news releases

Children’s Museum Board Votes to Increase Community Access
to Arts-Based Education Programs

November 30, 2007—In a decision driven by a commitment to focus Museum resources on its core mission of providing the downtown and greater San Diego/Tijuana community with an outstanding arts and cultural institution, the Children’s Museum Board of Directors voted in strong agreement this afternoon not to house the Museum School in its new facility scheduled to open next year. The vote was taken with full board participation.

“Our decision, which was the most difficult our board has ever faced, is founded upon the long-term goal of providing arts-based education programs to the greatest number of children we can,” said Laurie Mitchell, president of the Children’s Museum Board of Directors. “We believe it is appropriate and more beneficial to the whole community if we can use our educational resources and space to serve the most students possible, rather than an exclusive group of eighty students.”

Mitchell further stressed that the Museum education center will not be used to house exhibitions, or turned over to any other school, but will be used for Museum programming that is focused on sustained learning experiences accessible to everyone in the community.

To help ensure the Museum School’s ongoing vitality, the Museum’s Board voted to continue to pay the school’s rent, as it has for the past five years. The Museum will pay the Museum School’s rent through August 1, 2009. The Museum has begun to work with the Education Task Force of CCDC (Center City Development Corporation) to identify appropriate alternative housing for the school in the downtown area.

To further enrich the arts education of all downtown students, the Museum will develop partnerships with the Museum School and other downtown schools for arts education programs, after-school programs and special exhibits. The Museum is planning to partner with schools and community groups throughout the San Diego/Tijuana region.

About the Children’s Museum
As a cultural and educational institution with a multi-national audience, the Museum is dedicated to integrating the unique character of our community with its extraordinary ethnic diversity, uncommon geographic border, emerging urban culture, innovative technologies and rich artistic resources.