The Bucks County Children’s Museum
New Hope, Pennsylvania
Student tote bags support summer learning program
The Bucks County Children’s Museum opens in new window opened its doors more than a decade ago to provide an environment that connects all children to the world around them while inspiring them to learn through play. “My background is in education—specifically special education—and I love creating hands-on experience for all the learners I work with,” said Kelly Krumenacker, founder and executive director. “Children’s museums have a great way of making education fun, tangible and accessible.”
Krumenacker, a mother of three, wanted to tap into the benefits of children’s museums she had visited around the country. It took several years of planning, fundraising and other work, but in 2011, it became a reality. The Bucks County Children’s Museum now serves a five-county suburban region of Philadelphia and part of New Jersey—along with tourists from around the world. It’s also doubled in size and grown to welcome about 65,000 visitors a year.
Learning continues while school’s out
Each year, The Bucks County Children’s Museum collaborates with United Way® of Bucks County and local energy provider PECO® on a summer program focused on science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM). Kits are assembled with educational materials and activity guides as part of the pre-K STEAM program and are distributed to 500 Bucks County preschoolers.
“Each child receives an activity guide that outlines specific curriculum goals for the summer,” Krumenacker said. “There are science experiments, art projects, all kinds of things. This year we were so excited to include a science experiment with robotic fish, which was really cool.”
Student tote bags elevate the program
A one by one grant provided promotional tote bags opens in new window for the STEAM kits. Each bag contained the supplies necessary for each experiment or activity, including glue, magnets, crayons, watercolor paints, construction paper and scissors. “We recruit 25 to 50 volunteers from high schools, Girl Scouts® and Boy Scouts® to help us stuff the bags, which takes a lot of time,” Krumenacker said. “The United Way comes with their van, picks up the materials and distributes them to all the preschool sites.”
The specific promotional tote bags were chosen for a few key reasons: Their durability makes them useful for students long-term, they’re a student-friendly size and they feature a large print area to display the program name and sponsor logos. The bags were distributed in May, just in time for summer break.
A note from Cheryl
The Bucks County Children’s Museum’s summer STEAM program brings learning and fun to hundreds of children each year. It brought us great joy to provide student tote bags to help elevate this initiative. If you’re interested in a one by one grant, visit onebyone.4imprint.com opens in new window.
For more information about The Bucks County Children’s Museum, please visit https://buckskids.org/ opens in new window