FLIP MUSEUM INC
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : j*********m@f********m.o*g
Mission Statement
FLIP is a children’s museum that brings kids and families together to learn and connect with one another through play.
About This Cause
We give children of all backgrounds and abilities access to the explorative play experiences they need to develop confidence, resilience, and a lifelong love of learning. We currently operate a museum in downtown hillsboro, as well as a mobile museum, which visits schools, family shelters, and cultural events throughout the Portland Metro Area. Children in our community need more opportunities to learn through play. By engaging in open-ended play, children build the social-emotional and cognitive skills they need to maintain their mental health and contribute to their communities throughout their lifespan. Moreover, explorative play stimulates curiosity about the world. In order to develop a lifelong love of learning, children need to be able to use play to explore what interests them about many different aspects of the world, from human culture, to artistic expression, to STEM. We serve children of all ages and their families with a special emphasis on children aged 0-10 and families from underserved communities, including low income families, children with disabilities, immigrants, refugees, people of color, and families who lack access to stable housing. To keep our museums accessible for all children in our community, it is essential that the form and content of our programs accommodate and celebrate diversity in terms of culture, ability, socio-economic status, and other aspects of life experience. To this end, we maintain low admissions prices and provide free admission to those in need; we incorporate multicultural crafts and exhibits; and we design our exhibits to be accessible for all abilities. We support not just children, but families. Our interactive exhibits give parents and grandparents a way to play and bond with their children. Our museum also strengthens the community and promotes intercultural exchange by providing opportunities for parents and other caregivers to socialize while their kids play. By providing multicultural, open-ended play activities and exhibits that are accessible to families from different backgrounds, abilities and socioeconomic statuses, the FLIP Museum will help make our community a place where families flourish. What Needs Funding 1. A renovation of the upstairs museum space in order to make it safer and more accessible for kids and families. 2. Staffing and materials for multicultural programming that will begin after we complete expansion, including teacher-led art, craft and building activities; a rotating multicultural exhibit; a baby and toddler play area; veterinarian offices; a grocery store and farm; a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant; water play area; and parent education classes. 3. Operations support in order to keep admissions prices low and provide free tickets and memberships to families in need. We know that the time children spend playing has declined significantly in the last few decades. This is a problem because play is essential to the well-being of children. Open-ended play helps children develop skills that will be essential for their success as adults, including critical thinking, creativity, emotional self-regulation, and the ability to lead and collaborate with others. Our museums can help solve this play deficit by giving children access to thoughtfully designed, interactive exhibits that stimulate their curiosity and imagination. In the process, we support schools by providing an affordable, enriching option for field trips; we revitalize the local economy by attracting families to the Hillsboro area; and we strengthen intergenerational and community relationships by providing a welcoming place for families to socialize. We have spent the first three years of our operation building connections with community partners, and we will continue to build upon these networks, provide opportunities for partners to contribute programming, and consult with them about how we can best serve their communities. The FLIP Museum partners with homeless shelters, culturally specific organizations, schools, libraries, and organizations that serve immigrants and refugees, including CAIRO, Centro Cultural, Adelante Mujeres, IRCO, Pacific Refugee Support Group, and Korean American Coalition. When we expand the museum, we will host classes taught by community partners like Northwest Documentary, which teaches documentary workshops to children and youth. We will also promote local artists by providing studio space for a teaching artist.