Habitot Receives National Award
Institute of Museum and Library Services
September 30, 2004
Berkeley’s Habitot Children’s
Museum Awarded $26,744
As IMLS Provides $32 Million to Nation's Museums and Libraries
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the
federal agency that supports the nation's museums and libraries,
awarded $32,447,480 to 517 museums and libraries across the
country last week. This is the third and final round of IMLS
grants for FY2004. IMLS received 1,040 grant applications
requesting over $67 million. In California, 19 awards were
given, five within the Bay Area, including Habitot Children’s
Museum in Berkeley. See http://www.imls.gov/whatsnew/stategrants0904.htm
– for grants made by state
"The recipients of these grant have proposed projects
that espouse the best practices in the museum and library
fields and enable them to deliver a higher level of service
to the American public," remarked Dr. Robert Martin,
Director of IMLS. IMLS administers five grant programs for
libraries and five for museums. The grants will help museums
and libraries provide lifelong learning, support core library
and museum services, encourage excellence, foster collaboration
between and among museums and libraries, promote innovation,
and improve library service to Native Americans and Hawaiians.
Locally awarded to Habitot Children's Museum in Berkeley,
$26,744 in funding will support the museum’s Art Reach
program, which is a yearlong, comprehensive, community-based
model program. ArtReach establishes an ongoing, hands-on preschool
art program at a school or center based on teaching methods
and activities developed at Habitot Children's Museum.
The two main goals of Art Reach are to provide preschool
children in underserved communities with meaningful art experiences
as a regular part of the curriculum and to provide preschool
teachers, caregivers, and parents with the knowledge, resources,
and training to embrace and build on children's experiences
in the program.
This grant will bring the Art Reach program to two schools
in Alameda County. To establish a preschool art program, school-based
activities are put in place that include parent recruitment,
teacher and parent volunteer orientation and training sessions,
Family Art Nights, classroom arts instruction throughout the
school year, and a year-end Preschool Art Show. Museum-based
activities that support the in-school Art Reach program include
field trips to the museum and its art studio, independent
subsidized family visits to the museum, and teacher and parent
volunteer training at the museum.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent
federal grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining
a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve
their communities. The Institute fosters leadership, innovation,
and a lifetime of learning by supporting the nation's 15,000
museums and 122,000 libraries. The Institute also encourages
partnerships to expand the educational benefit of libraries
and museums. To learn more about the Institute, please log
on to www.imls.gov.
About Habitot
Habitot Children’s Museum is the only hands-on, discovery
museum for young children, age 7 and under, in the East Bay.
The not-for-profit museum is designed to help infants, toddlers,
and young children begin to understand their diverse world,
encourage curiosity, and engender a lifelong love of learning
– building critical problem-solving, social and communication
skills.
To that end, Habitot offers six exhibits that create a multi-sensory
environment for early childhood learning. Also provided are
classes for parents, teachers and caregivers, as well as a
full schedule of classes for children in the arts, science,
dramatic play, storytelling, and music. There are more than
80,000 visitors to the museum each year, and 1,700 families
have memberships. Habitot’s audience of members and
visitors is culturally, geographically, and ethnically diverse.
The museum dedicates special effort to reaching low-income
children, teen parents, special needs children and other at-risk
youth. Access to museum programs and events is provided though
free community passes, subsidized family memberships and scholarships.
Teen parents participate in quarterly events in the museum
tailored to their needs. Free field trips are scheduled with
Head Start programs, children of low-income families, homeless
shelters, disabled and medically fragile children, and many
others. More than 8,000 family outreach visitors are served
through these efforts each year.
• For more information,
contact Gina Moreland: 510-647-1111 x11
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