Schlitz Audubon Nature Center Awarded Prestigious Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services 8-10-2010

For Immediate Release
August 10, 2010

Schlitz Audubon Nature Center   Contact:
Elizabeth Cheek
(414) 352-2880 ext 146
echeek@sanc.org

IMLS Contact:
Jeannine Mjoseth,
202-653-4632 or jmjoseth@imls.govlitz

Schlitz Audubon Nature Center Awarded Prestigious Grant
from the Institute of Museum and Library Services
Milwaukee, WI- Thanks to a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (SANC) will undertake an important research project to evaluate the effectiveness of their early childhood nature education program. In their eighth year of operation, SANC’s preschool was one of the first such programs developed in the U.S. The project will evaluate how nature preschool experiences contribute to children’s physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development as well as help foster an interest in nature. The findings from the study will be disseminated nationwide to assist other early childhood educators in adopting nature-based programming into their curriculums.

Elizabeth Cheek, SANC’s Executive Director commented “this grant will help us achieve a primary long-term goal of the Center which is to support and participate in research efforts on the effects of connecting young children to the natural world. We’ve witnessed firsthand, over and over, the benefits to children who experience a preschool program based in nature. This study will allow us to go beyond current anecdotal evidence and deliver sound research findings and recommendations for the benefit of our families, funders, community, and the early childhood education profession.”

According to Marsha L. Semmel, acting director of IMLS, “this year’s Museums for America (MFA) grant recipients are truly an exciting and diverse group of museums, representing the remarkable ways that large and small institutions are serving communities. Funded projects support digitization and collections management plans, enhanced accessibility, environmental literacy, and much more”.

MFA is the Institute’s largest grant program for museums, providing more than $19 million in grants to support the role of museums in American society to sustain cultural heritage, to support lifelong learning; and to be centers of community engagement. MFA grants strengthen a museum’s ability to serve the public more effectively by supporting high-priority activities that advance the institution’s mission and strategic goals.

IMLS reviewed 510 proposals and made 178 awards of funding of which SANC was one of the recipients. The collective amount awarded to the 178 recipients was $19.5 million and the collective recipients match was $34 million.

IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.

Schlitz Audubon Nature Center is a non-profit, locally supported organization dedicated to connecting people with nature and inspiring them to become responsible stewards of the natural world. The Center is open to the public seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To learn more about the Center, please visit www.sanc.org.