Event Details

InterActivity 2024

ACM and Madison Children’s Museum invite you to InterActivity 2024: Flourish! Children’s museums have a unique opportunity to reimagine and create a positive future. By radically flourishing in an ever–changing society and environment we can re–establish our sense of interconnection, use language and actions to frame the positive, and help our communities thrive.

InterActivity 2024 will explore how the field can ensure that every child prospers and becomes their best self, which in turn creates a more caring, compassionate, inclusive, and sustainable global community.

Helping children, families, and communities flourish is what we do in children’s museums every day. Every visitor brings their lived experience into our space. They carry the seeds of happiness and wellbeing that lives within them. Children’s museums exist to provide the right environment, nurturing atmosphere, and care for them to thrive and to flourish.
Register to Attend

  • Wednesday, May 15, 2024

  •   Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 8:00 AM - Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 5:00 PM (CST)

    Emerging Museums Pre-Conference

    Description:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Pre-registration is required.  Member $235, Nonmember $335.

    ACM offers the annual Emerging Museums Pre-Conference to share foundational and effective practices of the field with those in the process of starting a children’s museum. The agenda changes each year informed by trends and topics suggested by the field. This pre-conference is limited to emerging museums and individuals starting a children’s museum. Registration includes breakfast, lunch, and handout materials. Sponsored by Imagination Playground, LLC. 
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  •   Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 8:00 AM - Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 5:00 PM (CST)

    Emerging Museums Pre-Conference

    Description:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Pre-registration is required.  Member $235, Nonmember $335.

    ACM offers the annual Emerging Museums Pre-Conference to share foundational and effective practices of the field with those in the process of starting a children’s museum. The agenda changes each year informed by trends and topics suggested by the field. This pre-conference is limited to emerging museums and individuals starting a children’s museum. Registration includes breakfast, lunch, and handout materials. Sponsored by Imagination Playground, LLC. 
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  •   Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 12:30 PM - Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 4:30 PM (CST)

    Museum CEOs and Executive Directors Retreat

    Description:

    Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required. Tickets are $95. 

    Museum CEOs and executive directors are once again invited to re-energize, recharge, and engage with their peers before the conference begins in full. Together we will explore issues and opportunities of interest to ACM member museums of all sizes. This retreat is a great opportunity for museum executives to network, learn from each other, and develop new strategies for addressing shared challenges.

    This retreat will be decidedly tactical guided by direct input from attendees in real-time. Using the unconference approach, attendees will be asked to select hot topics for discussion to steer discussion in relevant and meaningful directions. Attendees will leave inspired and energized with ideas, effective practices, and innovative approaches to take back and advance their museums. Attendance is limited to CEOs and Executive Directors at ACM member museums. Registration includes lunch. 
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  •   Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 12:30 PM - Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 4:45 PM (CST)

    Study Tour A. Birds of Baraboo Hills

    Description:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 12:30 p.m.-4:45 p.m. Pre-registration is required; tickets are $45. Transportation is included. Wear athletic shoes and comfortable attire.

    Connect and recharge with colleagues outdoors in Wisconsin’s beautiful “Driftless Area” as you explore and take inspiration from unique gems of the Baraboo region of Wisconsin.

    The International Crane Foundation is a global conservation organization that works worldwide to conserve cranes and the ecosystems, watersheds and flyways with its sites in East Asia, North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South/Southeast Asia. This study tour will include time for self-guided exploration of the world’s fifteen crane species in outdoor habitats and exhibits, and a guided sneak peek of the foundation’s new immersive indoor exhibit space designed for children.

    Dr. Evermor’s Sculpture Park     features a wonderland made from scrap metal as created by visionary vernacular artist Tom Every (1938-2020). His work graces the entrance of the American Visionary Art Museum and the roof of Madison Children’s Museum, but it is in his sculpture park that his full vision can truly be appreciated. MCM staff will discuss their collaboration process and lessons learned from working with artists such as Every and the Madison artists he mentored, who continue to add creative sparks to MCM and Madison’s public art spaces.     
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  • Thursday, May 16, 2024

  •   Thursday, May 16, 2024, 10:30 AM - Thursday, May 16, 2024, 12:30 PM (CST)

    Study Tour B. Madison Children’s Museum: Outdoor Play Spaces

    Description:

    Thursday, May 16, 2024, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.  Madison Children's Museum is about a 10 minute walk from Monona Terrace. Transportation is NOT provided. Please see an ACM staff member at registration if you need accessible transportation.

