1. family and parenting
2. children

 “ At Parent Stars events, we
enable family learning by
giving parents the tools and
guidance to teach their child,
and it is amazing to watch as
parents learn what their child
is capable of.”
Cynthia Sac
Outreach Educator
“When I first led a school tour
through the Museum as a
Discovery Guide in college and
saw the children’s faces light
up with curiosity and discovery,
I knew I wanted to dedicate the
rest of my life to creating those
‘A-ha!’ moments.”
Rob MacGregor
Director of Gallery
Programs
“ Because of the Museum’s
commitment to outreach
in underserved areas, I
feel fortunate to be able
to advocate every day for
the many students in our
communities who struggle
to obtain equal learning
opportunities.”
Carmen Cruz
Outreach Educator
“Recently, I was talking to a man
who had come into the library with
his young son, and he was amazed
to hear that there were times they
could come to the Museum for
free, that they could take home free
books, and borrow activity kits, ‘all
for free.’ He thought that was such
an amazing bargain. Interactions
like that remind me every day that
what we offer Houston’s families is
truly special and needed.”
Kallie Benes
Librarian and FLIP
Project Manager
“Our Houston’s Kids activities
empower children to become
better students in math and
science; they see they do not
need to be intimidated by
those topics, and they take that
confidence into the classroom.
I know my work is important
when I see how excited they are
by doing the activities.”
Holly Rojas
Outreach Educator
“At
our events, we frequently hear
from parents directly about the
impact the Museum’s programs
have. That confirms how
essential the work we do is to the
community.”
Hortense Trevino
Parent Stars Associate
“The
children we serve now
will pass on their knowledge
to their children, and their
children to their children.
The CMH legacy will carry
on through them, and each of
us is partaking in that legacy.”
Zulma Morales
Parent Stars
Program Manager
The Children’s Museum of Houston served over of 1,128,000 children, parents, caregivers and educators during the 2013 fiscal year
(July 1, 2012–June 30, 2013). Our visitors and program participants were able to experience programming on-site at the Mary Gibbs Jones
building and off-site within the greater Houston area at schools, community centers, places of worship, afterschool centers, shelters and libraries.
Our audience is representative of the Houston community—filled with people of many ethnicities, diverse cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds,
to whom we provide access to impactful family learning experiences that are customizable to their individual interests and needs. The Museum
operates with a $10.9 million budget, of which 83% is dedicated to serving visitors and providing educational programs.
ADMISSIONS
The Museum continues to welcome large numbers of visitors
on-site: during our 2012–2013 fiscal year, we served 824,000
visitors. Through our off-site community-based programming,
we served an additional 304,264 at 252 sites throughout the greater
Houston area.
SERVICE TO LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
With 45% of children in Harris County living in low-income
households and more than 27% of children living below the
federal poverty line (Children at Risk, 2012–2014), CMH realizes
the importance of reaching those most in need of educational
opportunities. CMH engages low-income families by providing free
and reduced-fee admissions to 57% of our visitors (through our
728 Open Doors community partners and our designated free days
and times) and free community-based programs to another 304,264
individuals.
VISITOR DEMOGRAPHICS
CMH serves one of the most socioeconomically and culturally
diverse populations in the county. Our Museum visitorship this past
year was 47% Hispanic/Latino, 23% African-American, 21% Anglo,
8% Asian, and 1% other, while our visitors during free times were
55% Hispanic, 26% African-American, 12% Anglo, 6% Asian, and
1% other.
FINANCES
The total operating revenue for the 2012–2013 fiscal year was
$10,799,000. An additional $800,000 was released from restriction
and applied to exhibition and program expenditures. Total expenses
for the same time period were $10,858,000. Year-end net assets
totaled $42,964,754.
ADMISSIONS
Free Museum Admissions (32%)
Reduced-fee Admissions (25%)
Paid Museum Admissions (43%)
VISITORS
Latino/Hispanic (47%)
African-American (23%)
Anglo-American (21%)
Asian-American (8%)
Other (1%)
FY12 REVENUE
Contributions* (23%)
Fundraising Events (10%)
Government Grants (4%)
Admissions (24%)
Memberships (9%)
Gift Shop and Café Sales (net) (15%)
Program and Other Fees (15%)
*Does not reflect contributions
to the Museum’s endowment.
FY12 EXPENSES
Education, Visitor,
and Program Services (83%)
Supporting Services (11%)
Advertising (6%)
Friends,
Your generous support made it possible for the Children’s Museum of Houston to serve more than one million children
and their families this past year. 824,000 came to the Museum and an additional 300,000 participated in our literacy,
STEM and parenting education programming delivered at 250+ community locations throughout the greater Houston area.
While we carefully count visitors and measure outcomes to ensure we maximize your support, the best testimony for
the Museum’s impact comes from five people who have been a part of the Museum’s family for decades. This year the
Board voted to create a new level of leadership to recognize individuals who have demonstrated an extraordinarily deep
interest in the affairs of the Museum and who have made outstanding contributions of time and assets. Elected to the
newly created position of Life Board Member were Gail Adler, Nancy Allen, William J. Hill, Charlene Pate and
Kathr yn L. E. Rabinow. Their collective vision and support ensure that CMH significantly benefits Houston’s children.
Gail Adler
Nancy Allen
William J. Hill
Charlene Pate
Kathryn L. E. Rabinow
In an early Museum publication, Gail Adler voiced the values that still shape the Museum today. “I believe everyone
is an inventor whether they think they are or not. The idea is to help children recognize their own unique creativity
and how it can be applied in everyday life...this is an essential element in education.” Today CMH exhibits and programs
support and supplement classroom education to ensure all children experience the joy of learning success.
Nancy Allen and the Allen family made possible CMH’s first STEM exhibits during our earliest years. The Museum
had artists engineer exhibits with early computers, and engineers creating art that children could touch and even climb.
Embracing innovation in education is still an important part of our mission, and the Allens continue to provide the
foundational support that this work requires.
Bill Hill has devoted his service to ensuring every child, regardless of his or her family’s ability to pay admission,
is welcomed every time that child visits the Museum. Today Bill ensures CMH programs extend throughout
Houston-area neighborhoods, available at no charge to the participants. Over 55% of our annual visitors come
to CMH for free or reduced-fee admissions.
Charlene Pate built bridges to corporate leaders throughout Houston, helped initiate an endowment for the Museum,
and encouraged the Museum’s badly needed expansion in 2009. Today Charlene is paving the way for the Museum
to reach beyond Houston and Harris County to better serve young families in their communities.
Kathr yn Rabinow has been a compass for the Museum’s direction on inclusion, accessibility, and child development
since her earliest days of involvement. She expresses the importance of our Life Board Members contributions: “The
Museum Family is extraordinary…They all recognize that this institution creates for the children, parents and caregivers
of Houston a place that inspires a desire for life-long learning; that generates one community from the varied and separate
neighborhoods of our city; that teaches teachers how to teach, and parents how to parent; and reminds every one of the joy
of being a child.”
Thank you for being a part of the Museum Family. Together, we are transforming communities through innovative,
child-centered learning.
Randy Allen
President
Tammie Kahn
Executive Director
CMH connects children and families
with experiences that they can customize
to suit their own learning interests.
These experiences are designed to offer
foundational learning opportunities,
provide parents with the support they
need in their role as the first teachers of
their children, and reinforce learning that
occurs in school. In an effort to ensure the
broadest access, the Museum partners
with 728 community agencies that serve
low-income communities and develops
and delivers exhibits, programming and
facilitation in English and Spanish.
COMMUNITY NEED:
COMMUNITY NEED:
COMMUNITY NEED:
COMMUNITY NEED:
COMMUNITY NEED:
COMMUNITY NEED:
CMH RESPONSE:
CMH RESPONSE:
CMH RESPONSE:
CMH RESPONSE:
CMH RESPONSE:
CMH RESPONSE:
Provides experiential learning
through 13 bilingual hands-on
exhibits; high-quality early education
programming; an on-site branch
of the Houston Public Library
System; and 8 after-school
programs delivered at locations
in the community to serve those
most in need.
