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Museum to Explore Most Effective Model for Expansion and Replication in New York City and Regionally NEW YORK, NY – The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) announced today that it received a $50,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation’s New York State Giving Program. The grant will provide support for CMOM to develop a replicable model for its EatSleepPlay™ early childhood health initiative, designed to help young children, their families and caregivers prevent the onset of behaviors that lead to obesity. The foundation of the EatSleepPlay initiative is an early childhood obesity prevention curriculum aimed at children ages 2–5, which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) asked CMOM to develop.

CMOM expanded this into a comprehensive model of community engagement that utilizes the EatSleepPlay curriculum to provide: direct service programs for parents and children in low-income communities; professional development training for adults who work with young low income children; partnership building and community resource development to create, build and sustain a community network of organizations and city agencies; EatSleepPlay™: Building Health Every Day, an interactive health exhibit at CMOM and accompanying public program series;  and exhibit component plans and visual treatments for small museums, libraries and community centers.

For the past three years, CMOM piloted and evaluated the arts-based EatSleepPlay curriculum and accompanying programs for parents and professionals in high-need communities in New York City and New Orleans, including public housing communities, Head Start centers and childcare settings.

Independent research, conducted during this three-year period shows that CMOM’sEatSleepPlay has been effective in changing behavior regarding eating habits and physical activity. It is this behavior change – seen in children, parents and Head Start staff – that caught the attention of many public and private partners. Given EatSleepPlay’s successful impact seen in New York City and the continuing health problems caused by obesity in children, the Museum has been encouraged to evaluate expansion opportunities and develop a strategy for scaling the model to meet the needs of an expanded number of families and caregivers locally.

 “In three years since its implementation, four separate research reports have documented the effectiveness of the curriculum, community outreach programs and the exhibition itself, in terms of bridging the distance between information and behavioral and attitudinal changes regarding diet, sleep and physical activity,” said Andrew Ackerman, executive director of CMOM. “The grant from Walmart allows us to explore which components of the initiative to bring to scale and formulate a plan to do so. Our aim is to bring the positive behavior change we’ve seen to a larger population, both in New York City and regionally.”

Over the next year, CMOM will continue to deliver the arts-based obesity prevention program to its audiences of school staff, teachers, childcare providers, parents and families and evaluate the EatSleepPlay model for potential scalability.

“Walmart is pleased to be supporting CMOM’s EatSleepPlay initiative which has had an extremely positive impact in terms of changing eating behavior and reducing childhood obesity within at-risk communities,” said Steven Restivo, senior director of community affairs for Walmart. “They are successfully moving the needle in an area of people’s lives that is often a challenge to change.”

With the financial support from the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program, CMOM will identify which program elements can be replicated and disseminated on a broader scale, and develop a strategy to successfully adapt and respond to growing demand and need for the EatSleepPlay early childhood health initiative locally and, eventually, nationally.

About Children’s Museum of Manhattan

Founded in 1973, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan is New York City’s leading cultural institution dedicated solely to children and families. CMOM inspires children and their families to learn about themselves and a culturally diverse world through unique interactive exhibitions. CMOM presents a full range of activities, exhibits and special performances that stimulate children of all ages. Through multidimensional programs that reach deep into the community, the Museum serves New Yorkers from all backgrounds. For details on all of CMOM’s programs, please visit www.cmom.org.

About Philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support initiatives that are helping people live better around the globe. In May 2010, Walmart and its Foundation made a historic pledge of $2 billion through 2015 to fight hunger in the U.S. The Walmart Foundation also supports education, workforce development, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness initiatives. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.