Pasadena’s Kidspace the Destination for Global Children’s Museum Conference About “The Business of Fun”

The Association of Children’s Museums selected Pasadena’s Kidspace in the Arroyo to host nearly a thousand industry professionals from around the globe for the annual InterActivity conference see the sights, experience local science exhibits and explore the inner workings of what many call the “business of fun.”

The conference comes to town from May 2 through 5 and will feature a diverse group of children’s museum leaders, staff, and stakeholders sharing observations, insights, knowledge and advocating for the children’s museum field with a focus on the bottom line of budget, mission, and revenue streams.

The week of fun will present a series of inspiration TED-talk-inspired discussions, local field trips, and the presentation of the Great Friends to Kids Award to The Junior League, which is a pioneer in the development of children’s museums across the globe — including Kidspace.

“We thought this is a really unique way to look at the fun side of the business, but also the business side of the fun,” said Kidspace Children’s Museum CEO Michael Shanklin.

The 2017 Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) InterActivity Conference theme is Serious Business and intends to bring the industry together in support of ACM’s goal to ensure that every family and child has access to a high-quality children’s museum experience.

Started in 1962, ACM is a professional member organization for the children’s museum field, which annually serves 31 million visitors and includes over 300 museum memberships across the country and overseas.

“Children’s museums provide truly unique forms and opportunities for children to come in and play. They are naturally attractive to subject matter, activities and learning style that they show interest in and as a result we are able to provide an environment where free-range learn can take place,” said Shanklin.

The network of museums has created a global community comprised of educators, children, parents and communities as a whole to support accessibility and promote fun early childhood learning.

ACM member museums and professionals are dedicated to early childhood play, the starting point in the continuum of lifelong learning and are considered a major force in preparing children for school and building 21st century skills.

“Children’s museums really represent how a community values its own children. They are unique in not only the museum field, but also in the scope of any other type of organization in that they are all almost unilaterally founded by parents and educators who want something stable and solid and available for their community’s children that celebrates children and respects the value of childhood,” said The Association of Children’s Museums Executive Director Laura Huerta Migus.

InterActivity continues to be the largest gathering of children’s museum professionals in the world.

“Children’s museums also have become this kind of town hall for children focused activity and so many of these museums are the hub for early childhood education in their community,” said Shanklin.

“We provide this multi-platform learning environment where it’s fun, it’s highly educational and parents adore it because it’s a safe place,” Shanklin added.

The conference is also a chance for Kidspace’s colleagues to see what they’re doing and also serves as a platform for Kidspace as an organization to highlight all of the important work and relationships that they are cultivating in the Pasadena area and southern California at large.

Each year, host museums help coordinate “study tours” throughout the conference which are adult intensive field trips to local museums and organizations that can be inspirational for ACM members, according to Huerta Migas.

“Our local museums help us broker those study tours,” said Huerta Migas about the tours that will include trips to the Skirball Cultural Arts Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Children’s Center at Caltech and Kids Space which features over 80 percent of outdoor exhibit space.

“Kids Space is a really unique configuration for a children’s museum in the whole wide world,” added Huerta Migas.

The main event that occurs on the last day of the conference is ACM Great Friends to Kids Award ceremony which is set to honor an organization called The Junior League which is one of the oldest, largest and most effective women’s volunteer organizations in the world, encompassing 150,000 women in 291 Leagues in four countries.

According to ACM, The Junior League is a pioneer in the development of children’s museums across the world and is responsible for establishing Kidspace.

“The Junior League has played a critical role in starting and supporting children’s museums around the world for nearly a century,” said ACM Executive Director Laura Huerta Migus. “By honoring this organization with the ACM Great Friend to Kids Award, we honor the countless women in The Junior League who have worked to make their communities better places for children.”

Founded in 1901, The Junior League is an association of charitable nonprofit organizations led by women, making a demonstrable impact on communities around the world. Today’s League members work at the forefront of social reform, tackling the toughest and most critical issues of the day to enhance the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society.

“We are humbled to be recognized by ACM and its member museums, so many of which were founded and are run by women. As an organization of female civic leaders, we are so very proud of the impact that we have had, together, in improving the lives of children,” said The Association of Junior Leagues International Executive Director Susan Danish.
InterActivity will also feature a series of TED Talk inspired discussions called Small Talk to inspire and engage children’s museum leaders.

Presenters include Janina Garraway, a professional dancer who has performed with Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, and Kanye West, is the founder and executive director of the Garraway Performing Arts Center, which provides local youth dance instruction, mentoring, and tutoring; Adlai Wertman, professor of Social Entrepreneurship at USC’s Marshall School of Business and founding director of the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab, works with nonprofits and students to bring social innovation through business principles; Orrin Shively, recent senior director of Art & Design for Disney Interactive and Kidspace Children’s Museum board member, will share “Mickey’s 10 Commandments.”; Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides is the co-founder of Yuri’s Night, an annual celebration of space exploration, and is a founder astronaut for Virgin Galactic and John Kobara who has spent years leading innovative nonprofits, companies and tech startups.

The Keynote Speaker is Vu Le who brings his trademark humor and deep insights to discuss the challenges faced by the nonprofit sector—and how to address them.

Known for his no-nonsense approach, irreverent sense of humor, and love of unicorns, Vu Le is the writer behind the blog nonprofitwithball.com and humor writer for Blue Avocado, the American Nonprofits’ bimonthly newsletter.

Le is also the executive director of Rainier Valley Corps, which aims to bring more leaders of color into nonprofits. He was recently recognized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as a “Writer with Attitude.”

The Association of Children’s Museums InterActivity 2017 Conference will be held May 2 to May 5 at the Pasadena Convention Center located at 300 East Green Street.

For more information, visit www.childrensmuseums.org/