Community Need #4 Reduce the effects of poverty on learning

2014–2015
Executive Committee
2014–2015
Board Members
2014–2015
Advisory Board Members
Randolph F. Allen
President
Lisa Barksdale
A.J. Brass
Suzette T. Caldwell
Ernie D. Cockrell, Jr.
Louie Ehrlich
Ian Fay
Douglas L. Foshee
Thad Hill
Michael H. Holthouse
Lee A. Lahourcade
Marc Melcher
Shelly Mulanax
Paul Murphy, Jr.
Josh Oren
Sarah Rabinow Pesikoff
Leigh Anne Raymond
Sean Rice
Dr. Barbara Samuels
C. Park Shaper
Tiffany Avery-Smith
Saul Solomon
Hillary Farish Stratton
Brian Thomas
William J. Toomey, II
Duncan K. Underwood
Jack P. Williams, Jr.
(2013 – 2014)
Helen Wilson
Donald W. Young
Dr. Jen Rochlis Zumbado
Leslie D. Blanton
Jane B. Block
Raymona B. Bomar
Sharon Albert Brier
Kathy Britton
Charlotte Christman
Garnet F. Coleman
Pamela Joubert Davis
Thomas DeBesse
Adam M. Drutz
Gina Gaston Elie
Dimitri Fetokakis
Sam W. Gainer
Lance Gilliam
Hunt Harper
Katherine C. Hatcher
Terri Havens
Dr. Catherine Horn
Aaron E. Howes
Brock Hudson
Susan C. Jhin
Mark Jodon
Eric T. Kalamaras, Sr.
(2013–2014)
Jared Kearney
Molly Hackett-LaFauci
Steve A. Lasher
Melanie R. Margolis
Sean McCall
Michael J. Medrano
Greg Meeks
Geoffrey H. Bracken
President-Elect
Lance Gilliam
Past President
Michael J. Medrano
(2013–2014)
Steve Daniel
(2014–2015)
Secretary
William J. Hill
Treasurer
Gina Luna
Vice President
Board Activities
Michael K. Mithoff
Vice President
Contributed Income
Dr. Robert McCallister
Vice President
Education
Daniel F. Castaneda
Vice President
Operations
Sicily Dickenson
Vice President
Earned Income
Geoffrey H. Bracken
(2013–2014)
Michael Lueck
(2014–2015)
Vice President
Strategic Planning
Dr. Leslie Miller
Dan S. Parsley
William O. Perkins III
Kim Maresh Petersen
Michael J. Plank
Carlos R. Rainer
Kristi Schiller
Andrew Segal
Millette Sherman
Winnie Simmons
Anita Smith
Sandy Steed Martinez
(2013–2014)
Krystal Crane
Thompson
Stephen Trauber
Richard Yoo
Tammie Kahn,
Executive Director
Life Board Members
Gail Adler
Julie Brook Alexander
Nancy C. Allen
William J. Hill
Charlene Pate
Dr. Kathryn Rabinow
Ex-Officio
Pamela Laborde
The Junior League
of Houston, Inc.
Charlene Pate
Vice President
Special Initiatives Sugar Land
America’s No. 1 Children’s Museum
—Parents Magazine
Among Best Children’s Museums in U.S.
—Forbes Magazine
Among Best Children’s Museums in U.S.
—USAToday
Best Museum in Houston 2014
—Houston A-List
Rated 5 Stars
—Citysearch.com (Top Rating)
Certificate of Excellence 2014
—TripAdvisor
Rated 4 of 4 Stars
—Charity Navigator
Children’s Museum of Houston • www.cmhouston.org • 1500 Binz, Houston, TX 77004
Friend,
Because of your generous support, the Children’s Museum of Houston served more than 1.1 million
visitors and outreach participants during the 2014 fiscal year. More than 810,000 Museum visits were
made by children, parents, caregivers and teachers, with our outreach programs recording attendance
of 344,000 at 238 community locations throughout five counties of the Greater Houston area. Free and
reduced-fee admissions were provided to 43% of our visitors.
Your support
•helped parents become their children’s first and most important teachers, with 44,136 parents trained
in proven strategies to build their children’s learning skills. These programs were conducted throughout
the Greater Houston area at 58 public schools, 26 library branches, and 23 community centers.
•provided
literacy programming for children in preschool through 3rd grade, facilitating the development
of critically-needed reading skills and a love of reading. Almost 7,000 parents and children participated
in literacy-focused family events at 55 schools, libraries, and community centers. We reached more than
9,000 families with our Family Literacy Involvement Program (FLIP) kits, which can be checked out at
35 Houston Public Library branch locations and were also launched at 40 HISD elementary schools.
An additional 60,000 books were given away to children.
•provided afterschool programs featuring hands-on STEM activities, reaching children at Edison Middle
School, 18 community centers, 34 YMCA locations, and six school districts to keep children safe while
producing measurable gains in their science and mathematics content knowledge.
•helped children overcome summer learning loss, so they could start the new school year ready to learn.
Rigorous science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics-oriented activities produced measurable
gains at seven YMCA and community center sites, where attendance totaled to 7,100.
•trained caregivers working at 70 sites, so that they could facilitate the Museum’s curriculum on a
year-round basis, benefiting children served by organizations like DePelchin, AVANCE, the Chinese
Community Center, and others.
Julie Brook Alexander
Another important milestone was reached this year. Julie Brook Alexander was
elected as a Life Board Member in recognition of her remarkable leadership during
the past 32 years. Julie has held many leadership roles on the CMH Board, including
Vice President of Education, Vice President of Board Activities, Capital Campaign
Chair, and Board President. Julie has also been saluted as Outstanding Volunteer
in Houston by the Mayor’s Office because of her involvement with the Children’s
Museum. Today, Julie and her family are making it possible for the Museum to
be a welcoming, inclusive place for all learners, especially those families who have
children with disabilities. We are honored to work with Julie on behalf of the
children of the Greater Houston area.
Thank you for continuing to support the Museum’s efforts to transform communities through
innovative, child-centered learning.
Sincerely,
Randolph F. Allen President
Tammie Kahn
Executive Director
Community Need #1
Community Need #2
Community Need #3
CMH Response:
CMH Response:
CMH Response:
Foster the development of Houston’s
significant child population
Provides experiential learning
through 13 bilingual hands-on
exhibits; high-quality early education
programming; an on-site branch
of the Houston Public Library; and 8
after-school programs delivered at
locations in the community to serve
those most in need.
Increase and support parents’ engagement
in their children’s learning
Provides 7 different bilingual programs
focused on increasing parents'
engagement in their children’s learning.
To further CMH’s commitment, the Institute
for Family Learning develops and delivers
curricula and programs to enhance parents’
roles as their children’s first and most
important teachers.
Provide learning experiences that
reinforce and supplement school
classroom instruction
Offers 5 different community-based and
after-school programs to engage students
in educational activities that can be
tailored to their own learning interests and
needs. These programs offer students
the opportunity through self-initiated and
facilitated projects, educational games and
activities to strengthen their science, math
and literacy skills.
CMH connects children and families with experiences
that they can customize to suit their own learning
interests. These experiences are designed to offer
foundational learning opportunities, provide parents
with the support they need in their role as the first
teachers of their children, and reinforce learning that
occurs in school. In an effort to ensure the broadest
access, the Museum partners with 781 community
agencies that serve low-income communities and
develops and delivers exhibits, programming and
facilitation in English and Spanish.
Community Need #4
Community Need #5
Community Need #6
CMH Response:
CMH Response:
CMH Response:
Reduce the effects of poverty on learning
Provides 7 bilingual early education
programs dedicated to increasing access
and engaging low-income children and
families. Attendace of 344,000 children
and parents was recorded this past year
in 238 community spaces, with free
admission and resources provided to the
constituences of 781 community-based
partner organiztions.
Serve a multicultural, multilingual
population
Provides all exhibits, website, programs
and facilitation in English and Spanish. The
Museum presents a range of multicultural
exhibits and programming that encourages
visitor exploration, helping cultivate an
understanding and appreciation of the
cultural traditions of diverse communities.
