Miami Children's Museum

Coordinates: 25°47′05″N 80°10′35″W / 25.784698°N 80.176519°W / 25.784698; -80.176519

Miami Children's Museum
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Established	1983
Location	980 MacArthur Causeway Miami, Florida United States
Type	Children's Museum
Director	Adrienne Pardo
Public transit access	Metrobus S line
Website	Miami Children's Museum

The Miami Children’s Museum is a non-profit educational institution located on Watson Island, in the city of Miami, Florida.

About the museum

Miami Children's Museum logo

Miami Children's Museum during the day

Founded in 1983, the museum opened its current building on Watson Island to the public on September 7, 2003. The museum was originally titled the "Miami Youth Museum" and was originally located in Coral Gables in a building called the Miracle Center.

Visitors of all ages are brought to the museum with different areas with activities for everyone. The 56,500-square-foot (5,250 m²) facility, designed by Arquitectonica, includes 12 galleries, classrooms, parent/teacher resource center, Kid Smart educational gift shop, 200-seat auditorium and Subway restaurant. The museum offers hundreds of bilingual, interactive exhibits; programs and classes and learning materials related to arts, culture, community and communication.

The museum's goal is to establish itself as a primary center for the educational enrichment and entertainment of all children and their caregivers as well as to build alliances with families, educators, community organizations and promotional partners to meet the developmental needs of all children in the community.

Location

The MCM is located on a landfill island called Watson Island in Miami, on Biscayne Bay. Its neighbor, Jungle Island, is on the other side of the MacArthur Causeway on the way to and from the Miami Beach islands. A few hundred feet away is the former location of Chalk's Ocean Airways, a seaplane charter company now based in Fort Lauderdale. Across the bay is the Port of Miami and Downtown Miami.

Film program

MCM also offers a free annual film program to Elementary School, Middle School and High School students. The film program has two components: a series of film workshops, and a film competition.

The film workshops include guest speakers with experience in the filmmaking fields as well as volunteers that teach the kids about the trade, with one set of workshops for 4th - 6th graders, and another set for 7th - 12th gradrers.

Volunteer program

The museum has many opportunities for individuals and groups to volunteer. benefits of volunteering includes Community service hours, Working with children, develop skills, working experience and a chance to be around children.

External links

• Miami Children's Museum