Giving Kids a Head Start

Since 1997, the Museum has served nearly 20,000 preschoolers in greater Providence Head Start – a critical part of our AmeriCorps-based outreach to children and families in need. 

Head Start is a federally funded program, created to combat poverty, that provides low-income children ages 3 to 5 and their families with a range of comprehensive services to support school readiness, health and emotional growth.  The Museum’s long-standing and successful collaboration with greater Providence Head Start (administered by Children’s Friend since 2009) was developed in response to a need expressed by Head Start administrators: for kids to have rich educational experiences in a hands-on environment.

A team of AmeriCorps members, led by our early childhood learning specialist, serves 1,000 Head Start children in more than 50 classrooms each year.  They design and deliver developmentally appropriate, hands-on activities that seek to strengthen children’s social and emotional development – their curiosity, initiative, social skills and sense of their own competence as learners.  Classroom activities vary, depending upon the needs and interests of Head Start teachers and administrators.

For the past few years, AmeriCorps members have presented activities that align with a Children’s Friend initiative to celebrate diversity.  In one imaginative lesson, members read a story about skin color and followed it with a color mixing activity, during which children enthusiastically created and named their own new paint shades.  By presenting engaging activities that support school readiness and early literacy, the team simultaneously creates a memorable learning experience for children and models effective techniques for teachers; they also provide teachers with a packet of activities to build on Museum lessons.  In addition, Museum educators lead trainings for all Head Start teachers and teacher aides.  Teachers come away with an assortment of new ideas, methods and materials, which they continue to use in their classrooms year after year.

After visiting each classroom, AmeriCorps members guide children’s joyful exploration during Museum field trips.  This is the first experience at a children’s museum for many, but it won’t be their last.  The Museum also hosts family nights for all of the Head Start centers – festive evenings for children and their families to play, learn and have dinner together. Wednesday was our third family night of the season, and we welcomed a remarkable 440 children and families from Providence’s Dean, Varone and Carter Head Start centers! Family night attendees receive free year-long Museum admission passes, enabling them to visit together as often as they’d like.  Family support is vital to young children’s development and learning, and family nights and free admission ensure important family engagement.

We are committed to being accessible to all children and families.  Strong, mutually respectful partnerships like the one with Children’s Friend Head Start make it possible to reach families who need the Museum most.

“I am so impressed with the Museum’s commitment to
vulnerable kids living in the urban core.”

– Aimee Mitchell, Director of Head Start, Children’s Friend

The Museum's AmeriCorps program is made possible by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service and Serve Rhode Island, with support from additional Head Start program sponsors.

Reaching Out to Children in Need

Since 1997, Providence Children's Museum has been an AmeriCorps site, committed to training a team of educators to bring engaging play-based activities to children whose exposure to rich learning experiences is limited. MuseumCorps – the Museum’s AmeriCorps program – has served nearly 20,000 children through innovative outreach to inner-city community centers and Head Start programs.

Our newest 12-member MuseumCorps team began in the fall and has been hard at work serving some of the poorest neighborhoods in Providence, Central Falls and Pawtucket through these programs:

• MuseumCorps members lead inspiring hands-on activities in 58 Children’s Friend Head Start classrooms to help improve school readiness for 1,000 preschool children. 

• Through Learning Clubs, members provide engaging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) enrichment activities for 500 low-income elementary children at over a dozen community center after-school and summer programs. 

• New this year: To deepen engagement with the neighborhood in the Museum’s backyard, MuseumCorps members are a daily presence after school at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence South Side Clubhouse. Students from Mary E. Fogarty Elementary School and other neighborhood children participate in playful STEM activities in a Museum-dedicated space. 

Members welcome program participants to explore the Museum during field trips and family nights, and to sign up for free year-long family passes.  They also facilitate play and learning for Museum visitors in exhibits and programs and recruit and coordinate Museum volunteers.

Meet the team:

 Left to right: Front - Rebecca Gormley, Ann Kerrin, Stacy Greenberg, Meagan Amylon
Middle - Andy Axel, Suzie Doogan, Sarah Bonawitz, Abbey Jones
Back - Ryan Queenan, John Rossi, Kassie Edwards, Leah Paladino

Members with Mayor Angel Taveras at a Head Start family night.

The Museum’s AmeriCorps program is made possible by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service and Serve Rhode Island with support from additional sponsors.

Fun-Filled Family Night

Last week was the first Museum Learning Club Family Night of the school year. We welcomed 140 children and families from a record 16 different clubs – from Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence, Cranston’s Community Learning Center, Kent County YMCA, and Sackett Street, West End, Federal Hill House and Joslin community centers – for a fun-filled, PLAY-filled evening!
The partnership with these sites is part of the Museum's AmeriCorps program, made successful by a team of MuseumCorps educators who develop and facilitate hands-on activities for the centers’ after-school programs, guide the kids on Museum visits, and invite their families to free Family Nights - where they enjoyed a delicious dinner and received 46 free year-long memberships last week.
The kids’ work was also on display, from a club curriculum about building Super Structures, and it was really fun to see their creative constructions.
Here’s what some of the MuseumCorps members had to say about Family Night:

“It was really gratifying to get a chance to welcome the families of kids that we've been working with to the Museum. Giving them the opportunity to see our “home base” was rewarding and cathartic.”
–Kevin (Kent County YMCA)

