Portland Children's Museum - Present

Present

The mission of Portland Children's Museum is to inspire imagination, creativity and the wonder of learning in children and adults by inviting moments of shared discovery. The museum uses cognitive science and child development research to inform environments and programs that promote healthy cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. Myriad exhibits, including Water Works, The Dorothea Lensch Play-it-Again Theatre, Building Bridgetown and the Baby's Garden,along with the Museum's art studios, The Clay Studio, The Wonder Corner and The Garage encourage playful inquiry, cultivate creative expression and help children learn how to learn.

Portland Children's Museum provides access to the Museum and Museum programs for children and families with economic, social or physical challenges through the Community Partners Program. Qualifying children, families, schools and other groups have access to low-cost Museum memberships and family passes, free or subsidized arts workshops, and a myriad of other resources. The Museum also hosts a number of admission-free days and evenings. As of 2009, the Community Partners Program provided access to the Museum and Museum programs for over 20,000 children and their families.

Opal Public Charter School of the Portland Children’s Museum is an elementary school that is chartered by the Portland Public School District. Opal’s teaching and learning approaches are influenced and inspired by the philosophies and practices of the Reggio Emilia approach.

Since 2008, the Center for Children's Learning observes, documents, and researches children's learning to make visible the way children imagine, design, invent, and create using tools of the arts and sciences. The work of the center is inspired by questions and provocations such as:

• What provokes curiosity in a child?
• How does playful inquiry support children to wonder, imagine and create?
• How do we strengthen the connection between literacy and the arts?
• How can environments provoke and support the creative capacity of children?

In addition to generating publications and other media based on their research, the center hosts a series of professional development workshops, including a widely attended summer symposium, for educators interested in learning more about Reggio Emilia and the methods of Opal School.