The long island children's museum will launch the third phase of the development of "saltwater stories: the sea and me," a new permanent exhibition that will engage family and school audiences in an…

This Project Grant award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Museums for America (MFA) program supports the Long Island Children's Museum in developing a new permanent exhibition titled "Saltwater Stories: The Sea and Me." The $503,655 grant will enable the museum to fabricate exhibition components, develop educational programs and website content, and evaluate the installed exhibition to make adjustments. The exhibition will engage families and schools in exploring Long Island's maritime history, culture, and traditions, aligning with New York State learning standards. It will also extend the museum's humanities programming to underserved and recently immigrated coastal communities. As a result, visitors will increase their understanding of Long Island's maritime heritage through interactive, intergenerational experiences.

The long island children's museum will launch the third phase of the development of "saltwater stories: the sea and me," a new permanent exhibition that will engage family and school audiences in an exploration of the local maritime traditions that have shaped the historical, cultural, and economic development of long island. Building on previous grants, the project team will incorporate findings from the second phase to fabricate exhibition components with an outside contractor, develop seasonally informed programs and materials for families, develop website content, finalize and implement the exhibition marketing plan, and utilize a remedial evaluation of the installed exhibition to make adjustments. Exhibition content will correlate to several new york state next generation learning standards, and will extend the reach of humanities programming to key audiences, including underserved or recently immigrated populations from coastal communities in mexico, central america, and asia. As a result, visitors to the museum will increase their understanding of long island's maritime history and culture through participating in educational and intergenerational experiences.