Chicago Children's Museum

Chicago Children's Museum
Chicago, IL

CCM main page | exhibit images 1 2 | Go kids | Skyline | Standards of Excellence Study

Initially hired to develop the master plan and new visitor experiences for an expanded and renovated facility at Navy Pier, Gyroscope is now working with the Chicago Children’s Museum to create a new landmark facility adjacent to Millennium Park.

Gyroscope developed a conceptual framework titled Kids Reinvent Chicago that established the approach to all visitor experiences. This framework encourages visitors to contribute to and shape the physical museum environment and to create a sense of place. The goal of the conceptual framework was to put kids in charge, connect the program to the site and to implement the findings from the Standards of Excellence study.

As part of this work, Gyroscope organized and led a two-year study into promising practices in early childhood informal education. Our partners in this study were Chicago Children’s Museum, Civitas, and the Erikson Institute, a leading graduate school in child development.

Gyroscope analyzed the findings and wrote the final report titled Standards of Excellence in Early Learning: A Model for the Chicago Children’s Museum. The Association of Children’s Museums published the report, and the team presented the key findings at the 2005 annual conference in Indianapolis.

Gyroscope's staff has been working closely with Gigi Pritzker Pucker, Board Chair; Peter England, President and CEO; Jennifer Farrington, COO, and Louise Belmont-Skinner, Vice President, Exhibits, at the Chicago Children's Museum.

Read a quote from Louise Belmont-Skinner, VP of Exhibits, Chicago Childrens Museum

Scheduled completion: 2010