50% of the Museum’s public contact staff
speak Spanish, the second-language in
greatest demand in Houston. All of CMH’s
outreach programs can be delivered in
Spanish.
Promote workforce preparedness through
the development of 21st century skills
Bases exhibits and programming on
“Building Blocks” learning objectives that
ensure strategic connections between
the Museum’s offerings, 21st century
workplace skills, and school-based
standards. All of the Museum’s exhibits
undergo intensive testing and ongoing
evaluations to ensure CMH objectives are
achieved.
Community Need #1
Foster the development of Houston’s significant
child population
The need for child-centered learning services in
the Greater Houston area is growing every day.
Of the 4.6 million children in Texas who are under the age of twelve, more than 1.1 million live in the
Greater Houston area, with the region’s population having increased by a factor of 29% since 2000. Their
demographics are very diverse, with individuals of Hispanic descent accounting for 44% of the children
of the Greater Houston area, followed by Anglos (30%), African Americans (18%) and Asian Americans
(6%) (2009-2013 American Community Survey). Because high quality interaction is essential for cognitive
and social development, CMH provides children and their parents, teachers and caregivers with bilingual
(English/Spanish) exhibits and programming that enable them to be engaged in self-directed explorations
scaled to ability levels. These investigations emphasize the development of the literacy and STEM skills
required by the 21st century workplace, also shaping the soft skills related to communication, creativity,
critical thinking and collaboration.
CMH’s exhibits and programs build real-world
learning literacies that can last a lifetime.
The more connected children are to what they are
investigating, the more potential there is for longlasting learning. The Museum’s 21-Tech strategies
for using mobile devices with visitors advance this
connectedness through apps that families use in
conjunction with exhibits. These strategies allow
parents and Museum staff to observe children’s
engagement and then present them with additional
learning tools that relate directly and ideally to their
investigations and learning interests.
Imagine a family using the Penguin Hockey activity
in the Cyberchase: The Chase Is On! exhibit. To
excel at the game, you must exercise the Law of
Reflection; the angle of incidence equals the angle
of reflection. There are several simple mobile
applications that demonstrate the concept (e.g.
Holes and Balls). Once a staff member explores
these apps briefly with visitors, we see a substantial
increase in the amount of time they spend
challenging one another to use the “law” to win.
This kind of knowledge discovery and application
is core to learning.
Evaluation Findings
The 21-Tech connected learning projects have been funded
as national leadership projects by the Institute of Museum
and Library Services. The related research, conducted by the
Garibay Group of Chicago, IL, shows that families value these
new learning experiences and that their learning behaviors
deepen when using these new tools. These findings have been
distributed across the museum field for the purpose of advancing
the national goals of the project. The following graphs and related
visitor quotes reflect one small part of a three-year study involving
the Children’s Museum of Houston (lead organization), New York
Hall of Science, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and
Sciencenter in New York.
Using the iPad helped me and my child better understand the
exhibit content.
Connected learning is when you’re pursuing
knowledge and expertise around something
you care deeply about, and you’re supported
by friends and institutions who share and
recognize this common passion or purpose.
Mimi Ito
Cultural Anthropologist
Professor in Residence
University of California-Irvine
Community Need #2
Increase and support parents’ engagement in their
children’s learning
Parental engagement is one of the major
determinants of children’s cognitive and social
development, yet it is estimated that less than
1% of Harris County parents have access to
evidence-based parent education programs.
—CHILDREN AT RISK 2012–14
Currently, 60% of Houston-area children enter Kindergarten without the required reading-readiness skills.
Low levels of school readiness contribute to difficulties throughout primary and secondary school, with only
one in five students in Texas completing a degree or certificate within six years of high school graduation.
Regionally coordinated systems must be improved so that partners may share resources, promote
professional dialogue, ensure quality of practice, and disseminate critical information to the public. (Early
Matters, Proposed 10-Year Vision). CMH is fully involved in these efforts, working in collaboration with 94
public schools, library branches and community centers to provide parents with programming that educates
and empowers them to serve as their children’s most influential teachers.
CMH’s Parent Stars program increases parent
involvement in their children’s learning.
The goal of Parent Stars is to improve parents’
ability to facilitate their children’s learning. Since
program inception 15 years ago, almost 324,000
parents and children have attended bilingual family
learning workshops held in schools across Harris
and Fort Bend Counties. During the 2013-14
school year, a total of 26,054 parents and children
attended 152 events where they were exposed to
345 unique family learning activities that are easily
repeated at home. Year after year, school principals
choose to bring the Museum’s Parent Stars
program to their schools because of its proven
success in engaging parents in their children’s
learning.
At the beginning of each year, principals select the
Parent Stars events that best meet their students’
achievement needs. An all-time favorite is the
Raise A Reader event, where parents engage in
15 activities with their children and then bring home
a Family Learning Guide of 28 at-home activities
that are linked with a set of books. For example,
after reading Not a Box, a parent can pull out any
form of box and ask their child to decorate it into
an imagined object and then tell a story around it.
With the Something from Nothing book, families
are invited to “string up a story,” drawing or writing
their own story and stringing up its pages as if
they are hanging them on a clothes line. Each
activity requires only simple and easily accessible
materials.
Evaluation Findings
The Parent Stars’ evaluation findings have shown high levels
of parent satisfaction and teacher appreciation for the impact
of the program on student engagement. For the past several
years, the Museum has worked with faculty of the University
of Houston’s Graduate School of Social Work to investigate
these findings more deeply through two comparison studies
of parents who participated in the program and a control
group of those who had not. The evidence from these
studies suggests that Parent Stars programming not only
has an influence on the quality of learning interactions that
parents have with their children, but also has a positive
influence on parents’ attitude toward their children’s schools
and their related experiences.
The most recent report, completed in late 2013, reflected
24 measures in which parents participating in Parent Stars
had statistically significant, positive differences compared
to parents who did not participate in the program. The
categories of these responses include:
• Providing educational environments at home
• Holding beliefs and practices that encourage
school achievement
• Seeking additional resources
• Expressing positive feelings and behavior on
the part of their children
• Participating in school activities
• Satisfaction with their child’s school
Parents should have access to a range of resources to become the best parents they can be for their growing children.
Early Matters: Proposed 10-year vision for Houston and Harris County
Parents’ “yes” responses 6 months after a Parent Stars event:
Community Need #3
Provide learning experiences that reinforce and supplement
school classroom instruction
“A
girl named Madison
loved plastic fusion. She
told the YMCA facilitator,
“I made my mom take me
to the store and buy more
plastic and duct tape. Now
I made a purse, wallet,
and accessories for all
my friends.” The facilitator
invited me to come see her
creations. Madison said
that she now makes wallets
with buttons and even hair
ties to make them more
fashionable.”
Rosehill Elementary
(Tomball ISD)
Research emphasizes that children learn by
doing, build knowledge and understanding
through interconnected experiences, and derive
the most benefit from opportunities in which they
are able to interact with others.
—Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2009
While school-based instruction is without question an important platform for a growing knowledge base,
research demonstrates that the application of knowledge in real life contexts increases understanding and
supports the development of the soft skills required for success in school, the workplace, and life. CMH’s
afterschool programs provide learning activities that appeal to students with varying abilities and interests,
engaging them in real world experimentation. This active, collegial engagement allows students to gain and
apply knowledge throughout critical periods in their development.
“One
of the students was
extremely excited to do
science. When his mother
arrived he began to cry.
When I asked him why he
was crying, he said ‘Today is
science day. I never get to do
science in school and now
my mom is here and I won’t
get to do it.’ I had a quick
conversation with mom, who
said, “of course I will wait.”
Winship Elementary
(Spring ISD)
CMH’s out-of-school programs improve STEM
learning and scores.
Access to high quality out-of-school learning
experiences makes a substantial and cumulative
difference in children’s knowledge gains and
overall success in school. For the past two years,
the Museum has collaborated with the YMCA
of Greater Houston, employing the A’STEAM
(afterschool science, technology, engineering, art/
design and mathematics) curriculum to this end.
Museum educators have developed the curriculum
and facilitation strategies that YMCA facilitators
have implemented at their sites. By leveraging the
expertise of the two organizations, a total of 895
children were engaged last year in high quality
STEM-focused interactions across 28 weeks of
afterschool programming.
