About Us
Tucson Children’s Museum
Background and Mission
NEW! Tucson Children's Museum's Vision Statement: To inspire children and their families to reach their full potential through discovery, creativity and learning.
NEW! Tucson Children's Museum's Mission Statement: To provide world class exhibits that create play-based, interactive, hands-on learning experiences for children and their families.
Tucson Children’s Museum Background and Mission The Tucson Children’s Museum is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization providing hands-on learning experiences for children. Organized in 1986 by community volunteers, the Museum is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Since 1991, the Museum has been located in the City’s old Carnegie Library in downtown Tucson. More than 80,000 children and adults visited the Tucson Children’s Museum in calendar year 2006. Our geographic focus is Southern Arizona, primarily Pima County.
The Museum’s visitors represent the growing diversity of the Tucson community. A bilingual exit survey of 2,113 visitors conducted over ten weeks in Summer 2005 showed that of 913 adult survey respondents, 61.9% identified themselves as White Caucasian, 23.5% as Latino/Hispanic or Mexican/Mexican American, 3.5% as Asian or Pacific Islander, 3.3% as Native American, 2.3% as African American, and 5.5% as Multi-Racial/Other.
Children were asked to identify the language they spoke in the home. Of 1087 respondents, 86.6% said English, 8.1% said Spanish, 2.5% said Tohono O’odham, 1.2% said Yaqui, and 1.7% replied Other. The mission of the Tucson Children’s Museum is to excite children about learning, inspire them to set goals important to their future, and challenge them to reach their full potential through experiences in the arts, sciences, and humanities.
The Museum includes twelve permanent exhibit areas in over 11,000 square feet. Exhibits are interactive, allowing children to “learn by doing.” A comprehensive effort began in 2004 to repair and upgrade existing exhibits and to create new exhibits. To date, the “6th Avenue Market,” the “ZOOMzone™,” the Tucson Electric Power “Electri-City,” “Música de las Américas,” “The Art Studio,” the “Mouse House,” and the Tucson Fire Station have been completed. Major repairs have improved the Dinosaur Canyon exhibit and “Wee World.” The Museum also hosts traveling exhibits.
The Museum’s fall/winter multicultural program series includes: the Children’s Social Powwow, the Día de los Muertos exhibit, and the Festivals of Friendship, celebrating the holiday traditions of diverse cultures. The multicultural program series was awarded a two-year federal grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services in 2004.
Throughout the year, the Museum presents many programs and activities, including daily hands-on activities, TARGET Tykes Time programs for preschoolers, and special weekend and holiday programs ranging from puppet shows to science exploration events.
The Museum’s youth volunteer program involves young people aged 13 and up. The program has an average of 50 to 60 participants at a time from high schools throughout Pima County. We also have many adults who volunteer their time at the Museum.
TCM Staff Directory
Sandy Napombejra, CFRE
Executive Director
Telephone:1.(520)792.9985 ext.104
Kendra Decker
Gallery and Museum Store Manager
Telephone:1.(520)792.9985 ext.106
Jennifer Camano
Development Director
Telephone: (520) 792-9985 ext. 103
Brooke Sanders-Silverman
Director of Education
1.
(520) 792-9985 ext. 114
Jennifer Phillips
Education and Volunteer Coordinator
Telephone:1.(520)792.9985 ext.111
Peggy Solis
Director of Community Relations and Visitor Services
Telephone:1.(520)792.9985 ext.112
Ali Gaona
Coordinator of Member & Donor Services,
Telephone:1.(520)792.9985 ext. 113
Katy Jarms
Assistant Gallery Manager
Telephone:1.(520)792.9985 ext. 107
Board of Directors
- Michael Luria, President
- Louise Sternberg, President-Elect
- Bill Roh, Jr., Vice-President
- George Henderson, Treasurer
- Amy Hartmann-Gordon, Secretary
- Howard Shenk, Member-at-Large
- Valerie Greenhill, Member-at-Large
- Lynn Dent, Member-at-Large
- Dev Sethi, Member-at-Large
- Meghan Grilliot
- Kimberly Schmitz
- Kevin Sullivan
- Dr. Robert A. Barbee
- Sheryl DeConcini
- Mary Mokhtarian
- Mary Okoye
- Wocky Redsar
- David Santa Cruz
- Erika Santa Cruz
- Tommy Lassiter
- Gordon Reynolds
- Julie Sherrill
Youth Board Representatives
- Laura Unklesbay
- Emily Hu
Board Members Emeritus
- Dorothy Finley
- Cele Peterson
- Evelyn Carswell-Bing
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