Youth Program Networks
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
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
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
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