One of the core aspects of the collaboration involves
the ongoing training and mentoring that Museum
educators provide to the YMCA’s facilitators. Through
large group as well as one-on-one sessions,
Museum educators ensure that the instruction
provided to children is of high quality and consistent
across sites. The curriculum focus during the 201314 year included the properties of water, catapults,
acceleration, aerodynamics, sound, electricity, and
inventions.
Evaluation Findings
During the two A’STEAM program years, children have been
gaining STEM knowledge and skills during the school day and
also after school. The program’s evaluation has been focused on
understanding if and to what extent A’STEAM increases STEM
knowledge and skill gains over and above what is achieved
through the regular school day. The graphs show gains measured
from the beginning to end of the school year. Children who did not
participate in A’STEAM increased their STEM skills by an average
of 6%, whereas children who were enrolled in A’STEAM increased
these skills by an average of 23%. Similarly, children not in the
program increased 8% in science knowledge as compared to
a 40% gain for the A’STEAM students. Additionally, evidence
suggests that children have a more realistic conception of what a
scientist does after a year in the A’STEAM program.
During one of our focus groups with students, a little girl said “I love the science we do here; we actually get to
DO science. At school the only science we ever do is on paper…
Bethune Elementary (Aldine ISD)
Community Need #4
Reduce the effects of poverty on learning
Almost one in four children in the Greater
Houston area live within families whose
incomes are below the poverty guideline set
by the federal government at $23,850 for a
family of four, with one in three living outside
of a two-parent household.
—2009–2013 American Community Survey
As compared to their peers, children who are born into poverty and lack adequate contact with a
caregiver are much more likely to experience developmental delays during early childhood as the
result of inadequate levels of sensory stimulation and poor nutrition. The stressors associated with
poverty further compound impacts over time, altering brain development and producing deficits with
regards to language development, memory, reasoning, problem solving skills, emotion regulation
and social skills (Rinaldi, Peroddin & Markram, 2008). CMH recognizes that while interventions are
most beneficial when performed during the first five years of life – as the brain is developing at an
unparalleled rate – tremendous opportunities exist for transformation throughout the school years,
given the plasticity of the brain and its ability to respond to positive, enriching interactions.
The Museum’s community-based programs and
Open Doors free admissions increase parental
engagement and build children’s knowledge,
skills and confidence levels, which reverse
impacts of poverty.
It is not enough to simply offer a world-class
Museum – service must also include parenting
education for those with the fewest resources, the
facilitation of activities in the places where lowincome children spend most of their out-of-school
time, and the assurance that low-income families
will be welcomed to the Museum as often as their
schedules permit.
No other children’s museum in the nation matches
the reach of the Museum’s community-based
programs or the extent of its free admission
practices. Outreach begins with parents, enabling
them to provide sensory-rich interactions during
their children’s early years, and then partner with
teachers to keep children engaged in activities that
give them confidence in their ability to investigate
and learn about the world around them. Outreach
continues in children’s afterschool environments,
with children taking the lead in project-based
activities that build knowledge and skills, including
those related to collaboration and communication.
During the past year, this outreach programming
was hosted by partners at 238 locations across
the Greater Houston area, recording attendance of
more than 344,000. No participant in CMH outreach
programming is ever charged a fee. The location of
partners is displayed in the map to the right.
With Open Doors passes and weekly Free Family
Nights, the Museum ensures that low-income
families may come to the Museum as often as they
wish, so that children may take part in combinations
of self-directed and facilitated investigations as their
parents are assisted to learn how they can continue
this learning at home.
Last year, 69,664 Open Doors passes (providing
free admission for a family of four) were distributed
to 781 Open Doors partners – community-based
organizations that serve low-income families across
the Greater Houston area – with additional passes
distributed by clinics of the Harris Health System.
There is no limit set to the number of Open Doors
passes issued or redeemed, with families who
receive public welfare benefits also provided with
unlimited free admissions. More than 275,000
individuals used the Open Doors passes and weekly
Free Family Nights to gain free admission to the
Museum during the past year, accounting for 34% of
all visitors. The location of the Open Doors partners
is provided on the map, with stars color-coded to
represent concentrations of as many as 30+ Open
Doors partners in a single neighborhood.
Every family
living inside
of Beltway
8 is within
two miles of
a school or
community
center that
hosts the
Museum’s
outreach
programming
and/or
distributes
the
Museum’s
Open Doors
passes.
Community Need #5
Serve a multicultural, multilingual population
“Year
after year,
Houston’s youngest
children enter
kindergarten lacking
adequate readingreadiness skills. Based
on 2013 assessments
administered by
Houston-area school
districts, as many
as 60 percent of
children did not
possess the literacy
skills expected upon
entering kindergarten.”
Barbara Bush Houston
Literacy Foundation,
Houston’s Literacy
Crisis: A Blueprint for
Community Action
The Greater Houston area has a greater
degree of racial and ethnic diversity than any
of the nation’s major metropolitan areas, with
the region’s school districts reporting that 112
languages are spoken by their students, and with
38% of the region’s residents using a language
other than English in their homes.
—Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Hobby Center for the Study of Texas,
and American Community Survey
This diversity presents exceptional challenges with regards to the development of literacy in English,
particularly within low-income Spanish-speaking neighborhoods in which there is a significant degree of
insularity. To address the needs of these families, CMH makes all exhibits and programming bilingual in
English and Spanish and maintains dual language capacity in its public contact and outreach staff. Within a
region in which 44% of children are of Hispanic descent, the impact of these accommodations is evident, with
47% of CMH’s on-site visitors of Hispanic descent, along with 84% of participants in outreach programming.
“My
kids love reading
because of these
kits. They loved the
activities after reading
also. These are nice
for the whole family.”
“My
daughter wrote her
first poem! She also
said she wanted to be
a writer and illustrator
when she grows up.”
“The
FLIP Kit activities
are the icing on the
cake when it comes
to reading books
together and helping
them learn to love
reading.”
Parents comments
CMH’s multi-language FLIP builds a love of
reading in children from birth through 3rd grade.
As a component of a 15-year partnership with
the Houston Public Library, the Family Literacy
Involvement Program – represented by its mascot
FLIP and his doghouse – is in 35 library branches
throughout Houston. Each location circulates a set
of FLIP kits that families check out and use at home
to expand their family reading experiences. During
the past year, the collection of kits increased from
2,280 to 2,410, with more than two-thirds of the kits
available in Spanish, Chinese or Vietnamese. The
FLIP kits were circulated approximately 9,000 times,
with an average of 2.5 parents and children using
each kit to boost their reading experiences, resulting
in a total of 22,500 uses.
In further testament to the community-wide success
of FLIP, the Museum was invited by the Barbara
Bush Houston Literacy Foundation and Houston
ISD to place FLIP kits in 40 elementary schools
for use throughout the 2014-15 school year. HISD
volunteers will use the kits to help children (1) build
confidence in their reading; (2) improve their reading
comprehension; and (3) increase their vocabulary
through weekly interactions with a variety of kits.
Evaluation Findings
Following up on baseline research conducted by Dr. Susan
Landry and her team at the UT Children’s Learning Institute
in 2010, the Museum has continued to assess the impacts of
FLIP kit use each year. In 2014, 94% of parents stated that the
program had helped them understand how their children relate
to reading. Additionally, the findings in the chart suggest that the
continuous improvements to the FLIP kit collection are making a
positive difference for parents.
Community Need #6
Promote workforce preparedness through the development
of 21st century skills
“On
an economic
level, Making is
bolstering personalized
manufacturing, local
workforce development,
entrepreneurship, and
expanding opportunities
for Americans to unleash
innovations that can lead
to the industries and jobs
of the future.”
Dale Dougherty
Co-founder of Make
Magazine
As children participate
in the Museum’s
programs, they...
• build confidence in their
learning abilities;
• apply basic skills in
math and reading;
• communicate their ideas;
• become skilled in
scientific inquiry;
• use problem solving
processes; and
• experience meaningful
connections to the world
around them.
