Minnesota Children's Museum

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Partnerships

"The training is simple... It is very useful at work and in our personal lives. It has also helped staff avoid difficult situations by being very proactive and positive, which in turn has made it less stressful to do our work."

– Ginny Brodeen, Lexington Outreach Librarian, St. Paul, Minnesota

In schools and libraries

As a founding member of the Wakanheza Project, Minnesota Children’s Museum proved to be a model for other institutions. Ramsey County expanded the project, and other public organizations that work with families held staff workshops. Other nonprofits that serve families, such as libraries, are a good fit for the project and natural organizations for children’s museums to collaborate with. Ramsey and Dakota County libraries brought the project to their organizations with assistance from the Museum and other partners.

“Wakanheza is a wonderful program for schools who are trying to create a welcoming environment for students, families and staff.”

– Debra Landvik, Minnesota Department of Education

In 2005, a partnership formed to help bring the Wakanheza Project into the school system. The Minnesota Department of Education, the Minnesota Elementary School Principals Association, the Minnesota PTA, Ramsey County and Minnesota Children's Museum worked together to market and deliver workshops for schools. The first school-based workshop was held at Minnesota Children's Museum in November 2005. Ten schools sent teams of four to the workshop, where they learned about the project and got tips on how to implement and sustain it in their own schools.

In other children's museums

Children’s museums have natural connections with organizations like libraries and schools. Sharing this project is a way of strengthening and building on those connections. It is helpful to have a network of people all working toward the same goal of a supportive, welcoming community for families. While museums can successfully implement this program on their own, partnering on the project deepens the impact for the community and the museum itself. Partnering organizations can assist each other with training, motivation and ideas. Also, having an outside organization involved in the project can help increase staff buy-in in your own organization, which is essential to the success of any project. Being part of a community initiative lends weight to the program that an internal “training” program can’t always gain on its own.