The Virgin Islands Children’s Museum on St. Thomas is designed to hold the attention of kids. Children can experiment with changing the flow of water over a table, make art with electric lights, and climb around a large play structure. They can learn about geology and volcanoes by holding beautiful rocks in their hands.
The goal of the museum is to be “an interactive educational space where dynamic play inspires a love of learning.”
“We want children to build confidence through problem solving. This is a safe place to play, where we minimize screen time and buttons,” said Children’s Museum Executive Director Sarah Hughes.
The museum offers Saturday morning book reading. They also partner with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which will send one book per from birth to the age of five for any child who signs up.
For 2019, Hughes says the museum goal is to provide “one hundred free classroom field trips, which will benefit 2,500 students.”
Fundraising is ongoing with corporate sponsors, foundations, Economic Development Corporations (EDCs), Grants, and individuals.
“The EDC program has been very beneficial for us. That infusion of cash into the territory for non-profits made a difference in what we were able to create, and to see this vision through.”
The third annual Children’s Museum Masquerade Ball raised $74,000. A new 3D printing display with recycled plastic manufactured into forms by kids on computers is in the works.
The massive indoor playground is sponsored by the Discovery Fund. The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands is also an appreciated donor, Hughes said.
The museum’s original home was severely damaged by 2017’s twin hurricanes, and in March the move to a new home was completed. The smooth transition to a new location was aided by good hurricane preparation resulting in a quick insurance check. Museum staff had photographed all of the exhibits before the storms, and then after they had been gathered, tied, and covered. “Insurance covered $55,000 of $101,000 in moving expenses,” said Hughes.
Two months after the storm, the Children’s Museum received good news: “This is to advise that FEMA has approved your Request for Public Assistance application eligible.”
After multiple transfers between FEMA contacts and constant invitations to contact FEMA, Hughes finally requested in writing that FEMA stop contacting her and wasting staff time. No FEMA money was ever received by the Virgin Islands Children’s Museum.
According to information provided by Hughes, the museum receives about 70 percent of its operations through charitable giving.
In designing engaging exhibits, the challenge for parents and educators is the “short attention span of young kids,” Hughes said. “Children’s museums offer so many things that engage young minds and hands.”
The Virgin Island’s Children’s Museum started as a brainstorm. Co-Founders Hughes and Sarah Erickson worked together at a coffee shop and began planning the institute, and in the intervening years have created a world-class museum. They opened doors at their original location in the Grand Hotel three years ago.
Hughes left St. Thomas for a few years to help her sister with young children in Asheville, North Carolina. The children’s museum there was a life saver, and took her back to her fond personal memories of the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, the largest on Earth.
After the initial challenges of opening a museum on St. Thomas in 2016, the focus for 2017 was “on the core mission and plan. And then came the hurricanes.”
The new location across from Havensight has tripled the percentage of cruise ship visitors making up the museum’s visitors, from five percent to 15 percent. But local children are still the lifeblood of the museum.
There is always a need for volunteers, whether financial donors, Saturday morning readers or board-level professionals.
Hughes looks forward 2019.
“It’s going to be a good year!” she said.
