Regional Networks help museum staff across the United States develop the skills and knowledge they need to design and implement successful youth programs. The Networks are aligned with the overall mission and goals that guided YouthALIVE! (Youth Achievement through Learning, Involvement, Volunteering, and Employment), an initiative of ASTC and the DeWitt-Wallace Reader’s Digest Fund from 1991-2001. The initiative’s national professional development network was a critical vehicle to meeting the goals of increasing the capacity of science centers and museums to develop programs for and with adolescents, and of enhancing the ability of museum staff to work with youth.

In 2000, the national network was replaced by autonomous regional networks. In addition to sharing best practices and seeking sources of collaborative funding, the Regional Networks provide professional development in the areas of youth-program design and implementation, staff training, community partnerships, adolescent development, and diversity. Each network has its own officers, bylaws, and schedule for meetings and events. When funding permits, network activities include peer mentoring and cross-site visits, summer youth leadership summits, and annual one- to three-day meetings held at museums in the region.

Membership in the YouthALIVE! Regional Networks is open to any museum or science center currently running—or thinking of starting—a youth program.

Additionally, any interested museum professional is invited to participate in the Youth Programs Special Interest Group, which meets at the ASTC Annual Conference.

Mid-Atlantic YouthALIVE! Regional Network (MAYA!)
Cheronda Frazier, Chairperson
New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences
1 Riverside Drive
Camden, NJ 08103
856/361-1019
e-mail: cfrazier@njaas.org

Member list

Midwest YouthALIVE! Regional Network
Jane Finkenbine, Co-chair
Racine Family YMCA
725 Lake Avenue
Racine, WI 53403
262/634-1994 x 253
e-mail: jfinkenbine@wi.rr.com

Diane Miller, Co-chair
St. Louis Science Center
5050 Oakland Avenue
Saint Louis, MO 63110
314/533-8784
e-mail: dmiller@slsc.org

Member list

Western YouthALIVE! Regional Network
c/o Darlene Librero, Co-Chair
Exploratorium
3601 Lyon Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
415/561-0342
e-mail: darlenel@exploratorium.edu
More info: http://www.exploratorium.edu/programs/explainer/weya.html

Lisa Hoover, Co-Chair
Chabot Space & Science Center
10000 Skyline Boulevard
Oakland, CA 94619
510/336-7300 x7329
e-mail: lhoover@cosc.org

Member list

Northeast YouthALIVE! Regional Network
Undergoing restructuring.

YouthALIVE! Regional Network Member Museums

Mid-Atlantic YouthALIVE! Regional Network (MAYA!)
Academy of Natural Sciences
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Franklin Institute
Philadelphia,Pennsylvania

Museum of Science
Boston, Massachusetts

National Aquarium in Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland

New England Aquarium
Boston, Massachusetts

New Jersey Academy for Aquatic Sciences
Camden, New Jersey

Newark Museum
Newark, New Jersey

Pacific Science Center
Seattle, Washington

Philadelphia Zoo
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Children’s Museum
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Midwest YouthALIVE! Regional Network
Durham Science Discovery Center
Omaha, Nebraska

Brookfield Zoo
Brookfield, Illinois

Saint Louis Science Center
Saint Louis, Missouri

Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati, Ohio

Science Museum of Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Chicago Botanic Garden
Glencoe, Illinois

Imagination Station
Toledo, Ohio

Cranbrook Institute of Science
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Henry Ford and Greenfield Village
Dearborn, Michigan

Minnesota Children’s Museum
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Museum of Science and Industry
Chicago, Illinois

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Chicago, Illinois

Racine Family YMCA
Racine, Wisconsin

Southeast YouthALIVE! Regional Network
Adventure Science Center
Nashville, Tennessee

Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
New Orleans, Louisiana

Audubon Zoo
New Orleans, Louisiana

Brevard Zoo
Melbourne, Florida

Catawba Science Center
Hickory, North Carolina

Chattahoochee Nature Center
Roswell, Georgia

Children’s Museum of Iredell County
Statesville, North Carolina

Children’s Museum of South Carolina
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Discovery Place
Charlotte, North Carolina

Friends of the NC Maritime Museum
Beaufort, North Carolina

I.G.F.A. Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum
Dania Beach, Florida

Louisiana Art and Science Museum
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Lowry Park Zoo
Tampa, Florida

Miami Museum of Science Miami, Florida

Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)
Tampa, Florida

Museum of Life and Science
Durham, North Carolina

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Raleigh, North Carolina

Orlando Science Center
Orlando, Florida

Riverbanks Zoo
Columbia, South Carolina

South Carolina Aquarium
Charleston, South Carolina

South Carolina State Museum
Columbia, South Carolina

Wilmington Children’s Museum
Wilmington, North Carolina

Western YouthALIVE! Regional Network
California Academy of Science
San Francisco, California

Chabot Space and Science Center
Oakland, California

Explora Science Center
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Exploratorium
San Francisco, California

Headlands Institute
Sausalito, California

Lawrence Hall of Science
Berkeley, California

Lied Discovery Center
Las Vegas, Nevada

San Francisco Zoo
San Francisco, California

Marine Mammal Center
San Francisco, California

Zeum
San Francisco, California