Fall Update from The Works Museum

Dear friends,

Fall is a time of reflection and new beginnings at The Works. We take a much-needed deep breath after the excitement of our busy summer camp season, ramp up our school year programming, and look back on the past year’s activities and accomplishments.

The last twelve months haven’t been easy — for any of us. We’ve all navigated through an extraordinary time of uncertainty, change, and adaptation. But when I look at all we’ve accomplished — both organizationally and with the amazing partnership of our educators, families, donors, and volunteers — I couldn’t be prouder of the work we’ve done.

Below are some highlights of what you’ve helped us achieve. Most importantly, we’re continuing to provide critical hands-on engineering experiences for children, and we have built richer partnerships and connections from our year of persisting together. Thank you for your friendship and support.

Sincerely,

Jill Measells
CEO, The Works Museum

Summer 2021 at The Works Museum

In June, we welcomed families and school groups back for in-person visits. The summer kicked off with an exciting partnership with Minnesota Children’s Museum. We held STEM workshops at their location and enjoyed hosting their Curious George: Let’s Get Curious™ exhibit.  We also welcomed over 1,100 summer campers to The Works for in-person engineering camps.

Engineering for All education programs

Our educators showed incredible flexibility during the 2020-21 school year, adapting programs for students in distance, hybrid, and in-person school settings. They traveled to schools and essential childcare centers, hosted virtual workshops, and developed pre-recorded video workshops. These programs reached 9,583 students & teachers at 126 schools. We also provided access for students and families with financial barriers to participation. This year, over 1,000 children received free or discounted workshops, camps, and memberships through our Gateway access program.

Reaching populations underrepresented in STEM  

We’re committed to ensuring that every child has access to inspiring, hands-on STEM experiences. In the last year we’ve expanded partnerships and launched new collaborations to improve access and inclusion for students at under resourced schools, English-language learners, students of color, and girls. For example, with funding from ASTC and Lyda Hill Philanthropies, we developed a series of digital content, activities, posters, and worksheets featuring a diverse group of women engineers to share with our audiences during the pandemic. These materials are free on our website and are available in English, Somali, and Spanish.
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