Children’s Museum of La Crosse 207 5^th Ave. S., La Crosse

608-784-2652        www.funmuseum.org

NEWS RELEASE

For more information contact Anne Snow                                 608-784-2652 ext.223 or Anne@funmuseum.org

For immediate release: August 30, 2011

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF LA CROSSE

NAMED AS ONE OF SEVEN HEALTHIEST PLACES
TO PLAY AND LEARN IN U.S.

 — Association of Children’s Museums Designates Good to Grow! Museums —

Washington, D.C. — There is nothing funny about the rise in childhood obesity and other health concerns facing families today. But there are fun ways to address some of the basic issues that contribute to children’s health.

The Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) has recognized the following seven museums as Good to Grow! museums for making significant strides to promote health and wellness to children and families in their communities:

1. Creative Discovery Museum (Chattanooga, TN)
2. Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert (Rancho Mirage, CA)
3. The Children's Museum of the Brazos Valley (Bryan, TX)
4. Discovery Center Museum (Rockford, IL)
5. Port Discovery Children's Museum (Baltimore, MD)
6. Discovery Gateway Children's Museum (Salt Lake City, UT)
7. Children's Museum of La Crosse (WI)

“These seven children’s museums put their institutions’ ability to advance children’s health through play and learning to the test,” said Janet Rice Elman, ACM Executive Director. “ACM’s Good to Grow! Museum program not only allows a museum to evaluate its health programming but encourages more museums to think how they can engage children, families and the community to make healthy choices. The Children’s Museum of La Crosse is the first in Wisconsin to earn the Good to Grow! Museum designation. Currently, there are 250 active ACM member museums, which means the Children’s Museum of La Crosse is in the upper 2 percent of the industry when it comes to ensuring its programming and operations are supporting and promoting healthy children.”

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To receive Good to Grow! Museum ranking, each of the seven children’s museums successfully completed a four-month institutional review and met the following criteria.

·      Emphasizes the importance to eat good foods, increase physical activity, reduce screen time and connect with the outdoors.

·      Actively works with community partners on children’s health and wellness issues.

·      Deliberately incorporates health and wellness into all aspects of its organizational planning and practices.

Some of the initiatives that helped the Children’s Museum of La Crosse earn Good to Grow! designation include adding active exhibits, like NEOS, Whoosh, the Dino Revolution maze, and programs and events, like Wee Move and the Big Muddy Run; encouraging physical activity and healthy habits via signage and other communication in and out of the Museum; and partnering with other local, regional and national organizations and initiatives, like First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Museums and La Crosse County’s Get Active campaign.

About Good to Grow!  www.GoodtoGrow.org

Good to Grow! is a leadership initiative of ACM that aims to improve the health and wellness of children and families by positioning and supporting children’s museums as community leaders in promoting healthy choices through play. In 2007, ACM received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to create an assessment tool and recognition program that helps a museums grow into a trusted health resource. The Good to Grow! Museum designation is awarded to those museums that have made significant investments toward supporting healthy families through exhibits, programs, partnerships and management practices.

About the Association of Children’s Museums  www.ChildrensMuseums.org

ACM is a professional service organization for children’s museums around the world. Founded in 1962 as a support group for directors of children’s museums in the United States, ACM’s mission is to build the capacity of children’s museums to serve as town squares where play inspires creativity and lifelong learning. Over the last 15 years, the number of children’s museums in the United States has grown by 100 percent. Nearly 30 million children and families annually visit children’s museums.

About the Children’s Museum of La Crosse  www.funmuseum.org

The Children’s Museum of La Crosse, located at 207 5^th Avenue South in historic downtown La Crosse, offers three floors of hands-on exhibits and programming for children ages 1-12 and their adult companions.  Regular hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm, Sunday Noon to 5 pm. Regular admission:  $6 per person / $5 per person on Sundays (infants and members free). The Children's Museum opened on February 28, 1999. 

About Get Active  www.getactivewisconsin.org/lacrosse/

The La Crosse County Health Department recently announced the "Get Active: Cause. Community Change." campaign to help build a stronger, healthier community. Get Active starts by giving our community knowledge... information that will help us think about what and where we eat, how we get to work and school, and how we live, work and play. It will help us think about how we can improve the place that we live so healthy choices are easier. Get Active is about creating a better tomorrow for our children and their children. 

About Let’s Move www.letsmove.gov/

Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by First Lady Michelle Obama, dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams. Working with parents, caregivers, schools, public officials, and communities, Let’s Move! is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years.  For more information,