Provides 7 different bilingual
programs focused on increasing
parent engagement in their
children’s learning. To further CMH’s
commitment, the Institute for Family
Learning develops and delivers
curricula and programs to enhance
parents’ roles as their children’s
first and most important teachers.
Offers 5 different community-based
and after-school programs to engage
students in educational activities that
can be tailored to their own learning
interests and needs. These programs
offer students the opportunity through
self-initiated and facilitated projects,
educational games and activities
to strengthen their science, math
and literacy skills.
Provides 7 bilingual early education
programs dedicated to increasing
access and engaging low-income
children and families. 304,200
children and families were served this
past year in 252 community spaces,
and we provided free admission
and resources to the constituencies
of our 728 community-based
partner organizations.
Provides all exhibits, website,
programs and facilitation in English
and Spanish. The Museum presents
a range of multicultural exhibits
and programming that encourages
visitor exploration and engagement,
helping cultivate an understanding
and appreciation of the cultural
traditions of diverse communities.
50% of the Museum’s public
contact staff speaks Spanish,
the second-language in greatest
demand in Houston. All of CMH’s
outreach programs can be
delivered in Spanish.
Bases exhibits and programming on
“Building Blocks” learning objectives
that ensure strategic connections
between the Museum’s offerings,
21st century workplace skills, and
school-based standards. All of the
Museum’s exhibits undergo intensive
testing and ongoing evaluations to
ensure CMH objectives are achieved.
Foster the development of Houston’s
significant child population.
2
Increase and support parents’
engagement in their children’s learning.
Provide learning experiences that
reinforce and supplement school
classroom instruction.
Reduce the effects of poverty
on learning.
Serve a multicultural, multilingual
population.
Promote workforce preparedness through
the development of 21st century skills.
3
Made In Your Mind strengthens
children’s foundational
understanding of engineering
Foster the development of Houston’s significant child population
The need for child-centered services in Texas is growing
every day. Nearly 1 in 5 children under age 5 in Texas lives
in Harris County, the population of which has increased 20%
since 2000 and 45% since 1990, and Harris County’s children
are largely minority: 51% Latino, 19% African American, and 6%
Asian (Census 2010). Because early and consistent educational
experiences are essential for children’s intellectual growth and
future success, CMH delivers educational exhibits and highquality bilingual early education programming, facilitation, and
outreach services to children from birth through 12 years of age.
Exhibits
Exhibits are the cornerstone of the
Museum’s efforts to foster the development
of Houston’s significant child population:
our 13 bilingual long-term exhibits, and this
past year’s 9 temporary exhibits, provide
the platform upon which we build all of our
educational programs and outreach. These
exhibits, based upon Museum-developed
Building Blocks that align with national
and TEKS school standards and education
theory, meet the learning needs of families
and children through engagement that
can be easily customized based on prior
knowledge and developmental needs. Last
year, 47% of our visitors were Latino, 23%
African American, 21% Anglo American,
and 8% Asian American.
People served: 824,000
Sponsors: Aerial Corporation, Apache
Corporation, Calpine Corporation, Cameron
International Corporation, CFP Foundation,
CGGVeritas, Darla Lexington, Dorothy Carsey
Sumner, The Freeman Foundation, William J.
Hill, Reliant Energy, The Wiley Foundation,
The William Stamps Farish Fund
21st Century Exhibit Facilitators
and Personal Mobile
Technologies Project (21-Tech)
21-Tech enhances visitor experience at
the Museum through the use of personal
mobile technologies, such as smartphones
and tablets. QR (quick response) codes
displayed at exhibit components provide
activities and resources that build upon the
exhibit content and allow visitors to use
their smartphones to continue their learning
at home, while Discovery Guides use iPad
apps to help visitors lengthen and deepen
their exhibit learning engagement.
Sponsors: IBM, Institute of Museum
and Library Services
Sensory Friendly Programming
CMH offers Sensory Friendly Programming
to provide children with neurological
development disorders (such as Autism
Spectrum Disorder, Asberger syndrome,
and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
the opportunity to experience all that the
Museum has to offer. After research and
collaboration with experts on sensory
disorders, Museum educators have
developed a comprehensive sensoryfriendly initiative involving special staff
4
“ K nowing how something is put
together is worth a thousand
facts about it. It permits you to
go beyond it.”
JEROME BRUNER, PhD,
Research Professor
in Psychology,
New York University
training, signage enhancements, space
modifications, the creation of Sensory
Friendly Toolkits, and the launch of Sensory
Friendly Days, select Mondays when the
Museum opens exclusively to children with
sensory disorders and their parents and
teachers.
Sponsor: Mogas Industries, Marilyn and Louis
Mogas, Melinda and Matthew Mogas
Spotlight Performances
Presented in our 166-seat Brown
Foundation Auditorium on Thursday Free
Family Nights and on other high-traffic
days, the Spotlight Performance Series
offers family-friendly theater, dance, music,
storytelling and puppetry from a wide variety
of cultural traditions at no additional charge
to visitors of the museum. These intimate
performances build in our visitors an
understanding of the universality of artistic
expression in all cultures and cultivate
connections and appreciation for the cultural
traditions of diverse communities.
Developing Foundational Knowledge and Learning Skills
The Made In Your Mind exhibit
was developed in partnership with
Instructables.com (started in 2006
by MIT Media Lab graduates) to host
48 different DIY projects for kids.
Each project has a different set of
engineering characteristics that draw
visitors into further understanding
about STEM concepts through
construction and testing processes.
From room alarms for keeping siblings
away to duct tape accessories such
as purses, each of the activities holds
unique appeal for kids.
People Served: 17,461 visitors
at 126 performances
Sponsors: The Cullen Trust for
the Performing Arts
Informances
These bilingual exhibit-based learning
experiences, which change weekly and
sometimes daily, are facilitated by highly
trained CMH educators, Discovery Guides,
and volunteers, who use guided inquiry to
deepen visitors’ understanding of exhibit
content.
Made In Your Mind engages children
and families deeply, with an average
visit time of 37 minutes. Half of parents
said they gained ideas about related
People served: 370,800
Sponsor: William J. Hill
Parent Resource Library
A fully circulating branch of the Houston
Public Library, CMH’s on-site Parent
Resource Library offers over 6,000
resources for check-out—nearly 20% of
these bilingual or in Spanish—and is the
site of Pi Beta Phi Storytimes in English and
Spanish each Free Family Night.
People served: 35,639
Sponsors: Pi Beta Phi Foundation, Kathryn
and Richard Rabinow, The Samuels Family
Foundation, Target
activities to do at home with their
children and 98% reported that they
want to visit the exhibit again. When
parents were asked to identify skills
that their children developed in the
exhibit, they reported traits that have
been identified by top CEOs as those
most needed in today’s workforce:
collaboration, communication, and
problem solving. As evidence of the
connection between the building
activity and the science behind each
project, over 60% of families chose to
investigate the related STEM concepts
after finishing their building. 399,282
children, parents, and caregivers had
the chance to visit this exhibit during
the course of its run.
Sponsor: The William Stamps Farish Fund
In the process of “doing”
something, the doer better
understands the concepts
at hand. In some cases,
hands-on projects introduce
new skills and conceptual
understanding, whereas
in others, they give
children opportunities
to operationalize their
prior knowledge and thus
strengthen it.
Parents identified five skill areas that their children
practiced and improved in the exhibit:
Problem Solving
90%
Critical Thinking
92%
Understanding Complex Direction
95%
Communication
98%
Collaboration
98%
0%
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50%
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100%
5
Increase and support parents’ engagement in their children’s learning
Parental engagement is one of the major determiners
of children’s cognitive and social development, yet it is
estimated that less than 1% of Harris County parents have
access to evidence-based parent education programs
(Children at Risk, 2012–2014). Two-thirds of teachers
surveyed in Public Agenda’s 2003 report believed that their
students would perform better in school if their parents were
more involved in their child’s education (Stand by Me, Public
Agenda, 2003). Regardless of income, racial/ethnic, and
educational background, the children of involved parents are
more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, be promoted,
attend school regularly, have better social skills, and graduate
and go to postsecondary education (A New Wave of Evidence: The
Impact of School, Family and Community Connections in Student Achievement,
the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 2002).
visiting, Family Adventures is a partnership
with local Title 1 Schools that provides
transportation for parents and children
from their neighborhood campus to the
Museum for Free Family Nights, where they
are invited to participate in special Family
Adventures hands-on learning activities
with trained Junior League of Houston
volunteers. Program evaluation during the
2012–2013 program year showed that,
following their visit, 98% of surveyed
parents felt more confident about doing
educational activities at home with their
child and 97% considered themselves likely
to return to the Museum.
