1. family and parenting
2. children

Our Mission
Statement…
The Children’s Museum of Eau Claire
is an interactive environment for
children and their grown-ups that
inspires imagination, discovery,
creativity and the love of learning.
Dear Supporters of the Eau Claire Children’s Museum,
Our family has been enjoying the Children's Museum of Eau Claire for over 3
years. We started coming when our first child was about 6 months old and we quickly
found ourselves putting the museum on our regular list of weekly activities. The toddler
park area is a perfect space for the scooting, crawling and learning to walk stages. As our
baby grew, so did our activities at the museum. Now that we have a 4 year old we find ourselves in every nook and cranny the museum has to offer. To list our child's favorite museum activities, we'd have to list everything… even the fish tank is a hit! Now that the lower
level is complete, we feel that CMEC has everything that the larger museums have to offer,
only at a smaller scale.
The CMEC benefits our family in so many ways. The museum offers endless educational opportunities for growing little minds as well as being a very special place for quality
family time. We've had many great memories and learning milestones at the CMEC. Not
only is our family a recipient of the benefits of the CMEC, so is our community. I see many
other families visiting the museum and spending quality time together. When families are
strengthened, so is the community. When a community values families, that community
will grow.
So now as summer comes to an end and fall and
winter approach, we look forward to visiting the museum
more frequently. There's always a tendency to "hibernate"
in the winter; however, the CMEC offers countless active
and stimulating indoor-fun experiences on those cold winter days. We also find ourselves back in the toddler park
with our second child, and we eagerly anticipate even more
memories at the CMEC as our family grows.
Sincerely,
The Sreckov's
Our Exciting New Exhibit!
Since April 2009, this exciting and
Water
Works
fun-inspiring exhibit has been making a big splash of learning at the
Children’s Museum of Eau Claire.
Children and grown-ups alike use
their creativity to explore the power
of water.
Interactive play with
wheels, pumps and pipes offer a
unique learning experience for kids of all ages… even adults
might learn a thing or two! More details about this exhibit
and others can be found on our website.
Our Board of Directors…
Betsy Kell
President Angie Bong
Secretary Tony Beardsley
Vice‐President Joe Fesenmaier
Treasurer Mimi Volmar
Claire Johnson Mike Prasher
Karen Kohler
Patrick Rebman Sue Waits
Nicole Lasker
Sco Webb
Robin Shih
Cindy Dahl
Our Staff…
Office Staff:
Suzie Slota ‐ Execu ve Director
Darcy Way ‐ Execu ve Director
Anne Eigner ‐ Membership Coordinator
Ross Sierer ‐ Educa on Director
Jill Magnus
Lynn Gautsche
Visitor Services Staff:
Cathy James
Jeane e Suchla
Alyssa Haugen
Yia Lor
Grace Kressin
Kari Byrne
Custodians:
Nathan LeBarron
Phil Rechek
Alison Hering
Ben Domask
Kathleen Brandster
Alyssa Bollinger
Jodie Berseth
Traci Messner
Amy Seeland
Tou Thao
Kao Yang
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Hands Across Eau Claire
Taking an artistic approach that benefits both the community as well as the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire,
Hands Across Eau Claire raises awareness of the museum
as well as funds for its ongoing operations.
The fiberglass hands are displayed on sponsoring businesses’ properties
throughout Eau Claire. The 42” tall fiberglass hands are uniquely designed by local artists and strong enough to sit in. So the next time you
are on a walk and spot one of the eye-catching hands, enjoy the artwork, take a seat and relax.
Hollywood!
Each year the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire hosts a night of glitz,
glamour and excitement at its HOLLYWOOD Event. People from all
around the area celebrate the Academy Awards and experience star
treatment including complimentary cocktails, hors d’ouvres in a Hollywood-inspired lounge, a gourmet dinner and dessert.
Over the years, the Hollywood Event has been a great success bringing
local businesses and citizens together to support the Children’s Museum
of Eau Claire, all while having an exciting night on the town!
The Duck Round-Up
On your mark… Get set… FLOAT!
Every summer the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire hosts a
rubber duck race on the Eau Claire River. Rubber ducks are
adopted and then dropped into the eau Claire River for a
chance to win a prize. Prizes will be awarded to the first
ducks to cross the finish line!
Where do the Funds go?
The generous contributions from the community have been the foundation for all of the programs and exhibits at the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire.
The Children’s Museum of Eau Claire has been able to give back to the Chippewa Valley Area through its
Access Fund thanks to the donations received. The Access Fund is a program that assists low-income
families with annual museum memberships. In 2009, 25% of Museum members requested support, more
than double that amount from only three years ago. By providing reduced-cost memberships, all children
have the chance to “learn through playing” at the Museum.
Nothing great happens in a vacuum, and
that is certainly the case with the Children’s Museum and its various new iniƟaƟves over the past year. This past year, thanks to the contribuƟons of others, the Museum was
able to introduce several new programs as well as sustain some long-term acƟviƟes. We are grateful for their enthusiasm and passion for the Museums’ mission. Here are some examples of successful collaboraƟons this past year:
Community Partnerships
The Beta Upsilon Sigma (BUS) business honorary organizaƟon at UW-Eau Claire and members of the
Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Chippewa Valley
provided the leadership and “muscle” to help the
Museum with its first Night at the Museum event.
We welcomed nearly 100 children one evening in
the spring. They were able to eat, play games and
explore throughout the Museum for three hours on
their own, giving parents and the kids a liƩle break.
The Museum will be holding at least two Night at
the Museum events this next year.
One of the Leadership Eau Claire groups (Eau
Claire Chamber of Commerce) chose to organize the Museum’s 5th Birthday Party CelebraƟon in December. They organized a fullfledged birthday party, complete with cupcakes, to commemorate this important milestone for the Museum. Proceeds from the
Birthday Party event were used to supplement
the Museums’ Access Fund.
Several local arƟsts leant a hand to organize and
carry out a successful Hands Across Eau Claire aucƟon that neƩed $9,000 for the Children’s Museum.
The arƟsts design and paint the hands, which are
located throughout the community. Individuals and
businesses then get to purchase the hands for permanent outdoor displays.
The Memorial High School Dance Team
was integral to the success of the 2009
Annual Rubber Turtle Race in September.
The Dance Team members encouraged
people in the community to “adopt” rubber turtles that were sent down the river
during the Fall FesƟval. Thanks to their
support, the Turtle Race raised more money than ever for the Museum.
Several UW-Eau Claire students chose to fulfill their service-learning requirement by volunteering
at the Children’s Museum. This past year, students donated hundreds of hours by working in the
Museum and assisƟng with various programs and projects. We simply could not operate without
the help of these creaƟve and energeƟc future leaders.
Statements of Financial Position—Modified Cash Basis
December 31, 2009 and 2008
Assets
2009
2008
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 82,877
$ 131,851
$2,683,063
$2,730,937
$ 2,765,940
$ 2,862,788
2009
2008
$ 20,534
$ 17,850
Accounts Payable
$4,959
$54,722
Total current liabilities
$28,193
$72,572
Notes payable
$430,893
$451,395
Total liabilities
$459,086
$523,967
$5,160
$38,666
$2,301,694
$2,300,155
$2,306,854
$2,338,821
$ 2,765,940
$ 2,862,788
Current assets:
Noncurrent assets:
Property and equipment – Net of depreciation
TOTAL ASSETS
Liabilities and Net Assets
Current liabilities:
Current portion of notes payable
Noncurrent liabilities:
Net assets:
Temporarily restricted
Unrestricted
Total net assets
TOTAL LIABILITES AND NET ASSETS