Organization Name: The DoSeum
When was your organization founded /
how long have you served in the San Antonio Community: The San Antonio Children’s Museum was
founded in 1992 and opened its doors in 1995. One year ago, in 2015, SACM
officially re-opened its doors in a new location as The DoSeum.
What is your Mission Statement? Through joyful learning and discovery,
The DoSeum grows minds, connects families, and transforms
communities. It also serves as a premier educational resource through
developing innovative thinkers capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st
century.
How does your organization impact our
San Antonio Community: The
DoSeum is a premier educational resource for educators, caregivers, and
children in the San Antonio community. We create accessibility to STEM-based
opportunities for low-income families and schools while empowering the
communities to grow stronger together. Children’s museum’s especially those
that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math like The DoSeum, serve
as “charging stations” that power kids’ minds and support the important work of
schools and other community organizations.
The DoSeum’s
Strengthening Schools and Families program serves select schools in low-income
San Antonio communities by allowing museum instructors to work with local
educators, families and students to create informative and fun STEM content
specific to their needs. Through a series of hosted workshops at The DoSeum, the
program strengthens key relationships at each school site while preparing the
school community to host its own “Family Science Night.” To further provide
state-of-the-art information and findings for parents and caregivers, The
DoSeum partners with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) College of
Education and Human Development to conduct research on early learning.
The DoSeum’s
Educator Development programs provide professional development and curricular
resources to schools and create a supportive network of STEM educators by
bridging the gap between the educators’ desires to provide STEM education and
their capacity to do so. We serve
approximately 500 teachers each year through a combination of one- and two-day
offerings along with yearlong opportunities that provide 100 continuing
education credits.
Educational
intervention for during early childhood development for children of low
socioeconomic status increases their cognitive abilities and academic. In the
past year, The DoSeum has continued its efforts to serve those living in
low-income areas of the city and, as a result, our underwritten visits have
grown by 63%. To ensure that The DoSeum continues being accessible to all, The
DoSeum for All fund enables children and educators from Title 1 schools to
participate in Field Experiences free of charge. The DoSeum for All Fund has
allowed us to serve 50,000+ people through scholarships, free Field
Experiences, and discounted admission. And with the support of H-E-B through
The DoSeum’s H-E-B Free Family Nights, The Doseum has been able to offer free
admission to more than 28,000 residents of San Antonio. The DoSeum seeks to
provide students with out-of-school time that complements students’ formal
classroom learning, serving as a time of meaningful engagement that merges the
museum experience with classroom content. As a children’s museum and science
center, we are uniquely positioned to play this role. We provide a safe,
welcoming environment for students, caregivers and teachers alike, focusing on
inquiry-driven approaches to STEM education with an experienced team of
educators to deliver the programs.
Field
Experiences extend an unparalleled opportunity for educators to enrich
classroom experiences by providing an outside source for joyful, kinesthetic
learning and play. Museum educators work to align museum visits with concurrent
classroom STEM content by integrating crucial material from the Texas Essential
Knowledge and Skills into programming.
Each Field Experience lasts approximately three hours and consists of
DoSeum gallery exploration and facilitated, inquiry-based STEM learning
activities. School liaisons ensure that Field Experiences go beyond simple
museum visitation by offering engaging activities to deepen and solidify the
understanding of essential STEM concepts explored during their museum
visit. We anticipate serving 25,000
students during the 2016-2017 schoolyear through Field Experiences.
What is the vision of your
organization for the future of our Community: The DoSeum desires to create a
community in which every member has equal access to STEM-based opportunities.
By providing STEM focused content, we are helping to provide more experiences
for early exposure to science and to create lifelong interest and passion in
STEM subjects and pursuits. Through our exhibits and programs serving children,
their caregivers and their educators, our vision is to serve as a premier
educational resource that develops innovative thinkers capable of meeting the
challenges of the 21st century. We are working to create a San Antonio in which
all children will have access to the best educational resources.
How does the Junior League of San
Antonio help you fulfill your Mission: Nearly all of The DoSeum’s events and programs are built
and executed by a team of volunteers, who have graciously given up their time
to help children experience the fun and educational components of our Museum.
All of our volunteer training is run by Junior League of San Antonio, which
means we can ensure that our events and programs will be in the hands of
qualified individuals who truly care about the cause they are working for.
