Outreach
Early Childhood and Family Engagement
A Family Collaboration between CMOM, NYC's First Lady and NYC Department of Correction
As part of a series of new initiatives to support incarcerated women on Rikers Island and their families, NYC’s First Lady Chirlane McCray and NYC Department of Correction have partnered with CMOM to create a first-of-its-kind program that brings together incarcerated women and their children at the Museum for monthly arts-based programs designed to support the development of a healthy bond between mother and child. As stated by First Lady McCray, “We know that the children of mothers who are incarcerated are more likely to be incarcerated themselves … and if the bond between mother and child is broken or damaged, it has lifelong consequences.”
Children's Museum Health and Learning Hubs
Children’s Museum Health and Learning Hubs seek to both transform community sites in high-need neighborhoods into early childhood health and literacy “learning hubs,” and to build adult caregivers’ knowledge of early child development and education.
Shelter Program for Families in Temporary Housing
A cornerstone of the Museum’s outreach for nearly two decades, this program provides children and single mothers living in temporary housing with music, art, literacy, health and parenting skills in a safe and supportive environment at the Museum. Through an intensive weekly program, the women gain tools and life skills that empower them as mothers and future job seekers, and their children develop valuable literacy and health habits. Their hopes and needs are often guiding lights for new exhibitions and programs, joining other community voices the Museum staff listen to every week.
Program for Children with Special Needs
Since 2010, CMOM has been welcoming students on the Autism spectrum from NYC Department of Education’s District 75. CMOM provides cultural enrichment activities to students on-site at the Museum on Mondays, when we are closed to the public. Sensory challenges can make it difficult for children on the autism spectrum to participate in cultural activities or enter unfamiliar, crowded spaces. This program helps to remove barriers preventing these students from engaging in cultural experiences by establishing familiarity with the process of visiting a museum, and giving students opportunities to practice their social and communications skills. Over the course of the year, students visit all the exhibitions and engage in free play with Museum educators. The schedule is the same for each visit, so children can become comfortable with the routine and visiting a cultural institution.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Health
EatSleepPlay™: A CMOM Health Initiative
The Children’s Museum has a long history of engaging families, caregivers, teachers and researchers through our exhibits, programming, cultural events and community outreach. EatSleepPlay™: A CMOM Health Initiative is a national, comprehensive, arts & literacy health-based project that uses creative and fun ways to engage children and their parents. The initiative supports families in making simple changes in the area of nutrition, sleep, and active play to build a healthy mindset and positive, lifelong habits.
Access
Free and Reduced Admissions for Qualifying Visitors
The Children’s Museum of Manhattan is committed to providing access to its exhibits and programs to all New York’s children. Learn about free and reduced admission opportunities.
Cool Culture
At the Children’s Museum, we partner with Cool Culture to provide free Museum access to children and families enrolled in childcare programs across New York City. Founded in 1999, Cool Culture connects over 50,000 low-income families to more than 90 art museums, botanical gardens, historical societies, zoos and other cultural institutions with the Cool Culture Family Pass. Through the Cool Culture Family Pass program, we have welcomed hundreds of thousands of Cool Culture families to the Museum to take advantage of informal learning opportunities that are fundamental to lifelong learning and academic success.
Accessibility
The Museum is a place for children of all abilities to play and learn. Children with disabilities are offered the opportunity to explore activities that provide tactile, visual and auditory stimulation. We also partner with schools to provide guided group visits for students with disabilities.
The award-winning Children’s Museum Guide for Families of Children with Disabilities, developed with funding from the Noble Trust and in collaboration with experts in the fields of learning and special needs, helps children with disabilities and their parents/caretakers, to more fully explore and maximize learning in PlayWorks™.
Need-Based Membership
In addition to our efforts with Cool Culture, we work with community-based organizations (CBOs) and New York City agencies to provide low-income families with access to the Museum’s cultural and educational resources through discount and free Museum memberships. Among the groups with which we’ve partnered are the New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services, Department of Education, Department of Education and the Department of Homeless Services.
