Long Island Children's Museum
Organization background

The Long Island Children's Museum (LICM) is a children's museum in Garden City, Long Island, NY. LICM serves the general public through exhibits, programs & special events. Some of these special events showcase cultural aspects of the various ethnic groups that populate Long Island and promote acceptance of diversity and cross-cultural learning. In addition to the above, LICM offers extensive outreach programs to some of the most high need areas in Long Island. Outreach initiatives for underserved school districts and special needs groups provide innovative educational and enrichment opportunities for groups not traditionally served by cultural institutions.

LICM welcomes 245,000 visitors annually including 28,000 children on school and camp field trips. Through its mission, the Museum connects children, and those that care for them, to one another and to a life of wonder, imagination and exploration. LICM features 14 hands-on exhibits galleries, plus three annual traveling exhibits, that support the educational development of children.

Project background

LICM special events are designed for families to come together to learn about and celebrate traditions from around the world and in our own backyards. Two of these events, the 'Diwali' Festival in 2016, and the 'Holi' Festival in 2018, were annual cultural festivals that featured Indian culture.

As part of its Outreach program, LICM has partnered with Westbury schools to create the Westbury STEM Partnership. This is a school-museum teaching model that expands the District's science education program beyond the confines of the classroom and makes the educational resources of the Museum available to students, teachers and families. The program currently serves every first and second grade student and their teachers in the Long Island district — approximately 800 people each year.

It provides early and ongoing STEM learning opportunities to student population groups that are underrepresented and prepares these children for rigorous STEM curriculum in middle & high school. The program helps educators meet Next Generation Science Standards as well as Common Core State Standards while learning a more dynamic way of teaching STEM subjects by using hands-on activities. The Partnership also encourages the role of families as first teachers and co-learners through dedicated events and materials.

GKF contributions to LICM