Strategic Plan

The Strategic Plan for the Stillwater Children's Museum has four primary components:

1. Permanent Facility

The ultimate goal of the Stillwater Children's Museum is to construct a permanent facility, ideally on the southeast corner of the intersection of 9th and Duck Streets in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Recognizing the potential economic and cultural impact of the Stillwater Children's Museum, the PUMA Group (Progressive Urban Management Associates, Inc.), a consulting firm hired by the City of Stillwater to develop a comprehensive redevelopment plan for downtown Stillwater, has incorporated the Museum as an anchor in their Core Commercial Districts Master Plan. Target date for opening the permanent facility is 2010.

2. Museum Without Walls

Beginning September 2006, the Stillwater Children's Museum will launch its Museum Without Walls programming. This component of the Museum is designed to take educational, literacy and science-focused traveling exhibits to area schools, preschools, child care centers and community events, in an effort to serve all children, pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, but particularly those children who might not otherwise be able to visit a museum. Whenever possible, Museum Without Walls exhibits will be provided free of charge to schools and communities, thereby providing novel, interactive educational opportunities for children in financially challenged communities and school districts that might otherwise not be in a position to host such exhibits. In subsequent years, the goal of the Stillwater Children's Museum is to expand this programming to service the approximately 36,000 children, grades pre-kindergarten through twelve, enrolled in public schools within a 50-mile radius of Stillwater.

3. Community Partners Program

The Stillwater Children's Museum is currently developing an Oklahoma Community Service Commission grant proposal. In coordination with Smart Start Payne County, this proposed plan will utilize the talents and experience of AmeriCorps Members to create a parent mentoring program. As an additional component of this grant proposal, college students will receive Federal Work Study funds and a yearly AmeriCorps education award for serving as Museum Without Walls Facilitators for the Stillwater Children's Museum. The Stillwater Children's Museum is also developing a multi-agency VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program to place Members in non-profit agencies. The Museum's permanent facility will have office space allocated to child-focused agencies.

4. Museum on the Move

This program is still being formulated. When completed, this program would involve a vehicle, such as a bus or tractor trailer, that has been equipped with exhibits and can be driven to area schools and events.