People Served: 22,573 parents and children
at 49 schools and community sites
Sponsors: The George Foundation, Inc. (for
Fort Bend County); Henderson-Wessendorff
Foundation (for Richmond, TX)
John P. McGovern Tot*Spot
This exhibit provides a special space for
our youngest visitors (from birth through
35 months) to engage with their parents
in age-appropriate activities that promote
motor development, enhance confidence,
and encourage exploration of their world
through cause-and-effect inquiry.
Institute for Family Learning
Housed in the Fondren Foundation Institute
for Family Learning Center on the second
floor of the Museum’s Mary Gibbs Jones
Building, the Institute was established to
prioritize the Museum’s focus on family
learning and parental support. The programs
delivered on site and in the community give
parents resources, activity ideas, strategies
for engagement and an understanding of
the relevance of these things to their child’s
learning needs.
THE CAMPAIGN
FOR GRADE-LEVEL
READING, 2013
People Served: 378,684
Sponsors: The Brown Foundation, Inc.;
The Hearst Foundation
6
Family Adventures
Designed to increase participation among
low-income families whose unfamiliarity
with the Museum might be a deterrent to
Mommy Mingles
The first Wednesday of every month, CMH
offers Mommy Mingle, an opportunity for
parents of toddlers and infants to meet at
the John P. McGovern Tot*Spot for breakfast
and playtime. The popular event allows
parents of young children a chance to get
to know other parents, support each other
and share their experiences while helping
their infants and toddlers develop through
age-appropriate play.
People Served: 3,068 parents and children
Sponsor: Goddard Schools
“I hope new FLIP kits will be made.
These are really great gems. I’m grateful
that all the work has been done. All I
have to do is enjoy the time of reading
and activity with my children.”
Increasing High-Quality Verbal Interaction
The quantity and quality of verbal
interactions between parents and their
children have a substantial influence
on children’s academic success. Verbal
interactions help children develop
many foundational skills including: (1)
learning and using a variety of words,
(2) understanding how stories work
and how to use them in their own
communication, and (3) developing
knowledge of letters and the variety
of sounds used to form words.
Researchers link the achievement gap
between high- and low-income children
to differences in verbal interaction in
high- and low-income families.
People Served: 10,898 from 41 schools
and community sites
Sponsors: BBVA Compass, Ray C. Fish
Foundation, Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable
Foundation, William J. Hill, The John O’Quinn
Foundation
Sponsor: John P. McGovern Foundation
“We
loved this! It really helped my
pre-k daughter grasp the concept of
opposites. I can ask about opposites
not included in the kit and she gets it!
For her it was a game and she really
got something out of it.”
“Study
after study has
demonstrated that
reading well by the end
of third grade is a critical
milestone toward academic
success, and ultimately,
economic self-sufficiency.”
CMH provides parents with programs that educate and
empower them in supporting their children’s learning. These
programs are held on-site at the Museum, as well as at schools,
libraries, and community centers, and provide the necessary
tools for parents to continue teaching their children at home.
Parent Stars
This bilingual outreach program brings
family learning opportunities to elementary
schools and early childhood centers in
low-income areas. By teaching hands-on
activities and effective parenting techniques
at Family Learning Events or the more
intimate Parent Workshops, Parent Stars
helps parents build “learning literacy”
in their children. A 2011–2012 CMHcommissioned study by University of
Houston School of Social Work professor
Dr. Patrick Leung found that parents who
participated in Parent Stars events were
15% more likely to be engaged in, and 17%
more likely to trust, their children’s school;
9% more likely to report that their children
enjoyed school; and 7% more likely to rate
their children’s school work as excellent
than parents who did not participate.
Family Literacy Involvement Program
(FLIP) increases reading-focused
interactions between parents
and their children
“So
much fun that he
reassembled the kit and
reworked the experiments
alone using other
household objects.”
In partnership with Houston Public
Library, the Museum makes 2,280
Family Literacy Involvement Program
(FLIP) kits available for checkout
through 35 branch libraries, an 11%
increase in kits compared to last year.
Each kit is designed for one of five age
groupings from birth through 3rd grade
and contains a children’s book along
with the materials and instructions
needed for a related activity to be
completed by children and parents
together. They are available in English
and Spanish, with a subset in Chinese
and Vietnamese.
Sponsors: Institute of Museum and Library Services; The Brown Foundation, Inc.; Comcast (for
programming in Houston’s Sunnyside neighborhood); The Ed Rachal Foundation; Fiesta Mart; George and
Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation; The Hamill Foundation; William J. Hill; The Powell Foundation; The
Samuels Family Foundation
Research conducted
by the UT Children’s
Learning Institute
shows that using the
FLIP kits increases
parents’ understanding
of their children’s
knowledge and
skills and positively
influences their
ability to serve as
their children’s first
teachers.
Follow-up
evaluation with
over 1,700 kit users
this past year
supports the UT
research findings:
Surveyed parents reported that:
FLIP kit use helped them discover their
children’s interests and skills.
“I love these kits (my kids too!).
Just noticed my 4-year-old is
reading to my 2-year-old.”
Their families read together more after using
FLIP kits.
FLIP kits gave their children opportunities to
practice reading skills.
Their children learned something new from
FLIP kits.
FLIP kits gave them ideas about supporting
their children’s learning.
Their families were repeat-borrowers
of FLIP kits.
7
Provide learning experiences that reinforce and supplement school
classroom instruction
The research of leading scientists has underscored that
children learn by doing, build knowledge and understanding
through interconnected experiences, and derive the most
from opportunities where they are able to interact with
others (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2009). Activities
that allow students to apply information learned within the
classroom in a real life context lead to the most indelible
and enduring understandings. CMH’s after-school programs
offer learning activities that respond to students with varying
interests and abilities, engage them in active learning and
experimentation, allow them to simultaneously gain and apply
knowledge, and fulfill a need for growth-enhancing activities
during critical periods of their development.
Science Workshop
Located in Edison Middle School
in Houston’s under-resourced East
End, the Science Workshop is an
after-school and summer program where
students can learn about science, math,
and engineering through hands-on
explorations. In a safe environment
staffed with caring adults—including
a bilingual, full-time site director—the
Science Workshop provides students with
the tools and guidance that they need to
invent, create, and experiment. According
to our most recent data analysis, students
in Science Workshop had a 98% school
attendance rate (as compared to Edison’s
overall 96% attendance rate) and the
average science grade of Workshop
participants was 86%, notable especially
considering many Science Workshop
students choose to take the more
challenging Pre-AP science courses.
In addition, a comparison of Science
Workshop participants' performance on
the 8th grade Science TAKS compared
to overall Edison and HISD students’
performance is impressive: 95% of 8th
graders who participated in Science
Workshop met the state’s standards,
as compared to 73% of all Edison
8th graders and 80% of all HISD 8th
graders, and 63% of Science Workshop
participants attained commended scores,
as compared to 34% of Edison 8th
graders and just 28% of HISD 8th graders.
People served: 5,858 student visits
resulting in more than 11,000
student-hours of STEM learning.
Sponsors: Cooperative for After-School
Enrichment, Copano Energy LLC, HESS,
William J. Hill, Kinder Morgan Foundation,
M.D. Anderson Foundation, The Rochlis
Family Foundation
8
Summer of Learning (SōL)
Utilizing the A’STEAM curriculum,
Summer of Learning is a summer
camp learning model developed
in collaboration with the YMCA of
Greater Houston. SōL seeks to combat
summer learning loss through delivery
of Museum-style learning activities at
summer day camps: 4 YMCA locations
and the Chinese Community Center.
Along with the materials needed for
all activities, Museum educators
provide camp staffers with extensive
training on the unit-based curriculum,
classroom management techniques,
and student engagement strategies to
make them confident facilitators of these
multidisciplinary, TEKS-aligned activities.
