FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT:
Madeline Anderson
414-278-2784
andersonm@mpm.edu
MILWAUKEE PUBLIC MUSEUM’S SUMMER CONNECTIONS PROGRAM TO PROVIDE FREE EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH, ACCESS TO MUSEUM FOR 450 MILWAUKEE YOUTH
Program includes a free, one-year family membership for all participants
MILWAUKEE —This month, Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) kicked off its annual summer initiative called Summer Connections, which provides free, educational programming and access to the Museum for K-8 students throughout Milwaukee in coordination with community partners. This year’s Summer Connections is expected to serve approximately 450 children—the most since the program began more than a decade ago.
Summer Connections is a three-part program. Part one involves MPM educators visiting the partner site to lead an hour-long, hands-on workshop on a Museum-related topic of their choice: dinosaurs, butterflies, biodiversity in Wisconsin or museum careers. Part two consists of the students visiting MPM to explore the outreach topic further through the Museum’s permanent exhibits and pop-up engagement opportunities. Part three offers all Summer Connections participants a free family membership to MPM for an entire year.
“Summer Connections is meant to build upon itself,” said Erin Goff, MPM Public Programs Coordinator. “The age-appropriate outreach builds on what the children have learned in school. The field trip builds on the lessons taught during the outreach. Our hope is that with the membership, the children feel confident in their knowledge of the Museum and are eager to share that knowledge and experience with their families beyond this summer.”
This privately funded grant program started as an opportunity to engage and serve under-resourced communities in Milwaukee that have traditionally been underrepresented in Museum spaces. The goal is to ensure MPM’s exhibits, resources, special events and programs are accessible to all community members. This year’s partners include Lighthouse Youth Center, Milwaukee Public Schools, Neighborhood House of Milwaukee, Silver Spring Neighborhood Center, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers and United Community Center.
"For 10 years, Neighborhood House of Milwaukee’s children have benefitted from Milwaukee Public Museum’s Summer Connections program," said Jon Janowski, Neighborhood House Executive Director. "This program offers our youth a wide range of perspectives about both their hometown of Milwaukee and the many cultures and countries around the world. Their visit to MPM is often one of the highlights of their summer break, and the free membership provides enriching and entertaining experiences for their entire family to enjoy that they otherwise may not have accessed on their own accord.”
In total, MPM educators will coordinate 20 Summer Connections outreach visits and field trips to the Museum over the course of two months.
About the Milwaukee Public Museum
The Milwaukee Public Museum is Wisconsin’s natural history museum, welcoming over half a million visitors annually. Located in downtown Milwaukee, the Museum was chartered in 1882, opened to the public in 1884, and currently houses more than 4 million objects in its collections. MPM has three floors of exhibits that encompass life-size dioramas, walk-through villages, world cultures, dinosaurs, a rainforest, and a live butterfly garden, as well as the Daniel M. Soref Dome Theater & Planetarium. MPM is operated by Milwaukee Public Museum, Inc., a private, non-profit company, and its facilities and collections are held in trust and supported by Milwaukee County for the benefit of the public.
###