The long island children's museum will create an interpretive master plan to support staff in developing and implementing effective organizational management practices

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded Long Island Children's Museum $670,820 on September 1, 2026, under the Museums for America program (CFDA 45.301) to develop an interpretive master plan supporting organizational management and visitor experience strategy.

The museum will produce an analysis of existing exhibits and a multi-year action plan prioritizing best practices for visitor experience, with deliverables designed to align operations, expand staff skill sets, and build a growth strategy while maintaining and updating the current facility. An external evaluator will track progress and measure project success. A consultant will develop the interpretive master plan in collaboration with peer advisors from other children's museums, who will review project deliverables, conduct virtual training sessions with staff, and serve as an ongoing resource throughout the project.

Performance occurs in Garden City, New York, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028. The Museums for America program supports museums of all sizes in project-based efforts addressing key strategic goals through exhibitions, educational programs, professional development, and collections stewardship activities designed to generate measurable results tied to identified needs or challenges.

The interpretive master plan will produce an analysis of existing exhibits and generate a multi-year action plan that prioritizes best practices for visitor experience. The museum will work with an external evaluator to track progress and measure project success, and with a consultant to develop the interpretive master plan. The consultant will collaborate with peer advisors from other children's museums, who will review project deliverables, engage in virtual training sessions with staff, and serve as an informative resource for museum staff throughout the project. The project will result in aligning operations, expanding staff skill sets, absorbing the implications of demographic and market projections, and building a strategy for growth while maintaining and updating the current facility and exhibits to support visitor experience.