An evaluation in progress for this past
summer’s program shows promising
results, particularly for girls: While at
the start of the summer, girls taking part
in the SōL program on average scored
lower on the pre-test than girls not in the
program (scores of 23.82 compared to
26.57), by the end of the summer they
had surpassed their non-participating
female peers by achieving higher scores
than they on the post-test (scores of
35.73 compared to 32.00), a finding that
is quite encouraging and worth further
investigation. People Served: 2,731 students at 5 sites
Sponsors: The W.T. and Louise J. Moran
Foundation, United Way
Kit-Based After-School
Program
Enhancing the quality of after-school
learning, the Museum’s kit-based
after-school programming provides
the staff of after-school programs with
training, supplies, and resources,
including web-based resources
linked to national standards, to
facilitate Museum-style learning
experiences at their after-school sites
in underserved areas around Houston.
People Served: 2,261 students at 14 sites
Sponsors: William J. Hill, The W.T. and Louise
J. Moran Foundation
ExxonMobil Magnificent Math
Moments (EMM3) Outreach
The foundation of the Museum’s math
offerings, EMM 3 comprises 120 activities
that reinforce key math concepts for
children in kindergarten and elementary
school. To reach a large and diverse
audience, the Museum delivers these
activities on-site at the ExxonMobil
Math Cart, through partnerships with
after-school centers, family learning
events, and professional development
workshops.
People Served: 12,219 at 14 community sites
Sponsors: ExxonMobil Foundation, Comcast
(in Houston’s Sunnyside neighborhood)
Professional Development
Through half-day workshops, aligned
strategically with the Museum’s exhibits,
we train elementary teachers in and
around Houston in how to utilize in their
classrooms the same sort of projectbased, developmentally appropriate
learning activities that we embrace
at the Museum. By providing teacher
professional development events,
the Museum can reach an average of
twenty-five students each year for each
participating teacher.
People served: 1,227 teachers
Sponsors: ExxonMobil Foundation,
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Houston’s Kids
Through this outreach program based
in Alief ISD schools and presented
in collaboration with the United Way,
YMCA, and Communities in Schools, the
Museum provides TEKS-aligned science
and math activities for students twice
every week after school.
jitter critter
circuitry
vibration
engineering
balance
design
“I wish I could do science like
this in my classroom!”
A’STEAM advances what children
learn during the school day
“ I never thought science could
be this fun, or that I would
even like science!”
“Science
has always been difficult for me
to understand out of a book like I learn
in school, but by doing things this year
with my hands, I now feel as though I
understand science!”
Providing High-quality After-School
Learning Experiences
Children need and deserve
high-quality learning experiences
that motivate them to achieve, both
inside and outside of the school
day. In fact, the opportunities for
learning engagement are greater
than many realize during the outof-school hours, which comprise
approximately 80% of children’s
waking hours on average. Many
organizations in Houston provide
safe and enriching programming for
children, led by young adults who
are not trained teachers. By merging
the Museum’s education expertise
and project-based learning approach
with these after-school program
providers, we are helping to ensure
that children have opportunities to
do activities after school that are
linked to the State standards and
advance their school achievement.
This past year, the A’STEAM
(After-school Science, Technology,
Engineering, Art (Design) and
Mathematics) program expanded
in reach and intensity through a
strategic collaboration with the
YMCA of Greater Houston at 29
after-school sites where it served
700+ children with an hour of
A’STEAM programming each week.
Through seven curriculum units
implemented across 28 weeks,
children learned about motion,
chemical reactions, aerodynamics
and more, doing hands-on
investigations that enabled them
to gain and apply skills in science,
technology, engineering, art
(design), math and literacy.
Sponsors: William J. Hill,
The W.T. and Louise J. Moran Foundation
Museum educators train YMCA staff to
facilitate A’STEAM activities.
“A
majority of young
children now have
working parents who
need to involve other
adults in the care of their
young children, and many
children are in the care
of staff who do not have
the background needed to
support their learning and
development.”
balloon rocket
aerodynamics
pressure
friction
engineering
collaboration
Texas Gulf
Coast School
Readiness
Committee, 2013
“I love doing
science, especially
when I can take
what I made home
and continue to
work on it more
at home and learn
more ways that I
can make it better!”
A’STEAM students who were tested at the
beginning and end of the year improved on 6 out
of 10 measures of science understanding. The
most substantial gains were:
People Served: 7,029 at 3 sites
9
Free Admissions Programs
and Community Outreach ensure
Children’s Museum’s accessibility
for all Houston’s families
Reduce the effects of poverty on learning
45% of children in Harris County live in low-income
households, and more than 27% live below the federal
poverty line, $22,350 for a family of four (Children at
Risk, 2012–2014). Growing up in poverty has deleterious
and long-lasting effects on children’s cognitive and social
development: as early as 2 years of age, children in poverty
demonstrate significantly lower cognitive proficiencies than
non-impoverished children, and these achievement gaps
persist as children grow if not addressed (Early Childhood
Longitudinal Study, NCES, 2011.) The greater Houston area
therefore has a profound need for programming and outreach
that brings enriching childhood educational opportunities
to disenfranchised families. With 7 programs that ensure
Museum access for low-income families, the Museum was
able to offer free admission to 257,770 individuals, or 32%
of our total visitors, in 2013.
Free Family Night
Each Thursday evening from 5 to 8pm,
CMH offers Free Family Night. With all
admission fees waived, families can explore
our 13 exhibits and vibrant programming,
attend performing arts events and hourly
bilingual Pi Beta Phi Storytimes, and
participate in activities with Junior League
of Houston volunteers. In July and August,
children can even get their school-required
inoculations.
People Served: 94,881
Sponsors: The Laura and John Arnold
Foundation, Houston Endowment, The Junior
League of Houston, Inc., John P. McGovern
Foundation, Pi Beta Phi Foundation, Target, The
Wortham Foundation, Inc.
Target Free First Sundays
On the first Sundays of the months July
through December, all visitors received
free admission to the Museum, courtesy of
Target.
People Served: 23,089
Sponsors: Target
Overnight Adventures
The Museum provides at-risk 4th grade girls
from around Houston with the opportunity
to visit the Museum for an educational,
memorable, confidence-building sleepover,
supervised by Junior League of Houston
volunteers.
People Served: 595 girls from 23 schools
Sponsors: The Junior League of Houston, Inc.
Open Doors
We provide 728 community organizations
that serve underprivileged populations
in and around Houston with free family
Museum passes for dissemination to
their constituencies, along with bilingual
newsletters that keep families up-to-date
on our weekly programs and resources.
People served: 74,420
Sponsors: CFP Foundation, Charlotte Christman,
Comcast (for programming in Houston’s
Sunnyside neighborhood), Credit Suisse
Securities LLC, Stephen D. Daniel through
Goldman Sachs Gives, Martha H. and Bryan C.
Miller Foundation (for Washington County)
Museum Field Experiences
Houston area school groups visit the
Museum and participate in a two-hour,
fully facilitated educational field experience
aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge
and Skills. Discovery Guides work with
teachers and chaperones to ensure that they
provide students with hands-on exploration
opportunities that relate to what they are
learning in school and are appropriate to
their abilities. Field experiences provide
the unique chance for students to actualize
through hands-on challenges and inquiry
the knowledge and skills they have acquired
in the classroom.
People Served: 53,439 from 475 schools; of
these, 11,217 students from 69 Title I schools
received $1 admissions
Sponsors: The Cullen Foundation, William
J. Hill, The John O’Quinn Foundation,
Schlumberger, Wells Fargo
10
CMH operates with the firm belief that our exhibits, events and programming,
both on-site and off-site, should be accessible to all of Houston’s families. To
this end, we offer 7 different programs that not only remove financial obstacles
that might prevent low-income children and families from visiting the Museum,
but also enable us to connect proactively with families who might not know
about the Museum or the variety of resources we offer. In our 2012–2013
program year, 470,910 visitors (57% of all visitors) entered the Museum
for free or reduced-fee admissions through these programs, while another
304,200 participated in the Museum’s outreach programming, delivered free to
participants at 252 community locations.
