The Children’s Museum of Bozeman is having a rough time. Despite record attendance (over 27,000 visitors in 2007), grant funds have not kept pace with expenses and they are looking for the community to match the $35,000 that the dedicated board and staff has already raised this year. Your memberships and donations are crucial to keeping the Museum open for families.

Look inside the Children's Museum of Bozeman, here’s what you’ll see. You'll see babies and toddlers experimenting with stacking and pouring, building and tearing down. You’ll see boys and girls building a log cabin, rowing off in a wooden boat, or examining the mysterious world that is their fingernails with a high-powered microscope. Another look will reveal moms, dads, and caregivers sharing ideas, making connections, and even having a laugh about the challenges of raising kids.

The After-School Program and Summer Camps give young schoolchildren a place to go after school and in the summer while their parents are working. This is not only a benefit to the children and their parents, but to the business community as well. Employees whose children are safe and busy can concentrate on the job at hand.

Leading the way, the Children’s Museum has forged great partnerships with MOSS, Equinox Theatre, the Library and other community groups that have benefited the community. The recent TV-Turnoff Week is a wonderful example of what partnerships can achieve. And they give back to the community with Free Friday Night (every Friday), community event participation and scholarships. They do all of this with a small-in-numbers, big-at-heart, creative staff, dedicated Board members, and enthusiastic volunteers.

You might have read about the financial difficulties at the Children’s Museum, please send your donation today to support this wonderful organization and ask your employer to match your gift. Do it now. We did.

Penny Murray