You’re invited to Children’s Museum gala

We are fortunate to live in a city that can boast of many fine museums. Not just in Santa Fe, but across the country, museums are essential to our educational infrastructure, investing more than $2 billion annually in educational programs for people of all ages. For parents who home-school, museums and particularly children’s museums are often, quite literally, the classroom.

The primary focus of a children’s museum is to provide children and families with a safe place to play, discover the joy of learning and cultivate habits of inquiry. Children’s museums specialize in threedimensional experiential learning. With a focus on experiences rather than objects, difficult concepts can become easily comprehensible once experienced firsthand, in real time, at a museum.

Without being completely aware of their impact, children’s museums have had a major influence on museums at large. When children have positive play experiences in a museum, they are more likely to visit other types of museums as adults. This pattern creates a cycle for a love of learning and a search for stimulating experiences. For our city blessed with the riches of many museums, this pattern seems to indicate that we should pay special attention to the success of the Santa Fe Children’s Museum.

The Children’s Museum welcomes approximately 50,000 visitors yearly. Many are local, while others are tourists who travel to Santa Fe to experience our city’s culture. A study by Mandala Research found that cultural tourists to cities stay longer and spend 60 percent more than other tourists. They spend those dollars in local restaurants, hotels, shops and museums, creating jobs and helping local businesses thrive. It’s no surprise that many of these cultural tourists come with children or grandchildren in tow — yet another reason to promote the museum.

I was fortunate to become a full-time resident of Santa Fe recently and equally fortunate to become involved as a trustee in the revitalization of the Santa Fe Children’s Museum. This museum is a priceless asset to our local community as well as to our cultural tourists. The museum is a 501(c)(3) institution that receives no state or federal funds with the exception of a Santa Fe City Arts grant for programming and advertising and a small grant from New Mexico Arts. It is imperative that we understand the museum’s importance, not only as a place for children in Santa Fe but also as a way to ensure the continued success of our other fine museums. This success in turn contributes to the success of our city. It’s part of a very positive cycle for Santa Fe.

The Santa Fe Children’s Museum and the New Mexico Children’s Foundation, two of the leading organizations whose work benefits New Mexico’s children, will come together at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 14 for our first annual gala, Starry Starry Night. We invite you to take this opportunity to partner with these two vital organizations that have been committed to New Mexico’s children for more than 25 years. Your attendance will provide funds to boost the educational programs at the Santa Fe Children’s Museum and support the yearly grants given to children’s organizations statewide by the New Mexico Children’s Foundation. The party begins under the stars at the Children’s Museum with a live and silent auction, dinner, dancing, music and more.

Please join us to celebrate and help our children. If you can’t attend this year, please consider making a donation to support both of these fine organizations.Tickets are available online at bit.ly/starrytickets.

Debby Ray lives in Santa Fe and is a trustee at the Santa Fe Children’s Museum.