This map shows the reach of CMH’s free and reduced fee programming in and
around Houston during 2012–2013. Organizations that participated in our
facilitated Museum tours, that used our after-school programming resources,
and that hosted our family learning programs are all represented, along with our
728 Open Doors partners.
11
Para Los Niños increases
Spanish-speaking parents’ confidence
Serve a multicultural, multilingual population
Houston is the most ethnically diverse city in the country,
according to a 2012 report by Rice University. Fifty-four
percent of Houston residents under 18 years of age are Latino,
and Latino babies represented half of all births in Harris County
in 2010. Forty-six percent of people over age 5 in Houston do
not speak English as their primary language at home, and 37%
of Houston’s over-5 population speaks Spanish (American
Community Survey, 2010). Among those who speak another
language at home, 55% report not speaking English well. The
Museum understands the significant number of residents facing
language and acculturation barriers, and works to ensure that
our exhibits and programming are accessible to all families.
One of our strategic objectives is to serve the needs
of immigrant families, in particular Latinos, who constitute
the largest, youngest, and most rapidly growing group in
Houston. Last year at least 328,100 of our on-site visitors were
Spanish-speaking; and 38% of the more than 1,100,000 parents
and children we served in total, at the Museum and off-site,
were Spanish-speakers.
People served: 824,000 on-site
Seasons of Sharing
During this celebration of the common
values that unite us across cultures, Kids’
Hall is transformed into a village that
celebrates seven different winter holidays:
Lunar New Year, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Jul
I Norge (Christmas in Norway), Diwali,
the Eid of Ramadan, and Las Posadas.
This exhibit represents the diversity of
the Houston community and conveys to
children the importance of learning about
and respecting others’ histories, faiths,
and traditions.
People Served: 101,538
Sponsors: Marathon Oil Corporation
How Are We Alike?
Exhibit Gallery
In the How Are We Alike? Gallery, CMH
presented Cum Yah Gullah, an exhibit
that celebrates the rich heritage of the
Gullah, a West African culture still
centered in the Sea Islands off the coast
of South Carolina and Georgia. The
exhibit explains that a unique confluence
of favorable geographical and cultural
factors enabled the Gullah to keep much
of their African heritage unadulterated
throughout the hardships of slavery
and well into the 20th century, and that
elements of Gullah culture, to which
more than 35% of African-Americans
across the country can trace their roots,
can be found in food, music, stories, and
language throughout the US.
Sponsors: Devon Energy Corporation, The W.T.
and Louise J. Moran Foundation
Providing Culturally Relevant
and Accessible Family
Learning
Para los Niños was born 10 years ago out of a
need for more culturally relevant Spanish language
programming for families with young children. Today,
the Museum hosts 10 different parent workshops
in series that provide parents with strategies and
resources to help them in their roles as first teachers
for their children. Topics include Raise a Reader, Math
at Home, How Your Child Learns, Inventive Minds and
more. The majority of workshop series are delivered
bilingually (English & Spanish) in partnership with
Houston Public Library, with a subset hosted in
community centers that help introduce families to
libraries and the free resources they provide.
Pi Beta Phi Foundation
Bilingual Storytimes at the
Parent Resource Library
Every Thursday during Free Family
Night, Museum educators deliver
hourly bilingual Pi Beta Phi Foundation
Storytimes at the Museum’s on-site
branch of the Houston Public Library.
Following the expressive reading of
a story in both English and Spanish,
families participate in a related handson activity and children get to choose a
brand-new book to take home with them.
Each workshop is designed for parents to serve as the
facilitators of their child’s learning with the support
of the Museum’s bilingual educators. Parents return
home with a copy of the activity instructions for that
day in hand, along with a family pass to visit the
Museum.
People Served: 5,770,
with 3,147 free books distributed
Sponsors: Pi Beta Phi Foundation, Target
Sponsors: Comcast (for programming in Houston’s
Sunnyside neighborhood), William J. Hill, Institute
of Museum and Library Services, Target
Family Learning Events
and Parent Workshops
Offered in both English and Spanish,
these events and workshops present
information on educational and parenting
topics to families in community and
school settings. Each family receives a
special Museum-created guide filled with
ideas for at-home learning activities.
Through surveys of parents after
Para los Niños events, we know the
following about the program impacts:
Peopled Served: 22,573, through 93 Family
Learning Events and 52 Parent Workshops at
49 schools
100%
Bilingual Family
Learning Guides
Each of the Museum’s 13 Family Learning
Guides contains on average 50 pages of
activities that families can do together
at home to help children build academic
skills and knowledge.
80%
60%
40%
Learning guides distributed to families: 7,524
20%
0%
12
97%
gained
confidence
in their
parenting
abilities
98%
used
workshop
activities
at home
FROM PARTICIPATING PARENTS:
I
“ like everything and my daughter enjoys it.
She wants to come every day.”
“Not enough time!! I wish the workshops were
longer because they are AWESOME and special.”
“My
daughter and nieces did the ‘Rhythms and
Rhymes’ activity. I loved that it was bilingual
Spanish and English.”
“
Bilingual Programming
and Signage
We ensure that Spanish speaking
families are able to access the Museum’s
exhibitry and programming in their native
language, and that we as an institution
are culturally responsive to the needs and
interests of Latino families. With bilingual
programming, families can access a
dynamic, free-choice environment where
everyone has an opportunity to engage
in meaningful learning experiences with
minimal linguistic and cultural barriers.
All exhibit text is English-Spanish
bilingual, and 50% of the Museum’s
public contact staff is English-Spanish
bilingual. Staff who manage and facilitate
outreach programs, such as Open Doors,
Parent Stars, Science Workshop, and
Para los Ninos, are English-Spanish
bilingual. Approximately 20% of the
Museum’s Parent Resource Library
collection is in Spanish, and the Museum
makes available all of its programming
in Spanish. Materials relating to our
programs—including take-home activity
guides distributed through Parent Stars,
instructional materials, and surveys—
are presented in English and Spanish
language formats. We maintain a Spanish
language website, with responsive design
that formats the site seamlessly for
Smartphones.
Family support to enhance child development is
one of six goals outlined in the 2013 report from
the TEXAS GULF COAST SCHOOL
READINESS COMMITTEE. They give two
key characteristics of this support: that it must be (1)
easily accessible and (2) culturally relevant.
“[The
most important thing I learned was]
listening and observing is fundamental
to understanding how to create activities that
will challenge and nurture your child. Also,
it’s important to let your child try new things
and have higher expectations of them.”
13
Promote workforce preparedness through the development
of 21st century skills
ADDRESSING
COMMUNITY
NEEDS
CMH
RESPONSE
Most of today’s teachers find it very difficult to
incorporate enough hands-on problem-solving and
creative exploration in their classrooms because of the
pervasive, highly prescriptive instruction that grows
out of the high-stakes testing movement. To ensure that
young people have the opportunity to practice the critical
and creative thinking skills that they will need as adults,
the Children’s Museum offers hands-on experiences that
young visitors can easily connect to real world applications.
Opportunities in our exhibits and programs to practice
innovative, creative, cross-disciplinary thinking not only
solidify children’s STEM knowledge and communicative
abilities, but can ignite a lifelong passion for learning and
prepare children for success as our future leaders. Last year
824,000 children, family members, and teachers had the
chance to learn together using our exhibits.
Young Inventors’ Showcase
This annual competition engages students
from kindergarten through eighth grade
in the inventive process while celebrating
their ingenuity and creativity. Each child
is encouraged to turn an idea into a
marketable and useful product by first
identifying a problem, then designing a
prototype solution, refining the design,
and continuing testing until he or she
achieves the desired outcome. Projects are
judged by qualified volunteers, including
inventors, engineers, patent attorneys and
venture capitalists, and participation is
free of charge, ensuring that any interested
student can apply and compete. The
grand prize winner receives the expertise
of intellectual property law firm Wong
Cabello in the process of attempting to
patent his or her invention. The Young
Inventors’ Showcase is owned by Young
Inventors Association of America (YIAA).