Most of today’s teachers find it difficult to
incorporate experiential activities into their
classrooms because of the prescriptive, highly
regimented curriculum approach generated by
the high-stakes testing movement.
To ensure that children have ongoing opportunities to develop and practice the critical and creative thinking
skills they will need throughout life, CMH facilitates experiential, self-directed learning on-site at the Museum
and at locations across the Greater Houston area. A majority of activities feature project-based challenges
in which children work in small groups to design, build, test and refine a variety of mechanical and electronic
devices. These activities provide children with opportunities to develop the STEM skills required in the 21st
century workplace, along with the mindsets that foster curiosity, engagement and persistence.
CMH’s “making” programs increase students’
performance and their interest in STEM careers.
The Maker Movement engages people as
tinkerers, designers, producers and innovators,
skill-sets that are critical to a strong workforce
and economy. The Museum launched its first
‘maker’ program fourteen years ago through seed
funding from the National Science Foundation,
with the Science Workshop at Houston ISD’s
Edison Middle School providing children with
opportunities to design and fabricate their own
inventions. Growing over time to meet the high
demand by students, Hess Corporation and
the Greater Houston Community Foundation
partnered with the Museum this past year to add
two new classes. In the Leaders of Tomorrow
class students design and implement school-wide
initiatives, such as recycling and anti-bullying
campaigns, that build a stronger student-teacher
community. The Green Class works to better the
campus through collaboration with the national
Green Schools Initiative, with one of the projects
including the planting and care of more than 20
fruit trees on the Edison campus.
Through Science Workshop programming, the
students have not only gained skills critical to a
21st century workforce, but have also improved
their grades, their test scores and their school
attendance, leading to greater academic success
in middle school and beyond. It is not uncommon
for students to say that their tinkering and making
experiences have prompted them to select a
specific career path, most often involving the
STEM disciplines. This evidence of impact is
corroborated by Dr. Kevin Crowley’s research
at the University of Pittsburgh, which isolates
tinkering during childhood as one of the most
consistent traits identified by engineers as the
impetus for their career paths.
The new Chevron Maker Annex at the Museum prepares kids
to design their own future.
This year, the Museum founded its newest maker space, the
Chevron Maker Annex, dedicated to digital fabrication and related
concepts such as programming, circuitry and robotics. Young
adult makers, called our Maker Corps, facilitate visitor making
in the space. These staff members are juniors or seniors in
undergraduate-level engineering programs. During summer 2014,
the Corps included students from Texas A&M, Rice University and
Summer 2014 Launch
In addition to the introduction
of hundreds of family visitors
to the new maker space, the
first multi-session series in the
Chevron Maker Annex was held
in partnership with DePelchin
Children’s Center’s summer
camp for middle school youth.
Supported in part by the United
Way of Greater Houston, forty
students came to eight sessions
in which they learned to program
Arduino micro-controllers.
Depelchin’s Camp Director Neil
Treble plans to bring his campers
again this year. “The Camp
REACH campers were exposed to
a variety of hands-on experiences
that were completely new to them.
I feel like the Chevron Maker
Annex was a fantastic introductory
experience for our campers into the
world of engineering that provided
them with some tools of their own,
both real physical objects as well
as a mindset full of new knowledge,
so that they can continue their
exploration at home.”
CMH joined the national Maker
Education Initiative in their 20city pilot to build the ability and
interest of young adult makers,
Maker Corps Members, to share
their enthusiasm and expertise in
making with children. Also, Museum
staff have participated in think tank
convenings related to making in
museums at the White House in
the New Jersey Institute of Technology. They engaged visitors
in a variety of projects across the summer, including 3D printing,
fabricating small CNC (computer numerical control) router
machines, designing tangible motor controllers, building a sun
simulator and programming Arduino controlled robots. Each
of these projects is featured as a blog post on the Museum’s
www.kidmakers.org site.
Chevron is pleased to partner with the Children’s Museum as the sponsor of
the Chevron Maker Annex and CMH’s “maker” projects. We are proud to help
children develop the foundational skills and knowledge that will establish the
trajectory of their high school and college studies. The impact of these experiences will remain for a lifetime, serving for many as the first point at which they
understand that they can work with their hands and with their minds to create
the inventions that will shape our nation’s future.”
Joni Baird, Chevron Houston Public Affairs Manager
2013, the 2013 World Maker
Faire in New York City, and the
Pittsburgh Children’s Museum in
2015. Most recently, the Museum
has been invited to partner with
the Exploratorium, the Institute of
Museum and Library Services, and
the U.S. Department of Education
to launch a five-city pilot of maker
activities in afterschool centers.
“Chevron is pleased to partner with the Children’s Museum as the sponsor of the Chevron Maker Annex and CMH’s “maker” projects. We are proud to help children develop the foundational
skills and knowledge that will establish the trajectory of their high school and college studies.
The impact of these experiences will remain for a lifetime, serving for many as the first point at
which they understand that they can work with their hands and with their minds to create the
inventions that will shape our nation’s future.” Joni Baird, Chevron Houston Public Affairs
Manager
activities grouped by a theme, including
early literacy, mathematics, science,
nutrition/fitness and social studies. All
required supplies can be purchased at
dollar stores and grocery stores, with
most items generally kept on hand in
families’ homes.
Learning Guides distributed to
families: 12,072
Sponsors: Brown Foundation, Inc.,
ExxonMobil, George and Mar y
Josephine Hamman Foundation,
William J. Hill
21-Tech
With 21-Tech, we have equipped our
Discovery Guides to use tablets and
apps to lengthen, deepen and customize
visitor engagement in conjunction
with their exploration of our exhibits.
We have featured 21-Tech within our
response to Community Need #1, with
resources and evaluation findings
posted online at 21-Tech.org.
Visitors Ser ved: 9,156 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: William J. Hill, IBM,
Institute of Museum and Librar y
Ser vices
A’STEAM
Within the A’STEAM program, our
educators create the curriculum and
provide the training and supplies
that equip the YMCA’s afterschool
counselors to facilitate design
challenges for children on a weekly
basis throughout the school year.
We have highlighted the A’STEAM
program and results within our
response to Community Need
#3 of this report.
Participants Ser ved: 895 children,
with cumulative attendance
of 19,855
Sponsors: William J. Hill, The W.T.
and Louise J. Moran Foundation,
Valero Energy Corporation, YMCA
of Greater Houston
Bilingual Family Learning Guides
We have published ten bilingual
Family Learning Guides to provide
parents with the instruction and
insight needed to facilitate activities
that build children’s knowledge and
skills. Each guide features at least 25
Bilingual Programming and Signage
We provide bilingual facilitation and
resources to accommodate families who
use Spanish as their primary language.
All exhibit signage is bilingual, as are
55% of our public contact staff and 100%
of our outreach educators. In addition,
Spanish-language resources account
for approximately 20% of the books and
media in our Parent Resource Library,
with the Google Translate function on
our website making its information
available in 90 languages.
Visitors and Participants Ser ved:
810,000 on-site visitors and
outreach attendance of 344,000
Sponsor: Houston Endowment Inc.
Chevron Maker Annex
Our Chevron Maker Annex serves as
the high-tech workshop within The
David and Jean Wiley Foundation
Invention Convention, with children
mentored by Maker Corps members
as they build and test projects of their
own choosing. Impacts are extended
with our Museum-wide celebration
of National Engineering Week. The
Chevron Maker Annex is featured
within our response to Community
Need #6 and at its website at
kidmakers.org.
Sponsor: Chevron
Cyberchase: The Chase is On!
We created the Cyberchase exhibit in
partnership with WNET (New York’s
Public Media station) with children
taking on the roles of characters from
this popular television show as they
save Cyberspace and defeat Hacker,
the dastardly villain. Each challenge
requires real world applications of
mathematics and critical thinking skills.
Visitors Ser ved: 162,000 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: Ernst & Young LLP,
National Science Foundation
EcoStation
Our EcoStation exhibit combines
wildscaped areas and a pond teeming
with life with a rustic Research Pavilion
where families perform activities that
help them discover how scientists
study the environment and how they
can engage in eco-friendly practices.
A Discovery Guide is often on hand,
facilitating activities that change weekly
to reference our WonderWeek themes.