    Join Madison Children’s Museum staff and two inclusive play experts to explore MCM’s outdoor spaces through the lens of nature play and universal design. This 90-minute study tour will be split into two 45-minute experiences. As one group investigates the outdoor spaces to explore ways that gardens and outdoor play can be used for rich educational experiences, the other group will examine how museums can foster active play for children of all abilities. Attendees will learn about designing spaces with playground safety standards in mind, while encouraging children to become smart appraisers of risk. The tour will also showcase ways to go beyond ADA compliance to create spaces that welcome children with sensory and self-regulation challenges. Wrapping up with a discussion of available resources, the tour will offer insights into how we can all work to improve accessibility and support all kids' connection to nature.
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  •   Thursday, May 16, 2024, 1:00 PM - Thursday, May 16, 2024, 3:00 PM (CST)

    Study Tour C. Step Outside at Aldo Nature Center

    Description:

    Thursday, May 16, 2024, 1:00 p.m.-3:15p.m.  Tickets are required. Transportation is included. 

    Step outside and explore the hands-on environmental education programs that the Aldo Leopold Nature Center offers to young children and families. Through outdoor childcare programs, they are leading the way to educate the next generation of stewards of the land for a healthy, happy, and sustainable future. Tour their wetland, woodland, and prairie trails to learn how climate change affects native Wisconsin species and how the center offers opportunities for children to build empathy and connect with nature.

    Center staff will share how The Aldo Leopold Nature Preschool—designed for children ages 3 to 5—is integrated into the center, with a mission to engage current and future generations, empowering them to respect, protect, and enjoy the natural world. The preschool provides outdoor and indoor environments rich in interactive materials, literature, and open-ended play time, which encourage wonder, discovery, and the opportunity to see the results of one’s actions.
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  •   Thursday, May 16, 2024, 6:30 PM - Thursday, May 16, 2024, 9:30 PM (CST)

    An Evening at Madison Children's Museum - Registrant Ticket

    Description:

    Thursday, May 16, 2024, 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Pre-registration in required. Tickets are $50. The Madison Children's Museum is about a 10 minute walk from either hotel and Monona Terrace. Transportation is NOT provided but please see an ACM Staff member if you need accessible transportation.

    Madison Children's Museum volunteers, staff, and board invite you for an evening of modern Madisonian delights fueled by a brandy old fashioned—our official state cocktail. 

    Gather outside the Hilton and in front of Monona Terrace at 6:15 p.m., where Forward! Marching Band will lead guests to the museum. Enjoy local food and iconic cocktails, mocktails, and local beers throughout the museum. Unleash your inner toddler in the Wildernest, our early childhood space: don a chipmunk vest, slide down a hollow log, and send a flag to a friend on a high-flying clothesline. On the second floor, visit the Art Studio to make a souvenir to take home, scale the Hodge Podge Mahal climber, and explore the wild inside in our newest exhibit. Head up to the Rooftop Ramble to amble through the garden, take in spectacular views, and meet the resident chickens. Head out to the Wonderground to enjoy live local music while you clamber on the Thicket Climber, shimmy in our Giant Bucket, and explore our 1830s Log Cabin.

    Make it a green evening with special activities including screen printing upcycled t-shirts and tote bags, touring our Trash Lab mobile exhibit, sampling edible insect treats, and cheering on all-star teams of exhibit fabricators as they repurpose treasures from MCM’s storage to compete in the ultimate re-fab prototype challenge. 

