2014-2015 Report to the Community
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2014-2015 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY Reimagining Our Exhibits and Programs Gary Hodges Gary Three initiatives to empower every young person to use science in shaping a better future. Science drives EARLY LEARNING FAMILIES EXPLORERS The needs of children differ profoundly at each the world. developmental stage, so we design our exhibits and programs carefully to maximize learning at Curiosity From cars to smartphones, from the energy that lights our homes to the clothes we wear and each stage, and gain the support of the adults who the food we eat, advances in science are transforming our world at a dizzying pace. Even so, our Creativity can leverage our efforts . Weekly family workshops children will live with new technologies that today we can only imagine. ages 0 - 5 help excite interest in our young learners and CONTENTS Here at the Sciencenter, we have spent the past 32 years building a place where kids find joy and provide parents with the tools and support relevance in science and get hooked on the excitement of discovery. Our hope is that these experiences will lead to empowered citizens, able to think critically and take on the challenges systems to help them better engage with their Letter of Welcome . 2 that await them at every level: individual, community, and global. YOUNG children . Learning Families . 3 We are deeply immersed in a multi-year campaign, called Curious. Confident. Inspired., to SCIENTISTS The Sciencenter Campaign . 4 reimagine our exhibits, programs, facilities, and relationship with our community. We are renovating or replacing nearly all of our exhibits—indoors and out. We are expanding our YOUTH EMPOWERMENT Ensuring Access for All . 10 educational programming and embarking on some ambitious infrastructure projects to support + Confidence THROUGH SCIENCE all of our educational efforts. We are making the Sciencenter accessible to all members of our Impact at the Local and National Levels . 11 + Collaboration The Sciencenter is fostering a new generation of community in new ways. ages 5 - 11 Inspiring Excitement for Science . 12 youth empowered to address the global challenges Thank you for all you do to make the Sciencenter an essential part of our local, national, and of our times . Through targeted, age-appropriate Financial Report . 14 international communities. We are grateful for the dedicated efforts of our staff, volunteers, and members. We couldn’t do it without your gifts of time, talent, and treasure. programs and exhibits, the Sciencenter inspires The Sciencenter Endowment . 15 FUTURE and supports children in pursuing healthier, Individual Giving . 16 better lives and in making better decisions for SCIENCE their futures, ranging from personal choices about Corporate and Foundation Giving . 19 + Critical Thinking health and education to global choices on food, LEADERS + Communication The Catalyst Society . 20 Charlie Trautmann Helene Schember water, and energy . + Leadership & Executive Director Chair, Board of Trustees Sciencenter Board . 22 ages 11 - 14 Responsibility Sciencenter Staff . 23 2 3 EARLY EXPLORERS AGES 0-5 CAMPAIGN DONORS • New outdoor curiosity playground As of May 2015 • Expanded early education area with double $500,000+ Robin Davisson & David Skorton < $500 the space for exhibits and activities Anonymous Mary & Brad Grainger Judy & Tim Ammack • New hands-on exhibits that focus on sensory Legacy Foundation of Tompkins Chris & Steve Bissen $250,000 - $499,999 learning, motor skills, and discovery County* Monika Collins & Marc Miskin Anonymous • Workshops for parents and teachers on Frank & Rosa Rhodes Sarah Cox Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund+ nurturing scientific exploration Karen & David Smith Kevin Dilley & Marygold Walsh- Greg & Betsy Galvin Blixy Taetzsch & Gene Yaples Dilley Institute of Museum & Library Bruce & Katie Thompson Chris & Gayle Fagan YOUNG SCIENTISTS Services* AGES 5-11 Tompkins Trust Company Johanna Gettinger $100,000 - $249,999 Charles & Jane Walcott Josh & Liz Giblin • 4 new galleries filled with new exhibits on Our vision is a community Anonymous Ali & Daniel Jackson Ocean Science, Sustainability, Health, and NY $2,500 - $9,999 in which every child is Cargill, Inc. Michelle Kortenaar & Ken Rother Native Animals Robert H. Abrams Kathleen Rempel Krafft empowered to use science $50,000 - $99,999 Larry & Margaret Bennett • 24 new and expanded exhibits on light, sound, Jane Miller technology, climate, and more Bob & Vanne Cowie^ Cornell University Foundation+ in shaping a better future. Mike & Barb Napierski The Horner Foundation* Jennifer Engel & Larry Young • New science-themed 18-hole mini-golf course John & Carolyn Neumann To make this vision a reality, we have recently Richard Hutcheson^> Excellus BlueCross* Tim & Lory Scott embarked on an ambitious campaign to ensure • Expanded access for low income families Kionix, Inc.