People served: 1,593 students at 21 initial
school competitions, with 117 students
competing at the city-wide Showcase
at the Museum
Sponsors: Shell Oil Company, Valero Energy,
Wong Cabello
National Engineers’
Wonder Week
During this weeklong celebration of
engineering, held each February, visitors
get to meet and work alongside real
engineers to solve a variety of engineering
challenges presented throughout the
Museum. Programming includes more
than a dozen activities that vary each year.
People served: 11,190
Sponsor: Chevron
Mini-Maker Faire
Maker Faires are the premiere event
for grassroots American innovation
and a celebration of the national Maker
Movement. CMH is pleased to have had
a role in hosting one of these events, for
the first time, in Houston. The Mini-Maker
Faire was held on Saturday, January 19,
2013, at the Stafford Centre, where, with
14
William, a third year student
in computer engineering at
University of Houston, is also
concurrently gaining a degree in
game mechanics from Houston
Community College. He designed
a windmill that children can use
to build and explore the efficiency
of various blade shapes.
John is a third year computer
engineering student at Texas
A&M University. Using his
expertise in LEGO robotics,
he designed a large cardboard
robotic arm that visitors can
operate with a television
remote control.
People served: 2,500
Sponsor: Chevron
Juan, a third year mechanical
engineering student at Rice
University, found a wave generator
design on YouTube, made a
tabletop version of it for the
Museum and then recorded an
instructional video to help visitors
understand the wave principles
that is conveys.
People served: 5,000
Sponsor: Chevron
How Does It Work?
How Does it Work? brings physical
science to life through exploration of
everyday phenomena. By working with
simple machines, building structures
and manipulating waves, visitors can
pose questions and answer them through
hands-on investigation. The exhibit
includes the Science Station, a fullystocked lab that encourages visitors to
take part in in-depth science investigations
facilitated by trained Discovery Guides,
who staff the Station during all Museum
operating hours.
People served: 1,593 in our off-site Science
Station-themed BASF Kids Labs and 515 in our
on-site summer BASF Kids Labs
Sponsors: BASF
Envisioning
High-Tech and
Professional Careers
A third year biochemical
engineering student at Rice
University, Calvin designed
chemistry experiments related to
fitness and nutrition for families
to do in the Power Science Lab
in the PowerPlay exhibit.
the help of more than 60 volunteers and 20
staff members, CMH presented the event’s
Children’s Museum Zone. This kid-friendly
space provided opportunities for middleschoolers and younger children to try their
hands at a variety of Maker activities.
Maker Corps Program
For ten weeks in the summer, 5 college
engineering students and Makers,
with interests ranging from robotics
to high-tech fabrics, participated in the
new Maker Corps program, for which
Houston was chosen as a first year pilot
site through the new Maker Education
Initiative. In addition to serving as
“Makers-in-Residence” on-site at the
Museum’s Inventors’ Workshop and
off-site at two of the Museum’s outreach
programs (Science Workshop and Summer
of Learning), the Makers utilized their
expertise to help Museum staff create
new exhibit programming, enrich current
projects, and generate new directions for
the Invention Convention exhibit.
New “Maker” programming connects
kids to college-age scientists
and engineers
In order to be prepared to work in
today’s high-tech, knowledge-based
economy, more young adults must
continue to post-secondary training
of some kind. Research suggests
that children’s ability to envision
themselves doing the tasks involved
in a certain educational path or
career can incentivize their future
behavior and the persistence needed
to accomplish their goals. Providing
early opportunities for children to see
themselves in future roles is therefore
optimal for stimulating later pursuits.
“The resource-based
industrial-era economy, for
which this city and state were
so favorably positioned, has
now receded into history,
and with it the traditional
‘blue collar path’ to financial
security. In its place, an
increasingly high-tech,
knowledge-based, fully
global economic system
has been taking shape.”
Dr. Stephen Klineberg,
The Houston Arts Survey:
Participation,
Perceptions, and
Prospects, 2012.
Through the Museum’s 10+ years of
leadership in maker- and inventionrelated programming, we were invited
to serve during Summer 2013 as
one of two Texas pilot sites for the
Maker Education Initiative’s newly
formed Maker Corps program.
With similarities to the Americorps
program, the Museum hired five local
young adult students to share their top
tier expertise in engineering sciences
with children in the Museum’s
exhibits and outreach programs.
By linking these high-tech Maker
Corps members with Museum
visitors, the students were able to
share their engineering and science
interests in ways that helped children
see the possibilities for themselves
in the future.
Sponsor: Chevron
A second year chemical
engineering student at Rice
University, Lisa engineered
a conductive paint using
graphite and regular white
glue. Children used it
to make circuits in the
Inventors’ Workshop.
15
Kidtropolis University enrolls
visitors in transformative learning
experiences
Continued from page 14
EcoStation
This outdoor exhibit, a combination
classroom/nature trail/lab, includes a pond
teeming with native plants, turtles, and
fish; landscaped areas designed to attract
wildlife; and a Research Pavilion housing
microscopes, magnifying glasses, books,
maps, displays, and an incubator with
hatching chicks. Through these resources,
and facilitated programming that changes
weekly, EcoStation helps visitors develop
a relationship to the ecosystems around
Houston, supports environmentally
friendly behaviors, and exposes children
to the methods that scientists use to study
the environment.
Sponsors: ConocoPhillips, Strake Foundation,
Verizon Foundation
Kidtropolis, USA
Kidtropolis, USA is a unique city built
by kids, for kids, that teaches visitors
important lessons about owning and
operating a business, using money
responsibly, and fulfilling civic
responsibilities. Visitors can perform
jobs—veterinarian, artist, TV news
journalist, politician, banker, EMT, and
detective—and learn about real-life
financial cause-and-effect by spending
the “money” they earn on groceries,
investments, or charitable donations.
They can even experience civic life by
voting for other children or running for
office themselves in hourly elections
in which candidates take positions on
various city issues.
Sponsors: The Adler Foundation, Stanford
and Joan Alexander Foundation, Brass Family
Foundation, Hearst Foundation, H-E-B,
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, JPMorgan
Chase & Co., Richard Warren Mithoff Family
Charitable Foundation, Memorial Hermann
Health System, Niko Niko’s, Perry Homes,
PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, Wells Fargo
The David and Jean Wiley
Foundation Invention
Convention
With more than 3,000 square feet of exhibit
space, Invention Convention is an exhibit
where children exercise their problemsolving skills through specific invention
challenges. Visitors gain both a better
understanding of the science and math
behind their experiments and real-world
critical-thinking skills.
Cyberchase: The Chase is On!
This visually exciting math exhibit,
created in partnership with WNET, invites
children to use their skills in estimation,
pattern recognition, algebraic thinking,
measurement, and probability to save
Cyberspace and defeat the dastardly
villain Hacker.
Sponsors: Ernst & Young LLP, National Science
Foundation
FlowWorks
This exhibit engages visitors in the
concepts of hydrodynamics by presenting
situations in which children can
manipulate variables and observe the
resulting effects, such as dams, vortices,
locks, buoyancy, flow, and aqueducts.
Sponsors: Ruth and Ted Bauer Family
Foundation, The William Stamps Farish Fund
PowerPlay
Developed through an award from the
National Institutes of Health in partnership
with Baylor College of Medicine, this
three-story exhibit encourages children
and families to participate in physical
challenges while tracking how their
baseline heart rate reacts to activity. In the
exhibit’s Power Science Lab, families learn
about the importance of nutrition and other
physical health factors to the maintenance
of a healthy body.
Sponsors: Albert and Margaret Alkek
Foundation, H-E-B, Radoff Family Foundation,
Texas Children’s Hospital
Matter Factory
Here, visitors are introduced to concepts
of material science: they can experiment
with different properties of matter,
test and sort materials based on their
characteristics, and examine what makes
the “smart” materials recently developed
by scientists so unique. Then they can
step into the Super Small Matter Lab,
developed in partnership with Rice
University, to learn about the science
of nanotechnology.
“All
exhibits should have a diploma program.”
Parent survey response
“Badges
are designed to make visible and
validate learning in both formal and informal
settings, and hold the potential to help
transform where and how learning is valued.”
