Children's Museum Autism Program Receives $10K Grant from Liberty Mutual Foundation

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Liberty Mutual Foundation to support innovative programming for families with children diagnosed with autism.Exploring Our Way, the museum’s autism partnership program, is in its fifth year of operation and welcomes hundreds of families each year at no charge. This new grant from the Liberty Mutual Foundation will help underwrite free admission for families as well as expand promotion to maximize the program’s reach and impact.

“We created Exploring Our way to provide a supportive, accessible entry point for children with autism to practice and master the experience of Museum visitation,” explained Paula Rais, Vice President of Development and Community Engagement at the Children’s Museum of NH. “Families are pressed to find appropriate real-life opportunities for their children with autism to learn, practice, and master social skills. Exploring Our Way serves as a safe and gradual way to learn and practice these skills at the Museum, which will ultimately translate into other settings. We greatly appreciate the generosity of the Liberty Mutual Foundation in helping us continue and expand this important program."

The Exploring Our Way program welcomes families with children on the autism spectrum on the second Sunday of each month from 10 am – noon during the school year. A different regional expert is on hand at each session to answer questions and provide resources to families, and the Museum is staffed with specially trained educators and volunteers during this time. No reservations are needed for families to attend.
 
About the Children’s Museum of NH

The not-for-profit Children’s Museum of New Hampshire is located in the center of Dover and strives to ignite children’s creative potential and forge memorable family learning experiences. The Museum offers two floors of hands-on, interactive exhibits where visitors can explore a wide range of interests, from dinosaurs, music and aeronautics to world cultures, art and natural history. Open year-round, the Silver LEED-certified museum works closely with schools, social service agencies and educators. The museum also hosts a variety of live performances, workshops, classes and special events. For more information, please visit www.childrens-museum.org