Visitors Ser ved: 243,000 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: Strake Foundation, The
Tapeats Fund, Verizon Foundation
Family Adventures
To overcome the hesitancy of families
from low-income communities to
make their first visits to the Museum,
we invite entire school communities
to make the trip together, providing
transportation, free admission and
special activities. We make the Family
Adventures available to Title I schools
throughout the school year, and invite
all participants to return regularly on
Free Family Nights and via the use of
our Open Doors passes.
Visitors Ser ved: 10,549 children,
parents and caregivers from 42
schools and community centers
Sponsors: BBVA Compass, Albert
and Ethel Herzstein Charitable
Foundation, The Junior League of
Houston, Inc., William J. Hill
FLIP
Each of our FLIP Kits contains a
children’s book, instructions for an
activity that relates to the theme of the
book, and all required supplies. We
circulate nearly 2,500 FLIP kits at 35
branches of the Houston Public Library
and provide 1,000 additional FLIP Kits
used at 40 HISD elementary schools to
increase the acquisition of early literacy
skills. We have featured the FLIP Kits
within our response to Community
Need #5, with our catalog posted at
www.flipkits.org/browse-flip-kits.
Participants Ser ved: 22,500
children and parents
Sponsors: Institute of Museum
and Librar y Ser vices, Ed
Rachal Foundation, The Hamill
Foundation, William J. Hill, The
Samuels Family Foundation
audiences fill the Museum, exploring
our exhibits, taking part in activities
facilitated by staff and volunteers, and
enjoying live performances and our Pi
Beta Phi Storytimes. These evenings
are also a favorite of partners who
come to provide free resources and
services, including the back-to-school
inoculations of the Texas Children’s
Mobile Clinic Program.
Visitors Ser ved: 102,332 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: Laura and John
Arnold, William J. Hill, Houston
Endowment, Houston Pi Beta Phi
Foundation, The Junior League of
Houston, Inc., John P. McGovern
Foundation, The Wortham
Foundation, Inc.
FlowWorks
This outdoor exhibit features the
ability of water to do work and provides
children with opportunities to alter how
water is channeled through a series
of dams, locks and aqueducts. We
created this exhibit with the support
of an engineer from ExxonMobil, a
professor from Rice University, and
a science master teacher from HISD
to provide children with the ability to
consider how moving water serves as
a metaphor for many types of energy
flows.
Visitors Ser ved: 324,000 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsor: Ruth and Ted Bauer
Family Foundation
How Are We Alike?
Within our How Are We Alike? gallery,
we cycle a series of four exhibits
that feature the culture of Viet Nam;
Korea; Oaxaca, Mexico; and the Gullah
community of the Sea Islands of South
Carolina and Georgia. These exhibits
immerse children in the traditions,
values, performing arts and daily life
of people from other places, inviting
them to explore how we are all both the
“same” and “different.”
Visitors Ser ved: 202,500 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: The Freeman
Foundation, Samsung
Free Family Nights
Every Thursday evening from 5
to 8 p.m., we open our doors for a
Free Family Night. Near capacity
Houston’s Kids
Collaboration is at the core of each
of our outreach programs, with our
partnership in the Houston’s Kids
initiative bringing Museum-developed
science and math activities to
students at three schools in the Alief
Independent School District.
Cumulative Attendance:
6,643 children
Partners: Communities in Schools,
Harris County Department of
Education, United Way of Greater
Houston, YMCA of Greater Houston
Sponsors: United Way of
Greater Houston, Valero Energy
Corporation
How Does It Work?
Our two-story How Does it Work
exhibit provides a focus on the physical
sciences, with children asking and
answering questions as they manipulate
simple machines, build structures and
configure electrical devices. The exhibit
also features the Science Station,
where Discovery Guides facilitate
science experiments during all hours of
operation that are aligned with each of
our WonderWeek themes.
Visitors Ser ved: 486,000 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsor: Conoco Phillips
Institute for Family Learning
All of our outreach programs,
curriculum development activities, and
professional development offerings
function under the umbrella of our
Institute for Family Learning, which
was established to prioritize the
Museum’s focus on family learning and
parental support.
Attendance at Outreach Programs:
344,000 children, parents and
caregivers
Sponsors: The Brown Foundation,
Inc., The Fondren Foundation,
George and Mar y Josephine
Hamman Foundation, William J.
Hill, Houston Endowment, Inc.,
The Stanford and Joan Alexander
Family
John P. McGovern Tot*Spot
Our John P. McGovern Tot*Spot exhibit
provides a special space for children
under the age of three, engaging them
in activities that encourage exploration,
increase confidence, and stimulate the
development of language and motor
skills. Parents and other caregivers
learn as they play, receiving new
information through engagement with
their children and via interactions with
the Tot*Spot Educator, Discovery
Guides, videos and visitors.
Visitors Ser ved: 162,000 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: John P. McGovern
Foundation
Kids Hall Art exhibits
We host art exhibitions throughout
the year on the walls of the John P.
McGovern Kids Hall, one of two major
thoroughfares through the Museum.
These art exhibits include holiday
displays, exhibitions produced by
program partners, and exhibitions
produced by the National Center
for Children’s Illustrated Literature,
with the latter bringing attention to
award winning examples of children’s
literature.
Visitors Ser ved: 810,000 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: CFP Foundation, John
P. McGovern Foundation, Dorothy
Carsey Sumner
Kit-Based Afterschool Program
We created this afterschool program
with the support of a National
Leadership Grant from the Institute of
Museum and Library Services. Within
the program, we provide activity kits
and training to the staff of afterschool
centers in low-income neighborhoods so
that they may facilitate selections from a
set of 112 games and activities that most
often feature mathematics.
Cumulative Attendance: 18,435
students at 19 sites
Sponsors: ExxonMobil, The George
Foundation, The HendersonWessendorf Foundation, The WT
and Louise J. Moran Foundation,
Valero Energy Corporation
Lois Drutz Boiarsky Award
We honor the memory of Lois Drutz
Boiarsky with an annual award that
celebrates the contributions of staff
persons who like Lois, exemplify a
passionate commitment to our work.
Lois was the first paid employee of the
Museum and helped establish and foster
a cultural expectation for excellence
throughout her eleven years with us. In
2014, we honored the contributions of
Public Relations Director Henry Yau.
Sponsor: David and Lydia Drutz
Kidtropolis, USA
Kidtropolis, USA is a city run by kids for
kids, featuring eight businesses, a civic
center and municipal building. Kids fill
all the roles in the city, holding positions
that range from artist to veterinarian,
and shaping the plans for legislation
and elections. Civic engagement and
financial literacy are at the core of
the exhibit, with financial interactions
supported by the exhibit’s Bank of
America branch and ATMs.
Visitors Ser ved: 648,000 children,
parents and caregivers
Title Sponsor: Bank of America
Sponsors: The Adler Foundation,
The Stanford and Joan Alexander
Family, Banfield, The Pet Hospital,
Brass Family Foundation, Hearst
Foundation, H-E-B, Houston
Livestock Show and Rodeo, William
J. Hill, JPMorgan Chase, Richard
Warren Mithoff Family Charitable
Foundation, Memorial Hermann
Health System, Niko Niko’s, Perr y
Homes, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
LLP, Wells Fargo
Magnificent Math Moments
Serving as the foundation of our
math offerings, the Magnificent
Math Moments involve a set of 120
games and activities that reinforce
key math concepts for children in
preschool through 6th grade. To
reach a large and diverse audience, we
facilitate these Math Moments onsite
at our ExxonMobil Math Cart, and
incorporate the activities in professional
development workshops and through
outreach programming provided across
the Greater Houston area.
Cumulative Attendance: 45,339
children, parents, caregivers and
teachers
Sponsors: ExxonMobil
Matter Factor y
We developed the Matter Factory exhibit
with the support of Rice University’s
Center for Environmental and Biological
Nanotechnology, the University of
Houston’s Smart Materials Lab, and the
Nanoscale Informal Science Education
Network. Visitors explore the properties
of matter; test and sort materials based
on their characteristics; investigate the
differences between solids, liquids and
gases; and are introduced to the basics
of nanotechnology.
