press release from the federal Institute of
Museum and Library Services (IMLS). An HTML version of this release with
photos can be read on the agency's Web site at
www.imls.gov/profiles/Apr07.shtm.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2007
Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, [log in to unmask]
Mamie Bittner, [log in to unmask]
Manhattan and New Orleans Children's Museums Offer Mutual Support in
Turbulent Times
The Louisiana Children's Museum (LCM) in New Orleans was planning a
festive celebration of its 15-year anniversary on September 15, 2001.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, LCM Executive Director
Julia Bland decided to refocus the celebration on families and on ways
to help the Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM).
"We all felt the need to help in whatever way we could," Bland said. On
LCM's birthday, children and staff at LCM folded 1,000 origami cranes
for peace, created a huge, colorful banner, and collected $4,500.
"Little kids were literally emptying out their piggybanks," Bland
recalled. LCM Education Director Erin MacInnes, who had two sisters
living in Manhattan, packed the paper birds, the banner, and the
donation into a big box and hand-delivered it to CMOM Executive Director
Andrew Ackerman and his staff. This was the first contact CMOM had had
from outside of New York City, and it forged a strong bond between the
two museums and its directors.
"They were so incredibly generous. Support from the Louisiana Children's
Museum emboldened us so much that we dropped the admission charge to the
museum for the month of September," Ackerman said. A year later,
Ackerman thanked LCM by lending it a wildly popular interactive exhibit
called the Body Odyssey, waiving the $45,000 rental fee.
Fast forward to August 2005: Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans,
causing $1 million of damage to the Louisiana Children's Museum.
"Andy called and told me, 'I know what you're going through. It's going
to be tough.' He was really there for us in every way," Bland said.
In 2006, CMOM received a grant from the Toy Industry Foundation (TIF) to
develop PlayHelps, a program to help children and families living in the
midst of extreme hardship. The program was based in part on CMOM's
PlayWorks exhibition, a project funded by a 2006 Museums for America
grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
CMOM and TIF chose New Orleans as the first recipient of the three-month
program. Children Pre-K through sixth grade engaged in block building,
painting, storytelling, puppetry, and music in three colorful domes
located on the tennis courts at the Andrew Jackson Elementary School.
The high-performing school is located in St. Bernard Parish, the most
devastated parish in New Orleans. CMOM trained onsite staff to work with
the teachers so the program would complement the school curriculum.
"In New Orleans, every family was in crisis. PlayHelps was like oxygen
to the kids and staff. The domes were a safe haven where they could be
kids again," Ackerman said. During weekends, PlayHelps held toy-making
programs at LCM.
"Their program has had enormous therapeutic value," said Bland.
PlayHelps ran seven days a week from Dec. 1, 2006 to Feb. 28, 2007, and
served 1800 children a week. LCM is replicating the PlayHelps program in
six library trailers this summer.
LCM also worked to restore the well-being of its children and families
through a program called, Re-Connecting, Re-engaging, Re-Building, which
was funded by a 2005 Museums for America grant from IMLS. The
high-quality play programs have helped children deal with anger problems
and with the ongoing stress of living in cramped trailers.
"The children lost all their toys and their artwork and their lives are
filled with so much work," Bland said. "Play is a rare thing. It's a
privilege to bring laughter, joy, creativity and imagination into their
lives."
The art that has come out of these children is amazing, Bland says. A
little boy filled his journal with stories about the beloved dog he left
behind. A crew of pint-size city planners has rebuilt the city with
extra skate parks, recreation centers, and pools. Children draw new
homes for their families, always including a room of their very own.
And, as the children have started feeling better, parents' moods have
improved too.
"It's so rewarding. I've never worked so hard but I've never felt so
satisfied," Bland said. "Children's museums attract giving, selfless
people. Plus, anytime anything happens around the community, we share
it. This high degree of camaraderie has helped us weather the tough
times."
See www.imls.gov/profiles/Apr07photos.shtm for photos of the PlayHelps
program in New Orleans. Please email Ellen Arnold at [log in to unmask] if
you need the photos at a higher resolution.
Also available are two sidebar articles:
* Directors of the Children's Museums of Manhattan and the Louisiana
Children's Museum Share Lessons on Dealing with Disaster - see
www.imls.gov/profiles/Apr07.shtm#lessons
* IMLS Extends Grant Help to Gulf Coast States Affected by Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita - see www.imls.gov/profiles/Apr07sidebar.shtm.
For further information and interviews:
Children's Museum of Manhattan
Josh Green
Account Executive
Bratskeir & Company
[log in to unmask]
(212)679-2233
Louisiana Children's Museum
Executive Director Julia Bland
[log in to unmask]
(504) 586-0725 ext. 201
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of
federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.
The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that
connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the
national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to
sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and
innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about
the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.
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