Funding will support AWEsome Energy Initiative.
DuPage Children’s Museum (DCM) announces it will receive $100,000 from Open Road Alliance, an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. These funds will be used to support the Museum’s new AWEsome Energy exhibit. Open Road Alliance is a private philanthropic initiative that provides grant capital to nonprofits for mid-implementation projects facing an unexpected roadblock.
Above / Youngsters enjoy AWEsome Electricity, part of the AWEsome Energy exhibit at the DuPage Children’s Museum. Photo courtesy of Katie Hall Photography.
AWEsome Energy is the largest initiative in DCM’s nearly 30-year history and represents years of research and testing with a team of educators, scientists, business leaders, parents, and children. AWEsome Energy will create an immersive, interactive experience in three integrated sections: Air, Water, and Electricity. As children explore in a hands-on environment, discovering the scientific forces that power our world, they build creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving skills that will launch them into a bright future. The new exhibit will allow the Museum to fulfill its passion to educate and inspire children’s desires to be persistent and engaged learners as they take on the challenges of the world they inherit.
AWEsome Electricity opened in June 2012, and AWEsome Water and AWEsome Air are scheduled to open within the next year.
The $100,000 grant from Open Road Alliance will be used to complete the infrastructure for AWEsome Water while the Museum is temporarily closed for rebuilding after “the Great Flood.” By completing the infrastructure for AWEsome Water now, the exhibit area will be closed for a shorter time when it is completed in 2016.
“We are thrilled that Open Road Alliance is able to support us now with this generous grant. It will continue the forward momentum of this exciting exhibit, AWEsome Energy,” explained Susan Stellmacher, Director of Development, DuPage Children’s Museum. “We’re so fortunate to have the opportunity to take care of Water’s infrastructure while we are closed. This funding will help to ensure the least amount of impact to the public during installation of the final exhibit.”
AWEsome Energy is a massive $1.5 million permanent exhibit and education initiative that will cover one-quarter of DCM’s 17,000 sq. ft. exhibit space. DuPage Children’s Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Exhibits like AWEsome Energy would not be possible without the generous support of our donors, sponsors, grantors, and our nearly 6,000 member families. Open Road Alliance will be in good company with major foundations and organizations already supporting AWEsome Energy, such as Exelon, SunCoke Energy, and EcoLab.
To find out more about AWEsome Energy and how you can make an impact today, please contact Susan Stellmacher, Director of Development, at 630.637.8000 ext. 2400 or sstellmacher@dupagechildrensmuseum.org.
Submitted by Dee Dee McDevitt, Director of Marketing & Sales, DuPage Children’s Museum