^ Mark & Marcie Kreydt Beth Silverberg that our children have opportunities to engage • Expansion of the Sagan Planet Walk, including Ruth Morton^ Ilma & Gil Levine with science in ways that spark the imagination the first permanent exhibit on the Moon National Center for Science & Civic Mindy & Brett Oakes * indicates grant award and encourage them to explore the world • Infrastructure: IT upgrades and facilities Engagement* Robert G. & Jane V. Engel Tompkins Charitable Gift Fund+ Foundation, Inc. + indicates donor-directed gifts around them. improvements ^ indicates gifts to permanent endowment Tompkins County Tourism Laurie A. Robinson Program* • indicates inkind gifts Helene Schember & Terry Herter > deceased $3.8 Million–The Sciencenter FUTURE SCIENCE Mack & Carol Travis Time Warner Cable* Campaign Goal LEADERS $25,000 - $49,999 Tompkins Cortland Community If we have made any inadvertent errors AGES 11-14 College or omissions in the preparation of this Expanded Programs $1,360,000 Cornell University donor list, please accept our apologies Charlie & Nancy Trautmann The expansion of our Future Science Leaders M&T Bank and let us know. New Exhibit Experiences $1,500,000 Tom & Jane Van Derzee program (including dedicated FSL space) lets Park Foundation, Inc.* kids build their own skills while learning to help Growing Facilities $730,000 Richard & Donna Prybyl others through: $1,000 - $2,499 Sustainability Endowment $225,000 Andy & Rosemary Sciarabba Karen LaFace & Andrew Getzin • Mentoring: guiding younger children in Triad Foundation* Kara Garner Taylor science exploration Amy & Steve Yale-Loehr United Way of Tompkins County+ Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the • Citizen Science: leading guests in scientific Jack Whalen & Heather Hillman effect of the campaign is already being felt experiments and exploration $10,000 - $24,999 across our region. We hope you will join us in Caren Baldini $500 - $999 • New Media: using technology to connect CFCU Community Credit Union Anonymous building the next generation of leaders who will others with science help to shape and serve a better future. Coltivare • Larry George & Julie Berens • Exhibits: learning the tools and trade of G. Walton & Jean Cottrell Susan Trask & Peter Jarvis France Lindsay Gary Hodges Gary exhibit building 4 5 EARLY EXPLORERS YOUNG SCIENTISTS This initiative supports the curiosity and creativity of early To build confidence and bolster the collaborative spirit of children ages 5-11, this initiative emphasizes learners ages 0-5, through programming, parent workshops, open-ended exhibit experiences and reimagined educational programs and activities. preschool science curriculum, and research. 2014-2015 EXHIBITIONS on topics such as energy, robotics, physics, tornadoes, Expanded Early Education Programming chemistry, light, liquid nitrogen, and insects and The Early Explorers programs help children reach their potential reptiles, to name just a few. by developing good learning habits early in life. We enlist parents, preschool teachers, and other caregivers through weekly parent-child Field Trip Programs workshops; we’ve added an “itty bitty scientist” camp session for Our interactive educational programs offer an array children entering kindergarten to grade 1; and we provide workshops of topics such as air, light and sound waves, simple and professional development for families and teachers of Head Start. machines, magnets, and matter, each including both a collaborative component and an open-ended Curiosity Corner Programming challenge. 2,212 students participated in educational Focused on our youngest guests, the programs during field trips in 2014. Curiosity Corner features twice-weekly Story Time programs for children 4 and Sponsored Field Trips under. Activities might include hearing the Week of the Young Child Hodges Gary Sponsor In partnership with Kids Discover the Trail!, 636 story The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle students participated in field trips to the Sciencenter. and making a spider web. In the past year, programs in the Curiosity Discovery Space Additionally, 188 2nd grade students in Tompkins County Corner have drawn 1,855 children, with their popularity growing as The Discovery Space offers families a quiet place and in the City of Cortland took a sponsored field trip families make them a regular engagement. where they can explore the world of science through to the Sciencenter. Students learned about renewable energy and participated in an engineering challenge Programs at the Downtown Ithaca Children’s Center activity kits and games. Guests investigate a wide variety of science topics including magnets, fossils, to build their own windmills,