MacArthur Foundation, 2013
Engaging Visitors Deeply
in Personalized Learning
Kidtropolis University rewards those who enroll
with opportunities to gain close-to-real-world work
experience in a kid-style way, along with the related
performance badges and diplomas that they can
display on their physical or virtual walls of honors.
Through video gaming, the use of badges to
indicate personal achievements has grown in
scope and scale far beyond its original applications
in the Girl and Boy Scouts. The potential to use
virtual badges to mark educational achievements
has become widely recognized within the past
few years, having been supported robustly by the
MacArthur and Mozilla foundations.
Kidtropolis University and the PowerPlay Activity
Trackers are two badging systems available to
visitors in the Museum, with more on the horizon.
The Kidtropolis implementation, just launched
this past summer, enables children to pursue
challenges and track their progress toward specific
goals, such as gaining the skills needed to manage
the Kidtropolis Niko Niko’s Diner or taking on the
duties of a Kidtropolis City Planner.
Sponsor: JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Sponsors: Aerial Corporation
Sponsors: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation,
TOTAL, The David and Jean Wiley Foundation
16
17
Events
Events
Welcome to Fabulous Houston…Vegas Style! 2012 Gala
Nearly 500 guests gathered to bring the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas to Houston during the Museum’s annual gala, held on October 13, 2012, in The Corinthian
downtown. Chaired by Kim and Randy Petersen and Millette and Haag Sherman, the event raised $913,738 for the Museum’s outreach efforts in low-income areas.
Rosemarie and Matt
Johnson, Mithoff Family
Foundation
Susan and Michael Plank
Louisa Stude Sarofim
Chairs Millette and Haag Sherman and Kim and Randy Petersen
The Gambler
Laura and John Arnold
In Support of
Free Family
Programming
High Roller
Nancy Allen, Eddie Allen
and Chinhui Juhn,
Randy and Laurie Allen
Kathrine G. McGovern
Big Spender
Holthouse Foundation
for Kids
Kim and Randy Petersen,
Millette and Haag Sherman
Hillary and Stan Stratton
Royal Flush
Julie and Drew Alexander
Cameron International
Corporation
Terri and John Havens,
Michael and Stacy Medrano
Mercedes-Benz of Sugar Land
Jackpot
Leslie and Mike Appling
Shelley and Geoff Bracken
Burguières Family
Foundation
Jane and Robert Cabes,
Kelly and Michael Sklar
Cadence Bank
Energy XXI
ExxonMobil
Martin and Kelli Cohen Fein,
Rosemary and Matt
Schatzman,
Stephanie and Bill Perkins
Frost Bank
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Dr. and Mrs. Robert
McCallister
Reliant an NRG Company
Mary Eliza and Park Shaper
Marc and Jeri Shapiro
Target
Wild Card
Amerex Brokers, LLC, Julie and
Clay Davis
Andrews Kurth LLP
Ann and Tom Bastian, Stef and
Jay Levy
Lelia and Lee Beckelman
Berkeley Research Group, LLC
Raymona and Bill Bomar
Kathy and George Britton,
Kathryn and Ian Fay, Anne
and John Freeman, Liz and
Tom Glanville, Kimberly and
Chris Miller, Katherine and
Paul Murphy, Julie Oliver and
Tim Meiss, Perry Ann and
John Reed, Marcia and
Brig Smart, Lorraine and
Jackson Wise
Mollie and Dan Castaneda
Charlotte Christman
ConocoPhillips
Michelle and Jay Davis
Gina and Mario Elie, Tiffany and
Rick Smith
Jill Faucetta and Ewing King,
Christie and Mark Sullivan
Sarah and Doug Foshee
The Friedkin Group
Laura and Carl Giesler
Kari and Todd Greenwalt
Margaret and Thad Hill
Kathleen and James
Jennings, Nancy Kate
and Mark Prescott
KPMG LLP
Virginia and Lee
Lahourcade
Locke Lord LLP, The
Kayser Foundation
Gina and Carl Luna,
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Kim and Scott Martin
Memorial Hermann
Heather and David
Mitchell
Sarah and David Pesikoff
Gary and Elizabeth
Petersen
Holly and Jonathan
Ross, Jill and
Calvin Schlenker
University General
Health System
Northside Lexus and
Westside Lexus
Randa and Charlie Williams
Wortham Insurance & Risk
Management
Special Thanks
Cadence Bank
Chas. P. Young Co. Jackson & Company
Northside Lexus and
Westside Lexus
Mercedes-Benz of Sugarland
PaperCity Magazine
Valobra Jewelry
Official Airline of the
Children’s Museum of Houston
Patrons
Debbie Fash
Charlene Pate
Friends
Sangeeta Agarwal, Ashita
Bindal, Aruna Daswani,
Asha Dhume, Anjali
Draksharam, Madhavi
Kavadi, Aparna Rao, Savita
Rao, Asha Reddy, Shanthi
Rubin & Leena Shah
Dr. Betty Baitland
Pali Bhachu, Deepa Dhodi,
Gogi Duggal, Rita Mehta
18
Lynn Halford and Manmeet Likhari
Underwriters
Greggory Burk,
Laura Greenburg,
Courtney Hopson,
Melissa & Michael
Mithoff,
Karen Susman
Benefactors
Burguieres Family
Foundation
Gina Gaston Elie
Kelli Cohen Fein
Kathryn Rabinow
Liz & Matt Rotan
Aimee & Wynne
Snoots
Patrons
Compassionate Chicks
for Children #1
Compassionate Chicks
for Children #2
Shirelle Chimenti,
Kena Cope
Estela Cockrell,
Stephanie Cockrell
Liz & Chad Deaton
Kathryn Fay, Katherine
Murphy, Kim
Petersen, Millette
Sherman, Kelly Sklar
Dustee & Juan
Gutierrez
Paula Harris/
Schlumberger
& Bindoo Puri
Sonal Bhuchar & Vijay Bhuchar
Tanaz Choudhury
& MABY USA Couture
Johnson Development
Marianne Hettig
Stacy & Michael
Medrano
Sarah Rabinow
Pesikoff
Bobbi Samuels
Tiffany Smith
Tara & Shane
Treleaven
Friends
Julie & Drew
Alexander
Stanford & Joan
Alexander
Foundation
Courtney Barajas,
Ilona Carson, Patricia
Lopez, Jessica Willey
Bonne Vie School
Jennifer Brenckmann,
Christina Cantu,
Pam Griffin,
Carol Howenstine,
Susan Leverenz,
Renee Locklar,
Jenny Mohr, Jennifer
Touchet, Whitney
Walsh,
Gerry Waters
Charlotte Christman
Krystal Crane Thompson
& The Crane
Foundation
Commissioner Joe Ellis
and Robin Young-Ellis
Debbie Fash
Monica Fulton
Nicci Greeley & Daisy White
Katy Holt
Tammie Kahn
Pamela Laborde
Charlene Pate
Amy Pierce & Sally Qasem
Reliant an NRG Company
Dr. Layla Salek
Hillary Farish Stratton
Windsor Village
United Methodist Church
Chairs Gina Gaston Elie (left) and Kelli Cohen Fein (right )
with speaker Dr. Wendy Mogel (center)
2013 Spring Golf Tournament
Chairs Krystal Crane Thompson and Jared Crane and Honorary Chair William J. Hill helped make 2013 a record-breaking year for the Museum’s annual Spring Golf
Tournament, held at the Memorial Park Golf Course on April 16. The event brought 112 players out to the green and raised more than $95,000 for the Museum’s free
and reduced-cost admissions programs.
Ace
William J. Hill
2013 Fort Bend Spring Brunch
Chaired by Debbie Fash, Rachel Leaman, Jan Leaman, and Charlene Pate, and hosted by Paul and Manmeet Likhari, this May 8th brunch raised over
$15,000 for the Museum’s outreach in Fort Bend County.
Chairs Debbie Fash, Charlene Pate, and Jan Leaman (Rachel Leaman not pictured)
2013 Friends and Families Luncheon
Chaired by Gina Gaston Elie and Kelli Cohen Fein, the 2013 Friends and Families Luncheon was held at the River
Oaks Country Club on March 27. The 440 guests enjoyed a talk by Dr. Wendy Mogel, author of bestselling parenting
book The Blessing of a Skinned Knee. The luncheon raised $124,000 for the Museum’s outreach and programming.