Visitors Ser ved: 243,000 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsor: Holthouse Foundation for
Kids
Mommy Mingles
On the first Wednesday of each month,
we host a Mommy Mingle in a meeting
space adjacent to the Tot*Spot exhibit,
providing parents and caregivers with an
opportunity to meet, mingle and share
experiences related to the care of infants
and toddlers. Our Tot*Spot Educator and
Discovery Guides are on hand to provide
support and introduce new visitors to the
Tot*Spot’s resources.
Visitors Ser ved: 2,250 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsor: The Fresh Market
Museum Field Experiences
Schools from across the Greater
Houston area come to the Museum
throughout the school year to take part
in two-hour, fully facilitated experiences
that are aligned with the Texas Essential
Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards.
These field experiences provide students
with hands-on challenges and inquiry
exercises that ground and reinforce the
knowledge and skills they acquire in
their classrooms.
Visitors Ser ved: 48,466 students
from 353 schools, including 10,977
from 63 Title I schools who received
$1 admissions
Sponsors: The Cullen Foundation,
William J. Hill, Wells Fargo, The
Wortham Foundation
Open Doors
We partner with 780+ neighborhoodbased organizations that serve lowincome family across the Greater
Houston area, providing them with the
ability to distribute an unlimited number
of free family passes to their clients. We
also provide Open Doors admissions to
patients of the Harris Health System and
to families who receive welfare benefits.
The location of our Open Doors partners
is displayed within our response to
Community Need #4.
Visitors Ser ved: 74,458 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: Laura and John Arnold,
CFP Foundation, Credit Suisse
Securities LLC, Stephen D. Daniel,
William J. Hill, The J.W. and M.I.
Loots Foundation,
Overnight Adventures
We remain open around the clock
when we host the Overnight
Adventures for at-risk 4th grade
girls from local schools, who are
treated to an educational, memorable
and confidence-building sleepover
facilitated by volunteers from the Junior
League of Houston.
Participants Ser ved: 697 girls from
24 schools
Sponsors: William J. Hill, The
Junior League of Houston, Inc.
Para los Niños
Within the Para los Niños program, we
provide a series of 11 workshops for
families that feature the basics of early
childhood development and the ways
in which parents can support learning
throughout the pre-school years.
Workshops are targeted to Hispanic
parents from low income communities
who use Spanish as their primary
language. We facilitate these workshops
at library branches and community
centers.
Participants Ser ved: 7,451
children, parents and caregivers
Sponsors: William J. Hill,
Institute of Museum and Librar y
Ser vices, KPMG LLP, The Powell
Foundation, Target
Parent Resource Librar y
The Museum includes our Parent
Resource Library, a circulating branch
of the Houston Public Library. The
Library provides more than 5,000
print and media resources, with
approximately 20% in bilingual or
Spanish formats. We keep the Library
staffed during all hours of operation so
that we may provide recommendations
and assist families to access additional
resources via the Library’s computers.
Visitors Ser ved: 41,188 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: Institute of Musuem
and Librar y Ser vices, Kathr yn and
Richard Rabinow, The Samuels
Family Foundation
Parent Stars
We provide the bilingual Family
Learning Events and Parent Workshops
of the Parent Stars program at
elementary schools to demonstrate how
parents can use our Family Learning
Guides and activities to facilitate
learning at home. The program targets
low-income parents who may not be
confident in serving as their children’s
most influential teachers, with an
overview and results featured within
our response to Community Need #2.
Participants Ser ved: 26,136
parents and children at 60 schools
and community centers
Sponsors: The Brown Foundation,
Inc., The George Foundation,
George and Mar y Josephine
Hamman Foundation, The
Henderson-Wessendorff
Foundation, William J. Hill, United
Way of Greater Houston
PowerPlay
We developed this high-energy
exhibit with a grant from the National
Institutes of Health in partnership with
Baylor College of Medicine. The exhibit
engages visitors in physical challenges
that help them assess how their bodies’
react to exercise and then form plans
for increasing flexibility, balance,
strength, speed and conditioning. The
exhibit also features the PowerScience
Lab, where visitors take part in
experiments that highlight key aspects
of biology and nutrition.
Visitors Ser ved: 324,000 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: Albert and Margaret
Alkek Foundation, H-E-B,
Radoff Family Foundation, Texas
Children’s Hospital
Professional Development
Workshops
We provide ongoing training for
teachers and childcare providers,
featuring Museum-developed
approaches and activities related to
the development of early literacy,
financial literacy, the STEM disciplines,
nutrition/physical activity, and the
incorporation of mobile devices into
classroom instruction.
Participants Ser ved: 2,006
teachers and childcare providers
Sponsors: Bank of America,
ExxonMobil
Sensor y Friendly Days
We provide four Sensory Friendly Days
each year for families whose children
would be overwhelmed by inputs on
a standard day of operation due to the
impact of Autism Spectrum Disorders
and Sensory Processing Differences.
Guests tour our exhibits, which we
modify to temporarily reduce sensory
stimulation, and network with one
another and with sensory processing
experts. Invitations to the events are
online at www.cmhouston.org/sensoryfriendly.
People Ser ved: 993
Sponsor: The Stanford and
Joan Alexander Family, Mogas
Industries, Marilyn and Louis
Mogas, Melinda and Matthew
Mogas
Science Workshop
We operate the Science Workshop
as an afterschool and summer
program of Edison Middle School
in Houston’s East End. Within the
Science Workshop, students create
projects of their own choosing, with
the tools at their disposal ranging
from the basic hand and power tools
associated with woodworking, to the
software and equipment required for
projects involving the use of Arduino
microcontrollers and 3D printers.
Cumulative Attendance: 7,873
student visits during the school
year and 2014 summer session
Sponsors: Cooperative for
After-School Enrichment, Hess
Corporation, William J. Hill,
Kinder Morgan Foundation, M.D.
Anderson Foundation, The Rochlis
Family Foundation, United Way of
Greater Houston, Vivian L. Smith
Foundation
Spotlight Performances
We stage live performances of theater,
dance, music, magic and storytelling
for our visitors on Free Family
Nights, Saturday afternoons and
holidays, hosting most in our 166-seat
Brown Foundation Auditorium. The
demographics of the performers are
extremely diverse, with many featuring
cultural performances that are new to
our visitors. Roughly one-fifth of the
performers are children, helping our
visitors see that their involvement in
the arts can begin now.
Visitors Ser ved: 19,253 children,
parents and caregivers attended
122 performances
Sponsors: William J. Hill
Summer of Learning
We developed this program in
partnership with the YMCA of Greater
Houston to combat learning loss during
the summer months. Each year, we
create a new set of kits for summer
camp participants, with a twenty-unit
curriculum engaging children in
learning related to experimentation,
water, wind, engineering and
inventions. Complexity levels build
throughout, with a capstone project
involving a challenge that draws
together the primary learning
messages.
Cumulative Attendance: 7,085
students at seven community
centers during the 2014 summer
session
Sponsors: W.T. and Louise J.
Moran Foundation, United Way of
Greater Houston
The David and Jean Wiley
Foundation Invention Convention
We created the Invention Convention
exhibit to provide children of all ages
with the ability to design, create and
test inventions. The exhibit features
three discrete areas, with the first
challenging families to create any of
about a dozen simple projects. The
second area features the fully facilitated
Inventor’s Workshop, where families
take on a series of weekly engineering
challenges. The third area – the
Chevron Maker Annex – is described in
a separate entry.
Visitors Ser ved: 243,000 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsor: The David and Jean Wiley
Foundation
The Jhin Family Student Volunteer
of the Year Award
We award the Jhin Family Student
Volunteer of the Year Award annually
to a student volunteer who embodies
the enthusiasm that Susan Jhin and
her family demonstrate for our mission
and for service to many generations
of children. In 2014, we honored Noel
Aviles, who had worked with his peers
to create the student volunteer program
at our Science Workshop at Edison
Middle School, and had served as its
most active volunteer.
