MCPS Interim Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight visits with students from Shady Grove Middle School participating in an Invention Studio workshop at KID Museum.
In what continues to be a tumultuous time for kids and adults alike, KID Museum is grateful for the close partnerships with school districts, local government, and community organizations to meet this moment for youth. We are stepping up to provide meaningful maker learning experiences to 24,000 students this year — bringing a powerful hands-on approach to learning that helps kids re-engage and leapfrog forward in their academic and social-emotional skills.
In partnership with Montgomery County and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), we have opened up maker learning opportunities to tens of thousands of students, prioritizing youth from traditionally marginalized communities.
Our six-year collaboration with MCPS deepens further this year with three new initiatives: (1) a new, comprehensive invention program for elementary students, (2) a new teacher professional development program to support maker learning experiences in the classroom, and (3) a new invention elective for middle school students that embeds deep maker learning experiences right into their day-to-day curriculum.
These new programs, along with KID Museum’s existing school programs, puts us on track to deliver hands-on maker learning to more than 7,500 students from MCPS alone this school year (most from schools that receive Title I funds), and professional development to over 350 MCPS teachers, with the shared goal of bringing maker learning experiences to every elementary and middle school student in the district in the future.
Thanks to Montgomery County’s generous investment and support, we will be opening a dynamic new space this spring, more than doubling our capacity to serve students, teachers, and families. As we get ready to open this flagship location, we are already actively increasing the numbers we serve, with expanded school programs, after-school workshops, camps for school days off, and community events. In addition to field trips and workshops at Davis Library, our middle school invention programs are being hosted by The Universities at Shady Grove at its state-of-the-art Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Building — another partnership for which we are extremely thankful.
We are also deeply grateful to the Children’s Opportunity Fund, who, along with the Black and Brown Coalition and MCPS, are working with us to expand out of school time maker learning opportunities for some of our youngest and most vulnerable students.
Collaboration is one of our core values, as well as a central tenet of our “mind of a maker” learning philosophy. And it’s the lynchpin to fulfilling our mission and vision. It’s through these strong collaborations and partnerships that we can provide our kids with the skills they need to become the innovators and changemakers of tomorrow.
Make a virtual visit to a maker learning workshop with this local news coverage about how KID Museum and MCPS are partnering to expand access to maker learning.
