The Children’s Discovery Museum received grants totaling $288,500 to expand its early childhood STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) outreach programming, including a prestigious $250,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
State Farm Insurance awarded the museum a $20,000 grant to support its Innovation Institute after-school program at UNITY Community Center.
A $15,000 Grow Up Great grant from the PNC Foundation also allows the museum to continue early childhood education programming PNC has been funding for nearly a decade.
Grants from Nicor Gas and the Enterprise Holdings Foundation also contribute to early childhood education efforts.
“These grants represent a significant increase in our reach and impact, allowing us to expand our program and serve twice as many classrooms annually,” says Beth Whisman, executive director for the Children’s Discovery Museum.
The grants contribute to a town-wide total of more than $4.2 million in grant dollars awarded to the Town of Normal in 2022, including funding for infrastructure improvements, safety programming and quality of life enhancements. Click here to read more.