Sponsor: The Jhin Family
Think Tank
We created the Think Tank exhibit
to feature puzzles and brain teasers
that highlight various approaches
to problem-solving. The exhibit
emphasizes the fact that there is no
single “right” way to solve a problem,
and that the most effective approaches
often involve novel applications of
methods and insights.
Visitors Ser ved: 243,000 children,
parents and caregivers
What’s New Galler y
We use this gallery to host temporary
exhibits and prototype new exhibit
components. In FY14, the gallery
hosted Newton Know How, featuring
elements of classical physics; and Got
Gas?, featuring the various types and
properties of gaseous substances.
Visitors Ser ved: 283,500 children,
parents and caregivers
Sponsors: CGG, William Stamps
Farish Fund, Charlene Pate, and
Reliant Energy, an NRG Company.
XCL and the More CMH app
We are the lead member in a
collaborative that is developing an app
that will provide children’s museums
and science centers with a platform for
digital interfaces to be linked to exhibit
components. The More CMH app will
provide visitors with opportunities to
be coached on interactions with exhibit
components, participate in exhibitbased investigations, learn more online,
and engage in experiments at home.
Partners: New York Hall of Science;
the Oregon Museum of Science
and Industr y; the Sciencenter; the
Museum of Life and Science; and
The Lawrence Hall of Science at the
University of California, Berkeley
Sponsors: IBM, Institute of
Museum and Librar y Ser vices,
Pariveda Solutions
FISCAL YEAR 2014 DONORS
CMH is grateful for broad-based support from many parts of the
philanthropic community. Generous donations from corporations,
foundations, public agencies and individuals provided funding for
the Museum’s outreach programs, operations, exhibits, program
development, and endowment, with $6,193,421 contributed for the
2013–2014 fiscal year.
$1,000,000–$250,000
Nancy C. Allen
Anonymous
William J. Hill
$249,999–$100,000
Laura and John Arnold Foundation
Bank of America
Brass Family Foundation
Chevron
The Freeman Foundation
The Hamill Foundation
Houston Endowment Inc.
The John P. McGovern Foundation
The David and Jean Wiley Foundation
The Wortham Foundation
$99,999–$50,000
The Cullen Foundation
ExxonMobil Foundation
The William Stamps Farish Fund
Goldman Sachs Gives
H-E-B
HESS
Holthouse Foundation for Kids
Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo
The W.T. and Louise J. Moran Foundation
$49,999–$25,000
The Brown Foundation, Inc.
ConocoPhillips
M.D. Anderson Foundation
Niko Niko’s
The Samuels Foundation
Vivian L. Smith Foundation
Sterling-Turner Foundation
Texas Children’s Hospital
Wells Fargo
Gifts made in support of our four primary fundraising events are
listed on the next two pages, while gifts made in direct support of
CMH’s general operations, exhibits, programs and endowment are
featured below.
Special Thanks To Our Fiscal Year 2014 Donors
$24,999–$10,000
The Adler Foundation
Aramco Services Company
Baker Hughes
Banfield, The Pet Hospital
BASF
Calpine Corporation
CFP Foundation
CGG
The Fresh Market
The George Foundation
George and Mary Josephine
Hamman Foundation
The Henderson-Wessendorff
Foundation
Houston Pi Beta Phi Foundation
Junior League of Houston, Inc.
KPMG LLP
Jack H. and William M. Light
Charitable Trust
Memorial Hermann
Mogas Industries
The Powell Foundation
The Ed Rachal Foundation
Reliant, an NRG company
The Rochlis Family Foundation
Shell Chemical
Kristi and John Schiller
The Strake Foundation
Dorothy Carsey Sumner
Valero Energy Corporation
Verizon Foundation
$9,999–$5,000
Laurie and Randy Allen
BBVA Compass
CASE
Credit Suisse
David J. and Lydia H. Drutz
Embassy Suites
The Albert & Ethel Herzstein
Charitable Trust
IBM
Kinder Morgan Foundation
J.W. & M.I. Loots Charitable
Foundation
Marathon Oil Company
Morgan Stanley
PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc.
The Tapeats Fund
2013 GALA A NIGHT AT STUDIO 54
Nearly 500 guests gathered to bring the glamour and sparkle of the legendary Studio 54 to Houston during the Museum’s annual gala, held on October 18,
2013, in The Corinthian downtown. Chaired by Liz and Tom Glanville and Kathryn and Ian Fay, the event raised $890,000 for the Museum’s outreach efforts
in low-income areas.
Media Sponsor: PaperCity
STUDIO 54 VIP
BB&T /
Courtney and Bill Toomey
Bill and Courtney Toomey
Halston’s High Rollers
Nancy Allen, Laurie
and Randy Allen,
Chinhui and Eddie Allen
Ann and Tom Bastian,
Courtney and Bo Hopson,
Rosemarie and Matthew
Johnson, Melissa and Michael
Mithoff, Kim and Randy
Petersen, Christie and
Mark Sullivan, Millette
and Haag Sherman
Kathryn and Ian Fay, Jennifer
and Lance Gilliam
Kathrine G. McGovern
Andy’s Angels
Liz and Tom Glanville
Holthouse Foundation for Kids
Chairs Tom Glanville, Liz Glanville,
Kathryn Fay, and Ian Fay
Gloria’s Gallants
Julie and Drew Alexander
Dr. Devinder and Gina Bhatia,
Chris and Dawn Krieg,
Julie Oliver Carmen
and Butch Mach,
Joella and Steve Mach
William J. Hill
Janiece and Steve Lasher
Sidley Austin LLP
Hillary Farish Stratton
Cabrina and Steven Owsley,
Elizabeth and Gary Petersen,
Sarah and Duncan Underwood
Energy XXI
ExxonMobil
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP /
Geoffrey H. Bracken
Virginia and Lee Lahourcade,
Stacy and Michael Medrano
Dr. and Mrs. Robert McCallister
Sarah and David Pesikoff,
Kathryn and Richard Rabinow
Susan and Michael Plank
Leigh Anne and John Raymond
Jeri and Marc Shapiro
Target
Krystal and Garrett Thompson &
The Crane Foundation
Calvin’s Cool Ones
Burguieres Family Foundation
Mollie and Dan Castaneda
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Charlotte Christman
Aaron Howes and Dee Dee
Guggenheim, Nicole and Julius
Leitner, Amy and Todd Miller,
Kimberly and Chris Miller
Nancy and Erik Littlejohn,
Gretchen and Andrew
McFarland, Sharin and
Larry Norman
MLV & Co.
Reliant, an NRG Company
Donna’s Dazzling Divas
Andrews Kurth LLP
Estela and David Cockrell,
Liza’s Lovelies
Raymona and Bill Bomar
Cadence Bank
Stephanie and Ernie Cockrell,
Caroline and Jeremy
Finkelstein, Anne and John
Freeman, Margaret and
Thad Hill, Carolyn and
Garry Tanner
ConocoPhillips
Gina and Mario Elie,
Tiffany and Rick Smith
Frost Bank
JMR Worldwide
KPMG
Memorial Hermann
Health System
Shanell and Walker Moody
Phoebe and Bobby Tudor
University General Health
Wortham Insurance and
Risk Management
Special Thanks
Deville Fine Jewelry
Jackson and Company
PLS, Inc.
Bianca’s Babes
Kristen and John Berger
Kathy and George Britton
Blakely and Trey Griggs
The Kayser Foundation
Jeff B. and Katherine B. Love
Foundation
Margolis, Phipps & Wright, P.C.
Kim and Scott Martin
Dr. Leslie M. Miller
Charlene Pate
PLS, Inc.
J’Anne and Jeff Rawson
Mary Eliza and Park Shaper
Vallette and Russell Windham
2014 FORT BEND SPRING BRUNCH
Chaired by Susie Goff and Rachel Leaman, and hosted by KK and Scott West, the May 12, 2014 brunch raised more than $25,000 for the Museum’s outreach
in Fort Bend County.
Underwriter
Johnson Development
Patrons
Debbie Fash
GBI Partners, L.P.
