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Cohort 2 Application: Nurturing Numeracy Skills & Math Literacy Through Children's Museums

Information:

The impact of early math literacy is crucial for supporting children's development and setting them up
for a bright future. By starting early, making math fun, and including parents/caregivers—all areas in
which children’s museums excel—we can create a world where everyone feels support and confidence in their
abilities to do math.

The Association of Children's Museums (ACM) is excited to continue our partnership with the Simons Foundation on Nurturing Numeracy Skills
& Math Literacy in Children’s Museums as part of their Infinite Sums initiative to engage and support a cohort of smaller children’s museums
to develop ideas, strategies, programs, and activities.
The Nurturing Numeracy Skills & Math Literacy in Children’s Museums cohort will convene a diverse
group of smaller museum professionals for collaborative learning, idea generation, and engagement.
ACM will be a strategic thought partner to the Foundation and the participating museums, working to support the museums as they create programs and activities which will advance numeracy skills and math literacy in children, and math confidence in children and parents/caregivers.

ACM will support a cohort of 25 smaller museums (ACM member museums at Levels 1-3, having annual operating budgets of $1 million or less) starting in July 2026. Cohort museums will:
• identify specific parent/caregiver group(s) in their community and then conduct learning and listening sessions to better
understand the needs of this audience related to supporting their child’s math literacy;
• participate in an active community of practice to network and share information and ideas
which includes monthly virtual meetings and in-person gatherings and sessions and workshops at InterActivity in 2027 and 2028;
• develop and pilot initial programs, experiences, activities, and/or event ideas that are not centered on exhibitions;
• create methods and/or resources for reaching and supporting parents/caregivers;
• participate in sharing the work of the cohort via webinars, conference sessions at InterActivity, and the curation of digital resources for the field.

Accepted applicants will receive a stipend of $15,000 to cover the expenses of participation in this program, including attending InterActivity in 2027 & 2028.

More details on the Project, eligibility, requirements for participating museums, and benefits of
participating can be found HERE.
The application period is open until May 14, 2026. Application review will take place through
June, with decisions and notifications going out the week of June 15, 2026.

This opportunity is for US-based museums only.

Questions? Contact Savita Madan at Savita.Madan@childrensmuseums.org
This project was made possible by funding from the Simons Foundation and Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation.
1.Museum Name(Required.)
2.Location - City(Required.)
3.Location - State(Required.)
4.Please share the URL for your museum's website:(Required.)
5.Are you a member of the Association of Children's Museums?(Required.)
6.Is your institution registered as a 501(c)(3)?(Required.)
7.Applicant Name(Required.)
8.Title(Required.)
9.Email(Required.)
10.Are you authorized to sign contracts for your museum? If not, please share the name, title and email for your museum's signing authority.(Required.)
If accepted into this cohort, each museum will need to dedicate a lead staff person (Project Lead) to manage the project for their institution.
In addition to managing and coordinating your museum's work on the project, the Project Lead will be expected to attend Virtual Kick-Off/Orientation/Training Meetings (July-September '26), monthly virtual cohort meetings (1hr sessions) beginning in November '26, and InterActivity in 2027 & 2028.
Please note that there is a possibility of a Fall in-person meeting in 2026, but this is not yet confirmed.
Please keep these required activities in mind as you answer the following questions.
11.Do you feel that a Project Lead from your museum can commit to participating in all of the required activities, including a Fall in-person meeting if one is scheduled?(Required.)
12.If accepted, will you be the Project Lead for your museum?(Required.)
13.If you answered 'NO' or 'Unsure' to the previous question, please tell us who would most likely serve as Project Lead if your museum's application is accepted.
Please include as much information as possible (their name, role, email, helpful context, etc.). If you answered 'YES', please answer 'N/A'.(Required.)
14.In addition to the identified Project Lead, is there another team member who will be responsible for this project, in the case that the primary Project Lead is unable to complete the project timeline for any reason?
Please respond 'Yes' or 'No' and include the alternate's Name, Email, and Role if possible. (Required.)
15.Which of these options best describes where your museum is located?(Required.)
16.Please describe the demographic composition of the guests your museum serves as accurately as possible.(Required.)
17.What was your museum's annual visitation for the most recent fiscal year?(Required.)
18.What was your museum's annual operating budget for the most recent fiscal year?(Required.)
19.How many staff does your museum have? Please list the number of Full Time, number of Part Time, and number of volunteers/interns separately in the comment box.(Required.)
20.Does your museum participate in Museums For All?(Required.)
21.If you participate in Museums For All and/or other financial access programs, please share the link to information about the access program, ideally one that is on your museum’s website.

If you do not participate in a financial access program, please put "N/A" in the comment box.(Required.)