Sierra Nevada Childrens Museum

TO INSPIRE LEARNING THROUGH CREATIVE PLAY AND DISCOVERY.

"LAST YEAR, KIDZONE MUSEUM HAD A NOTABLE IMPACT, WELCOMING 28,500 VISITORS WHO CAME TO PLAY AT THE MUSEUM. AMONG THEM, 2,500 WERE UNDER-SERVED CHILDREN AND FAMILIES BENEFITING FROM SCHOLARSHIPS TO PLAY AT THE MUSEUM, AND PARTICIPATE IN HANDS-ON SCIENCE, LITERACY AND ART EXPERIENCES. OUR ANNUAL FARM FESTIVAL ACHIEVED A RECORD ATTENDANCE WITH 800 ATTENDEES, SHOWCASING STRONG COMMUNITY INTEREST. ADDITIONALLY, THE TRUCKEE TAHOE AIR SHOW AND FAMILY FESTIVAL DREW OVER 15,000 PARTICIPANTS. ADDITIONALLY, WE PLAY A KEY ROLE IN ORGANIZING THE FAMILY FESTIVAL DURING THE TRUCKEE TAHOE AIR SHOW, COLLABORATING WITH EAA AND THE OPTIMIST CLUB. THIS EVENT (TRUCKEE TAHOE AIR SHOW & FAMILY FESTIVAL) DREW OVER 15,000 ATTENDEES, UNDERSCORING OUR COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND CELEBRATION.CAMBIOS COHORT 3 PARTICIPATION:IN ADDITION TO OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH EFFORTS, KIDZONE MUSEUM ACHIEVED RECOGNITION BY BEING SELECTED FOR CAMBIOS COHORT 3. FACILITATED BY THE EXPLORATORIUM AND CCLI AND GENEROUSLY FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, THIS YEARLONG PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IS STEERING US TOWARDS CREATING CULTURALLY RELEVANT STEAM EXPERIENCES FOR OUR LOCAL HISPANIC COMMUNITIES. ALONGSIDE FOUR OTHER MUSEUMS, WE EAGERLY ANTICIPATE JOINING THE CAMBIO ALUMNI NETWORK UPON COMPLETION. A SUMMIT IN 2025 WILL PROVIDE A PLATFORM TO REFLECT ON LEARNINGS AND SHARE INSIGHTS WITH THE WIDER MUSEUM FIELD.ADVANCEMENTS IN OUTREACH PROGRAMS:THE OUTREACH PROGRAM HAS UNDERGONE SIGNIFICANT TRANSFORMATIONS TO IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY, DEMONSTRATING OUR COMMITMENT TO INCLUSIVITY AND EQUAL REPRESENTATION WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION. WE EXPANDED OUR TEAM BY WELCOMING ANOTHER COMMUNITY ADVOCATE, A KEY PLAYER IN CONNECTING WITH UNDER-SERVED CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, INCLUDING THOSE WITH DISABILITIES. THE INCLUSION OF OUR FIRST STAFF MEMBER WITH DISABILITIES WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE INVALUABLE ASSISTANCE OF ELEVATION TRUCKEE.IN ADDITION TO THESE INITIATIVES, OUR ADVOCATES COLLABORATED WITH THE TRUCKEE LIBRARY TO ENGAGE THE LATINO COMMUNITY IN A UNIQUE PROJECT. TOGETHER, THEY CREATED A COOKBOOK FEATURING FAVORITE RECIPES, SUBSEQUENTLY COMPILED INTO A RECIPE BOOK FOR WIDER SHARING. THIS COLLABORATIVE EFFORT NOT ONLY CELEBRATES CULTURAL DIVERSITY BUT ALSO STRENGTHENS COMMUNITY BONDS.MOREOVER, OUR ADVOCATES TOOK AN ACTIVE ROLE IN PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES. THEY ADVOCATED FOR THE CONTINUATION OF THE CURRENT FREE COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVE, AIMING TO REDUCE TRAFFIC IN THE AREA AND MINIMIZE CARBON EMISSIONS. THESE EFFORTS ALIGN WITH OUR BROADER COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMMUNITY WELL-BEING.THE SUCCESS OF THESE ENDEAVORS, INCLUDING BILINGUAL STORY TIME AT THE LIBRARY, UNDERSCORES THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. KIDZONE MUSEUM REMAINS DEDICATED TO FOSTERING CONNECTIONS, PROMOTING DIVERSITY, AND POSITIVELY IMPACTING THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE.NEW BUILDING:KIDZONE MUSEUM IS IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A PLAN FOR A 10,500 SQ. FT. FACILITY AT TRUCKEE RIVER REGIONAL PARK ON 2 ACRES APPROVED FOR MUSEUM USE BY THE PARK'S DISTRICT. THE MUSEUM HAS RAISED 41% OF THE FUNDS REQUIRED FOR CONSTRUCTION AND WE CONTINUE TO GARNER SUPPORT FOR THIS AMBITIOUS PROJECT. IN THE PAST YEAR, OUR DESIGN-BUILD TEAM COMPLETED BUILDING SCHEMATICS AND INITIATED STUDIES FOR CEQA COMPLIANCE. THE NEW FACILITY WILL ENCOMPASS A SCIENCE CENTER, A TEEN STUDIO, A SENSORY SPACE, A TRAVELING EXHIBITS AREA, AND A LARGER PLAY SPACE. AT TIMES, WHEN OUR MUSEUM WAS FULL, WE HAD A WAIT LIST WITH UP TO 75 FAMILIES. THE NEW FACILITY WHICH WILL BE 200% LARGER THAN THE CURRENT MUSEUM, WILL ACCOMMODATE OUR GROWING VISITATION AND IS ESTIMATED TO NOT BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE AN ANNUAL VISITATION OF OVER 50,000 A YEAR. "