Explore & More’s Membership Coordinator Dan Walsh, Director of Marketing Jeannine Weber Kahabka, Manager of Interpretive Programs Amelia Blake and Floor Manager Danielle Gmerek checked out the exhibits at the Strong National Museum of Play on a rare “adults only” Night of Play. They were guests of the Museum Association of New York’s annual conference held in Rochester this year. We would like to point out that most of the other MANY museum representatives played calmly on the pinball games in the arcade while Explore & More staff had rice wars, got stuck in slides, had dance offs, jumped rope, weighed eggs, rode a Big Wheel, sat in a space ship, operated a helicopter, held a puppet show and ate more cookies and macaroni and cheese than anyone.
Join us each day this week for a week full of worldly fun with your little one! This spring break, we’ll be traveling around the globe daily from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. with crafts, activities and more that will keep your little explorers laughing and learning each day. On Monday, we welcome the Seneca Nation for a Haudenosaunee Day of Sharing with dance, pottery and weaving activities. On Tuesday we celebrate Puerto Rico with a music performance, maraca painting and a rainforest frog activity with the Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York Inc. On Wednesday we will enjoy a lion dance with the Red Dragon School of Martial Arts, a spin drum making activity and a dragon puppets workshop. On Thursday we will learn more about Myanmar (Burma) with a candle performance, padauk flower and thanaka face painting, a straw painting activity and a weaving demonstration with the Karen Society of Buffalo. Then on Friday we welcome the Arab American Language Students at ACCESS of WNY as we learn about Yemen with a dance performance, candle holders, spice scents, language activities and henna art projects. This Spring Break Week is free with membership thanks to our generous donors at the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and the Charles D. and Mary A. Bauer Foundation. Even without a membership, all activities are included with a paid general admission of $7 per person for anyone over the age of 1.
Explore & More Children’s Museum was proud to accept an incredible grant of $120,000 from the Buffalo & Erie County Greenway Standing Committee comprised of Erie County, NY, The City of Buffalo, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy and the New York Power Authority. This gift will not only directly support our Moving Water exhibit in our new Museum at Canalside in Buffalo, but will also be generously matched dollar-for-dollar through the recently awarded Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation challenge grant. We are so humbled to be a part of such a community of kindness and excited for all of the work – and play – to come!
We were delighted to have New York State Senator Charles Schumer come to our construction site at Canalside to announce he is leading the charge to push for a phenomenal $35 million tax credit which could yield $7-$8 million in grant funds back to the museum. The competition is fierce for these national community development fund tax credits, the recipients of which won’t be announced until July. These funds are not yet secured. While portions of the grant, if awarded, could potentially be applied toward a segment of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. matching challenge grant, Explore & More still has a significant way to go toward raising the $7 million still needed to complete the construction of our new state-of-the-art family friendly facility in the heart of Buffalo. If you or your business would like to make a donation or attend one of our upcoming fundraiser events, please contact Janine Tramont at [email protected].
On the sweetest Valentine’s Day we’ve ever had, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation made a sweetheart of a deal – announcing a matching $6 million challenge grant to Explore & More Children’s Museum if the museum can raise $6 million on our own. We gratefully accept that challenge! Half of the grant funds will go toward construction of the new museum, while the other half will establish an endowment. In order to preserve name recognition while honoring the tremendous commitment to the Western New York community of the foundation’s namesake, the new museum at Canalside will be named Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’s Museum. We could not be more honored or thrilled! Thank you to the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation for this extraordinary gift to the children and families of Western New York and beyond! If you or your business would like to make a matchable donation, click here.