“I cheered - literally and with my heart - as I saw more and more kids and families from our clubs enter. With the intimacy of a private event, the Museum was an incredible space for these kids to celebrate their time with the Museum and Learning Clubs.”
–Eric (South Side and Hartford Park Boys & Girls Clubs)

“The children entered the Museum with confidence and knowledge from our field trip earlier this session. It was so nice to see them excitedly touring their families around the Museum and showing off their work. There was also an opportunity for the families of the various clubs to interact. I noticed that one of the families from West Warwick met a family from Providence at dinner and they spent the rest of the night talking and playing together.”
–Erin (Kent County YMCA)

“I was able to spend time in the activity room and play Stack ‘Em Up with the kids ... It was great to see kids from different sites building and interacting together.”
–Kellyn (South Side and Hartford Park Boys & Girls Clubs)

“What struck me most about Family Night was that, with all the kids from our sites, I knew already what their limitations were. In Water Ways I allowed a lot more splashing because I knew the kids and knew how far they can go before I have to say stop. Likewise, I knew which kids to be maybe a little MORE protective of.”
–Ian (South Side and Hartford Park Boys & Girls Clubs)

Building Stick Structures during a Learning Club session.

“My favorite bit of Family Night was watching Michael and Anthony, two kids from my Thursday-Friday club, playing in Air Play. They'd just been in Water Ways and their shirtsleeves were soaked from their wrists to their shoulders. “What happened?” “Water Ways.” But they weren't bothered by all that water; they were too busy playing, grinning, their heads turning as they followed the handkerchiefs blowing through the tubes.”
–Annie (Museum-based team, serving Sackett Street, West End, Federal Hill House and Joslin community centers)

“While I took for granted that Family Night would be a fun night out for our children and their families, I hadn't initially thought of the event from a community building perspective. However, during the actual event, I witnessed parents talking about the Museum and their children with other parents that they had never met before and I realized the full value of family nights for our children, their family members, and the community as a whole.”
–Meghan (Wanskuck Boys & Girls Club)

“The best part for me was watching kids excitedly introduce their grown-ups to the AmeriCorps leaders. You could tell the children wanted to share someone special with their grown-ups!”
–Merideth (Outreach Program Developer)

Congratulations to all of the team members
on a successful evening!

Giving Families a "Head Start"

On Wednesday night, the Museum hosted its second Head Start Family Night of 2009, welcoming a record-setting 800+ children, families and volunteers from Varrone, Friendship and Dean community centers for an energetic night of good food and great fun.
The partnership with Greater Providence Head Start is part of the Museum's AmeriCorps program, made successful by a team of MuseumCorps educators who develop creative classroom activities for Head Start children, guide them on Museum field trips, and invite their families to free Family Nights.A line of people snaked around the building on Wednesday as they waited to enter and then made their way upstairs for dinner in the colorfully decorated Assembly Space, thanks to generous food donations from community supporters. The families also received free year-long memberships – 338 were given out! – and they played. And played. And played!
Here's what several AmeriCorps members and staff had to say about Family Night:

“Family Night was crazier and more fun than we could have imagined! I cannot count the number of people who told me they had a blast and they couldn't wait to come back. We planned on feeding around 500 people and ended up feeding 800. All of the wonderful Head Start volunteers made our job so much easier. We couldn't have done it without them.”
– Katie Barron, AmeriCorps member, Head Start team

“The food situation was nothing short of a miracle; when I saw that over 200 people had eaten at 6:30 (with many going up for seconds!), I was positive we wouldn't have the ability to feed everybody. Somehow, though, the food just kept coming out of the kitchen. It was almost as if somebody was looking over us to make sure that we had just enough food to satiate over 800 people.”
– Molly Russell, AmeriCorps member, Head Start team“I was really impressed with how understanding all of the families were throughout the night. There were a lot of people in the Museum, and a lot of long lines, but I didn't hear anyone complaining. Every time I passed through an exhibit families were laughing and playing – it was such a positive atmosphere!”
– Camille Cordeiro, AmeriCorps member, Head Start team

“Everyone was in such good spirits and excited to eat, mingle, and most importantly, play. A favorite moment: a child (about 4) was running down the ramp ... He looked at me and, jumping up, and down yelled, "I'M SO EXCITED TO BE HERE!" It was fabulous and totally made my night. :)”
– Kelly Sullivan, AmeriCorps member, Head Start team

“I LOVED Head Start Family Night. There was such an amazing energy in the Museum. I loved seeing some of the younger kids showing their older siblings or parents how different exhibits worked. There was such a sense of community, and I hope that everyone had as great a time as I did!”

– Lindsay Kilgore, Experience Coordinator


“This is an amazing collaboration. Kudos to those who came before and made this a tradition and my deepest thanks to all here who made it such a success … it took a village to do what we did and we felt the support of the staff and volunteers (and needed it). To the team – Molly, Miranda, Camille, Katie and Kelly – my congratulations on a fabulous job. Each team member fulfilled their duties with exquisite attention to detail. My humble thanks to all.”

– Mary Scott Hackman, Early Childhood Program Developer (and Head Start team supervisor)

Congratulations, team – what a night!

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Click here if you would like to make a contribution to the Museum to help fund charitable memberships for children and families in need. Thank you!