    After the party, let the State Capitol light your way back to your hotel, or take advantage of local nightlife within walking distance around the Capitol Square.
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  •   Thursday, May 16, 2024, 6:30 PM - Thursday, May 16, 2024, 9:30 PM (CST)

    An Evening at Madison Children's Museum - Guest Ticket

    Description:

    Ticket is for a Guest of the Registrant

    Thursday, May 16, 2024, 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Pre-registration in required. Tickets are $50. The Madison Children's Museum is about a 10 minute walk from either hotel and Monona Terrace. Transportation is NOT provided but please see an ACM Staff member if you need accessible transportation.

    Madison Children's Museum volunteers, staff, and board invite you for an evening of modern Madisonian delights fueled by a brandy old fashioned—our official state cocktail. 

    Gather outside the Hilton and in front of Monona Terrace at 6:15 p.m., where Forward! Marching Band will lead guests to the museum. Enjoy local food and iconic cocktails, mocktails, and local beers throughout the museum. Unleash your inner toddler in the Wildernest, our early childhood space: don a chipmunk vest, slide down a hollow log, and send a flag to a friend on a high-flying clothesline. On the second floor, visit the Art Studio to make a souvenir to take home, scale the Hodge Podge Mahal climber, and explore the wild inside in our newest exhibit. Head up to the Rooftop Ramble to amble through the garden, take in spectacular views, and meet the resident chickens. Head out to the Wonderground to enjoy live local music while you clamber on the Thicket Climber, shimmy in our Giant Bucket, and explore our 1830s Log Cabin.

    Make it a green evening with special activities including screen printing upcycled t-shirts and tote bags, touring our Trash Lab mobile exhibit, sampling edible insect treats, and cheering on all-star teams of exhibit fabricators as they repurpose treasures from MCM’s storage to compete in the ultimate re-fab prototype challenge. 

    After the party, let the State Capitol light your way back to your hotel, or take advantage of local nightlife within walking distance around the Capitol Square.
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  • Friday, May 17, 2024

  •   Friday, May 17, 2024, 10:15 AM - Friday, May 17, 2024, 12:15 PM (CST)

    Study Tour D. Center for Healthy Minds at University of Wisconsin-Madison

    Description:

    Friday, May 17,  2024, 10:15 a.m.-12:15p.m. Tickets are required. Transportation is included. 

    At the heart of the city of Madison is the beautiful, sprawling campus of a world class university.  Among University of Wisconsin-Madison's various endeavors is the Center for Healthy Minds, founded by world renowned neuroscientist Dr. Richard J. Davidson. The Center for Healthy Minds envisions a kinder, wiser, more compassionate world; their mission is to cultivate well-being and relieve suffering through a scientific understanding of the mind.

    Learn how incorporating the concepts of kindness, compassion, gratitude, and other important social-emotional skills in the daily lives of children will build resilience and well-being into adulthood. Explore how the takeaway concepts from the Kindness Curriculum can be applied in your museum in a hands-on way to allow children to flourish.  The Kindness Curriculum maps directly to improvements in cognitive and social-emotional well-being going forward. When children are taught to recognize and care for their own emotions, they are also more likely to connect and empathize with the emotions of their family members, friends, and teachers, and to learn how to care for their community, environment, and world.
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  •   Friday, May 17, 2024, 12:45 PM - Friday, May 17, 2024, 2:45 PM (CST)

    Study Tour E. Madison Children’s Museum: Sustainability for All

    Description:

    Friday, May 16, 2024, 12:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Madison Children's Museum is about a 10 minute walk from Monona Terrace. Lunch and transportation are NOT provided. Please see an ACM staff member at registration if you need accessible transportation.

    Madison Children’s Museum staff lead this sustainability study tour that highlights green exhibits, programs, and museum-wide sustainability initiatives. Madison Children’s Museum became the first LEED Gold certified (existing building category) museum in the state of Wisconsin in 2014. MCM models replicable best practices in a green building using local, reclaimed, recycled, natural, non-toxic, and organic materials. The health of visitors, the community, and the environment is at the forefront of MCM’s sustainability commitment. We will explore how to connect with our communities through strategic partnerships and help them flourish by improving health and well-being. The tour is designed to spread knowledge of sustainable practices through ideas that can help museums become greener, one step at a time.
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