Charlene Pate
Trendmaker Homes
Hostess KK West, Debbie Marcell and
Nell Ciancarelli
Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center Capital
Campaign Co-Chairs Debbie Fash, Rachel
Leaman and Charlene Pate
Friends
American Plating
Gerald Freed /
Freed Advertising
Marianne Hettig
Delores “Dee”
James Hinkle
Mary Kocurek
Rachel Leaman
Terri and Mike
Lewis
NALCO
Roberts Markel
Weinberg Butler
Hailey PC
Robyn Reed
Alicia and Ed Scala
Westin Homes
Special Thanks
Sprinkles Cupcakes
Italian Maid Cafe
2014 Friends and Families Luncheon
Chaired by Kristen Berger and Marcia Smart, the 2014 Friends and Families Luncheon was held at River Oaks Country Club on March 5, 2014.
The 420 guests enjoyed a talk by Dr. Christine Carter, author of bestselling parenting book Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids
and Happier Parents. The luncheon raised $123,000 for the Museum’s outreach and programming.
Reliant, an NRG company
Kara Sanders
Benefactors
Kristen Berger
Burguieres Family Foundation
Gina Gaston Elie, Kelli Cohen Fein,
Kim Petersen, Millette Sherman,
Tiffany Avery Smith
The Garner Family
Margaret Hill
Kathryn Rabinow
Marcia Smart
Chairs Marcia Smart (left) and Kristen
Berger (right) with speaker Dr. Christine
Carter (center)
Friends
Carolyn Anderson, Laura Chiles,
Ashley Cruse, Kristi Kincannon,
Marie Louise Kinder, Sarah Liuzzi,
Kay Lobb, Leslie Newcomer,
Stephanie Sauer, Courtney Swanson,
Kate Walters
Awty International Parents
Erin Ayers, Kelly Hogan,
Katherine Keenan
Kimberly Barrett, Reagan Fibbe,
Kristen Hale, Ashley Hanna,
Rebeca Huddle, Elizabeth Russell,
Beezie Sayers
Kelly Beeler, Caroline Billip,
Caroline Dannenbaum,
Kristin Johnson, Tracy McCleary,
Sarah McFaul, Tennessee Ott,
Sandy Sturm, Nevine Webster
Amy Behan, Joyce Echols,
Caroline Adams Jones,
Catherine Matthews, Lisa Oren,
Keesha Organ, Annsley Popov,
Paige Rockecharlie
Charlotte Rogers Bonano,
Pat Cummings, Elizabeth Darnall,
Jill Germann, Tricia Joseph,
Cindy O’Donnell, Winifred Riser,
Lynette Snider, Tricia Swen
Patrons
Julie and Drew Alexander
Monica Bickers, Wendie Childress,
Leslie Hull, Angie Light, Erin Moss,
Katy Nelson, Katherine Phelps, Laura
Robertson, Julie Sudduth,
Maggie Vermillion
Debbie Crow, Elizabeth Keeler,
Carrie Lium, Blair Manley,
Kristin McAlpin, Sheila Neylon,
Adrienne Vanderbloemen,
Emily Webster, Christi Young,
Wendy Yu, Angela Johnston
Mary Ann Detmering
Laura Fanning, Danielle Magdol,
Cathy Trask, Mollie Wallace
Anne Freeman, Carolyn Tanner,
Karen Turbidy
Kathryn Fay
Melissa Mithoff
Sarah Rabinow Pesikoff
Bonne Vie School
Mary Talley Bowden, Eleanor Gilbane,
Laura Jones, Consuelo Macpherson,
Anissa Paddock, Julie Peacock,
Sarah Shughart, Jessica Wood
Kathy Britton, Estela Cockrell,
Lisa Kalavar
Kari Brophy, Kerry Sandberg
Deborah Brown, Kim Lucas,
Jill Oliver, Amy Reeves
Charlotte Christman
Carolyn Dorros
Tammie Kahn
Pamela Laborde
Anne Lewis
Heather Lawrence Mitchell
Susanne Pritchard,
Stacy Wilkirson
Leigh Anne Raymond
Dr. Barbara G. Samuels
Leslie and Shannon Sasser
Megan Schroeder
Kelly Sklar
Krystal and Garrett Thompson
Sarah Underwood
Special Thanks
Sprinkles Cupcakes
Dr. Christine Carter
Gina Gaston Elie
H-E-B
River Oaks Country Club
2014 Spring Golf Tournament
Chairs Krystal Crane Thompson and Jared Crane and Honorary Chair William J. Hill helped to
make 2014 a record-breaking year for the Museum’s annual Spring Golf Tournament, held at the
Memorial Park Golf Course on April 15, 2014. The event brought 112 players out to the green and
raised more than $115,000 for the Museum’s free and reduced-cost admissions programs.
Ace
William J. Hill
Chairs Krystal Crane Thompson
and Jared Crane
Eagle
Houston Astros
Laurie and Randy Allen /
The Green Tree Fund
Champion Energy Services
Diamond Offshore Drilling
Carol and Neil Kelley
Birdie
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP
Hoover Container Solutions
Petrello Family Foundation
Krystal and Garrett Thompson
Wortham Insurance
& Risk Management
Board President Randolph F. Allen
and Honorary Chair William J. Hill
Bogey
Alliant Insurance Services
Amegy Bank
Ascende
Buckley, White, Castaneda
& Howell L.L.P.
Jim Crane
Incite Energy
Peter Fluor
Harvey Builders
Melissa and Michael Mithoff
Norton Rose Fulbright
Mallory and Charlie Robins
Jodi and Michael Rubenstein
Randy Sim
Sidley Austin LLP
Southwestern Energy Company
U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private
Wealth Management
Hole Sponsors
Charlotte Christman
Margaret and Thad Hill
Marc Melcher
Positive Coaching Alliance
by its Board of Directors
Rock Hill Capital
Leslie and Shannon Sasser
Silver Eagle Distributors
Jack Williams
2014 RESULTS
The Children’s Museum of Houston served more than
810,000 visitors during the 2014 fiscal year (July 2013
through June 2014), and engaged children, parents,
caregivers and teachers in outreach programming
that recorded an attendance of 344,000. Our visitors
and outreach participants experienced programming
on-site at the Mary Gibbs Jones building and off-site
at 238 locations across the Greater Houston area,
including schools, community centers, places of worship,
afterschool centers, shelters and libraries. This audience
represented the full diversity of the Greater Houston
area—including people of many ethnicities, cultures and
socioeconomic backgrounds, for whom we provided
impactful family learning experiences customized to their
individual interests and needs.
Service to Low-Income Families
With 45% of children in Harris County living in
low-income households and with more than 27% living
in families whose income is below the federal poverty
level (CHILDREN AT RISK, 2012-2014), we realize the
importance of reaching those most in need of educational
opportunities. CMH engages low-income families by
providing free and reduced-fee admissions to 43% of
our visitors (on Free Family Nights and through the
free family passes distributed by our 780+ Open Doors
partners) with all of our outreach programming provided
at no cost to participants.
Visitor Demographics
CMH serves one of the most socioeconomically and
culturally diverse populations in the United States.
Our demographics mirror those of the region, with
47% of our visitors of Hispanic/Latino descent, followed
by African-Americans (23%), Anglos (21%), and Asian
Americans (8%). Demographics on Free Family
Nights shift to reflect socioeconomic factors, with
people of Hispanic/Latino descent at 55%, followed
by African-Americans (26%), Anglos (12%), and
Asian Americans (6%).
Finances
The total operating revenue for the 2013-2014 fiscal
year was $15,230,753. Total expenses for the same time
period were $12,774,310. Year-end net assets totaled
to $45,392,896.
ADMISSIONS
Free Museum Admissions (34%)
Reduced-fee Admissions (9%)
Paid Museum Admissions (57%)
VISITORS
Latino/Hispanic (47%)
African-American (23%)
Anglo (21%)
Asian-American (8%)
Other (1%)
FY14 REVENUE
Contributions* (33%)
Fundraising Events (8%)
Government Grants (1%)
Admissions (19%)
Memberships (7%)
Gift Shop and Café Sales (net) (11%)
Program and Other Fees (11%)
Investment Return (10%)
*Does not reflect contributions to
the Museum’s endowment.
FY14 EXPENSES
Education, Visitor,
and Program Services (83%)
Supporting Services (11%)
Advertising (6%)