Eagle
Laurie and Randy Allen/
The Green Tree Fund
Champion Energy
Services
Diamond Offshore Drilling
Carol and Neil Kelley
Birdie
Maurice Edwards
Friedkin Companies
Gardere, Wynne &
Sewell, LLP
Rusty Hardin &
Associates, LLP
Wortham Insurance
& Risk Management
Bogey
Amegy Bank of Texas
Ascende/Ascende
Charitable Trust
Bank of America
Buckley, White,
Castaneda & Howell,
LLP
Cadence Bank
Dan CarterhRNS Capital
Clyde Certain
Jared Crane
Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP
GenIV Capital Partners
Harvey Builders
Locke Lord, LLP
Massey-Schmidt/
Morgan Stanley
Private Wealth
Management
Raja Mawad
The Nicol Family
Petrello Family
Foundation
Mallory and Charlie
Robins
Michael Rubenstein
Randy Sim
Sidley Austin, LLP
Southwestern Energy
Company
Teton Strategic
Investments, Inc.
Krystal and Garrett
Thompson
Timothy Vail
Hole Sponsors
Bainbridge Financial
Services, LTD
Bud Light / Silver Eagle
Distributors
Charlotte Christman
Peter J. Fluor
Margaret and Thad Hill
Marc Melcher
Positive Coaching
Alliance by its Board
of Directors
Donations
Jessica and Fred
Brazelton
Anne and John Freeman
The Kayser Foundation
The Jeff B. and
Katherine B. Love
Foundation
Margaret Barradas
O’Neal
Michael J. Plank
Honorary Chair William J. Hill
Chairs Krystal Crane Thompson and Jared Crane
19
DONORS
Donors
CMH is grateful for broad-based support from many parts of the philanthropic community.
Generous donations from corporations, foundations, public agencies and individuals provided
funding for the Museum’s outreach programs, operations, exhibits, program development, and
endowment, with $4,929,813 for the 2012–2013 fiscal year.
Gifts made to benefit our four primary fundraising events are listed on pages 18 and 19 while
gifts made in direct support of CMH general operations, exhibits, programs and endowment are
featured below.
$1,500,000 –$1,250,000
William J. Hill
$299,999 –$100,000
Enterprise Products Partners
The Hamill Foundation
H-E-B
Houston Endowment, Inc.
Institute for Museum and Library Services
Target
The David and Jean Wiley Foundation
The Wortham Foundation
$99,999 –$50,000
BASF
The Cullen Foundation
ExxonMobil
The William Stamps Farish Fund
Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Hearst Foundation
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
Houston Museum District Association
John P. McGovern Foundation
The W.T. and Louise J. Moran Foundation
The John M. O’Quinn Foundation
Wachovia Wells Fargo
$49,999–$25,000
Aerial Corporation
Laura and John Arnold
Bank of America
The Brown Foundation
Chevron
Greater Houston Community Foundation
HESS
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
M.D. Anderson Foundation
Niko Niko’s
Reliant Energy
The Samuels Foundation
Shell Oil Company
Sterling-Turner Foundation
Texas Children’s Hospital
Verizon Foundation
20
$24,999 –$10,000
The Adler Foundation
Anchorage Foundation of Texas
Apache Corporation
Baker Hughes
BBVA Compass
Calpine
Cameron International Corporation
CFP Foundation
CGGVeritas
Charlene and Philip Carroll
ConocoPhillips
Cooperative for After-School Enrichment
The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts
Fiesta Mart
The George Foundation
George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation
Theresa and John Havens
The Henderson-Wessendorff Foundation
Houston Pi Beta Phi Foundation
Imperial Sugar
The Junior League of Houston, Inc.
Darla Lexington
Jack H. and William M. Light Charitable Trust
Memorial Hermann Health System
Mogas Industries
The Powell Foundation
PPG Architectural Finishes
Ed Rachal Foundation
The Rochlis Family Foundation
Kristi and John Schiller
Schlumberger
Strake Foundation
Dorothy Carsey Sumner
Leticia and Stephen Trauber
Valero Energy Corporation
$9,999 –$5,000
The Albert & Ethel Herzstein
Charitable Foundation
Laurie and Randy Allen
Association of Children’s Museums
Banfield, The Pet Hospital
Comcast
Copano Energy LLC
Credit Suisse Securities LLC
Lydia and David Drutz
The Freeman Foundation
Humana
IBM
KPMG LLP
J.W. and M.I. Loots
Charitable Foundation
Marathon Oil Corporation
Marilyn and Louis Mogas
Melinda and Matthew Mogas
Kinder Morgan Foundation
Radoff Family Foundation
TOTAL
$4,999–$1,000
Sharon and Michael Brier
Clif Bars
Crane Foundation
Jeffrey C. Dunn
Laura and Quinn Fanning
The Jerry and Nanette
Finger Foundation
The Finkelstein Foundation
Debra and Mark Grierson
Jennie and Norberto Grijalva
Hetta and Jesse Heath, Jr.
Jane and George Jerry
Walter S. Light
Gina and Carl Luna
Hannah and Cal McNair
Morgan Stanley
Melinda and James Noel, III
Kathryn and Richard Rabinow
Anita and Gerald Smith
Sprinkles
2013–2014
EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
Randolph F. Allen
President
Michael J. Medrano
Secretary
William J. Hill
Treasurer
Gina Luna
VP Board Activities
Michael K. Mithoff
VP Contributed Income
Dr. Robert McCallister
VP Education
Daniel F. Castaneda
VP Operations
Geoffrey H. Bracken
VP Strategic Planning
Charlene Pate
VP Special Initiatives
Sugar Land
Lance Gilliam, SCSM, CLS
Past President
LIFE BOARD
2013–2014
BOARD
MEMBERS
Julie Brook Alexander
A.J. Brass
Suzette T. Caldwell
Charlotte Christman
Ernie D. Cockrell
Steve Daniel
Gina Gaston Elie
Doug Foshee
Thad Hill
Michael Holthouse
Aaron E. Howes
Lee Lahourcade
Marc Melcher
Shelly D. Mulanax
Paul Murphy, Jr.
Leigh Anne Raymond
Dr. Barbara Samuels
C. Park Shaper
Tiffany Avery-Smith
Hillary Stratton
Duncan K. Underwood
Jack P. Williams, Jr.
Helen Wilson
Michael Wilson
Donald W. Young
Dr. Jen Rochlis Zumbado
2013–2014
ADVISORY
BOARD
William Bisso IV
Leslie D. Blanton
Jane B. Block
Raymona Bomar
Sharon Albert Brier
Kathy Britton
Garnet F. Coleman
Clay Davis
Pamela Joubert Davis
Adam M. Drutz
Sam W. Gainer
Katherine C. Hatcher
Terri Havens
Catherine Horn
Brock Hudson
Alfred Jackson
Susan Jhin
Eric T. Kalamaras, Sr.
Jared M. Kearney
Steve A. Lasher
Melanie R. Margolis
Jimmy McCartney
Greg Meeks
EX-OFFICIO
Pamela Laborde
The Junior League of Houston, Inc.
Gail Adler
Nancy C. Allen
William J. Hill
Charlene Pate
Dr. Kathryn Rabinow
America’s #1 Children’s Museum,
Parents Magazine
One of the Top 12 Children’s Museums
in the Nation, Forbes Magazine
Voted Best Museum in Houston
by Nickelodeon’s Parents’ Picks
Rated Five Stars (top rating)
by CitySearch.com
Rated Four Stars (top rating)
by CharityNavigator.org
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF HOUSTON
cmhouston.org • 1500 Binz Houston, Texas 77004
Jessica Stern Meyer
Dr. Leslie Miller
Dan Parsley
William O. Perkins III
Sarah Rabinow Pesikoff
Kim Maresh Petersen
Michael J. Plank
Carlos R. Rainer
Kristi Schiller
Andrew Segal
Millette Sherman
Anita Smith
Saul Solomon
Sandra Steed-Martinez
Krystal Crane Thompson
Stephen Trauber
Coert Voorhees
Reid Whitaker
Richard Yoo