Peaceful Parenting Partnership at Minnesota Children’s Museum and Ramsey County Receives National Children’s Museum MetLife Award

Download Minnesota Children's Museum Receives National Children’s Museum MetLife Award

Download Children's Museums Awarded National 2006 MetLife Foundation and Association of Children’s Museums Promising Practice Award

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For Immediate Release
May 4, 2006

ST. PAUL, MN—The Wakanheza program initiated by Ramsey County at Minnesota Children’s Museum to strengthen and enhance Museum’s staff interaction with children, youth and families in a peaceful, supportive way has received top honors at Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) national conference April 25 in Boston, MA. Wakanheza is the Dakota word for “child” and the closest English translation of it is “sacred being.”

Developed by the Saint Paul – Ramsey County Department of Public Health, the Wakanheza Project emphasizes the critical power of language and suggests by speaking of, and regarding children as Sacred Beings, there is a subtle but powerful impact on the way we treat children, youth and families in the community. “The goal of the project is to create welcoming environments that make everyone feel comfortable and welcomed,” says Don Gault, Healthy Communities Manager, Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health. Wakanheza works in any community setting: libraries, schools, congregations, community centers, museums and stores. “By lending a hand to families through simple actions we can make our communities more welcome places for families,” adds Joe Olson, Senior Director of Visitor & Volunteer Services, Minnesota Children’s Museum.

The award presented by MetLife Foundation and ACM’s Promising Practice honors innovative management and programming practices that support healthy kids, families and communities. Minnesota Children’s Museum initiative provided staff training to respond to and diffuse difficult adult–child situations in a non–judgmental, calming manner. The training has been so successful that the Museum and Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health have continued to co–present the Wakanheza program to other agencies and organizations.


Editor’s Note: For more information and photos, contact Jackie Northard at 651–225–6014 or jnorthard@mcm.org.
Or, Lillian McDonald at 651–266–2537 or Lillian.McDonald@Co.Ramsey.MN.US.

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