Discovery place will hire a director of digital experiences to lead the museum's digital programs and platform efforts

Discovery Place, Inc., doing business as the Charlotte Nature Museum, received a $132,000 Project Grant award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the National Leadership Grants program. The grant will fund the hiring of a Director of Digital Experiences to lead new digital programming efforts at the museum from November 2021 through October 2022. Specifically, the new director will develop and execute a strategy to serve the local, regional, and potentially national community through virtual STEM learning opportunities and adult-focused programming. This will allow the museum to reach underserved audiences and center content development around community needs. The funding is intended to advance critical needs in the museum field by strengthening virtual services for the public, as demonstrated by the increased demand for such programming during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This individual will drive digital inclusion efforts with student and family audiences through programs such as stay-at-home science while also creating adult-focused programming. This work will allow the museum to reach community members who historically have been excluded from cultural institutions by centering content development strategy around community needs, rather than simply prescribing programming for communities. The new staff member will observe how families, schools, adults, and members engage with the center; solicit community members' feedback on programming; evaluate digital platform metrics to date; and craft and execute a plan that serves the center's local, regional, and potentially national community. The covid-19 pandemic shift to virtual and digital programming demonstrated the community's need for virtual stem learning opportunities.