Kids at Heart: Millennial Engagement in Children's Museums

Brief overview of this Workshop: Kids at Heart will present tools for children's museums looking to create engagement programs for Millennials. Many Millennials are becoming parents themselves, however, a large portion of the population is often overlooked by children's museums. With the largest transfer of wealth in history nearing, it is crucial to engage this population to ensure long-term sustainability. The session will be based on the launch of a successful pilot program at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and ignite a discussion about turning today's young professionals into tomorrow's major donors and unwavering advocates.

Who are millenials?

-Born between 1980-2000

-75.4 million millenials in the US

- $300 billion annual spending

- Will make up 50% of the workforce by 2020

Misconceptions about millenials

- Generous and cause-focused

- Likely to be involved with more than one cause at once

- Demand transparency and want to see impact

- Consider time, talent and treasure to be equal

- Look for unique experiences that create value

Presenters expressed that millennials look for communications through different channels: social media and other professional groups.

They encourage organizations to invest in the millennials! Think of them as the next generation coming up the new front. Think of them as an audience to cultivate.

Many millennials look to reconnect with what brings them back to their childhood, so this museum focused on how to translate that love and experience from the museum visit from the beginning.

They wanted to connect this generation to their program, so they created the Museum Ambassador Program.
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh Ambassadors: Kids at Heart

AN ORGANIZATION OF PROFESSIONALS, ARTISTS, EDUCATORS AND ENTREPRENEURS, WHO SHARE THEIR TIME AND TALENTS TO SUPPORT THE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF PITTSBURGH. WE ARE AN ALLY OF THE ARTS AND CHILDREN IN OUR COMMUNITY. WE ARE KIDS AT HEART.

- Mini grant started with a pilot program to engage with younger audiences with their cause.

- It provided networking opportunity for young professionals to dive into the field of art, education, and love of children in their community. As of right now, they currently have:

52 members

76% Female

24% Male

Average age: 30

21% Parents

5 couples

The executive leadership team consists of 10 members, and within the 10 members, they created five subcommittees:

- Event planning

- Community Outreach

- Development

- Marketing and Communication

- Social and professional development

Each subcommittee is in charge of certain roles in their organization. They will usually help with putting on exhibit openings and art events, contribute to cultural resources in their community, and all while having fun during the whole process.

To join this team, there is a rate, which can be found at their website here: https://pittsburghkids.org/support/kidsatheart

Their goal is to help young professionals feel connected to a bigger community.

The presenters expressed that their success is found given smaller projects with the group, and to give them something structured so that they feel that they can call a small part of your organization their own.

Although this was a great program, some of the challenges they face include: fluctuating in involvement, lack of diversity, light attendance at meetings, they grew too big too fast, and couldn't maintain that amount of members in their group, and had limited involvement with board and staff.

They mentioned that they are still in the process of improving their organization since it started only a couple years ago, but nonetheless enjoyed having young professionals help out their community for a great cause.

Overall, this was a fun presentation. Christina and I enjoyed some of the interactive exercises they had us do in the beginning of the session, which we would definitely try out with some of our own staff!

-Megan