THE MISSISSIPPI CHILDREN’S MUSEUM TO PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL CELEBRATION FOR AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS

Mississippi Children’s Museum (MCM) will join the 23rd annual Lights On Afterschool celebration, a nationwide series of rallies for afterschool organized by the Afterschool Alliance.

The rally, to be held at the Mississippi Children’s Museum at 5:30 pm on October 18, will feature projects from current after school students, as well as a parent/adult session entitled “World of Worry: Shedding Light on Anxiety and Children” presented by Dr. Gabrielle Banks with the Center for the Advancement of Youth. Dinner will be served to all guests beginning at 5:30 p.m. Before and after the rally, afterschool students will participate in a series of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) demonstrations representative of their daily afterschool curriculum.

Millions of Americans have participated in Lights On Afterschool events over the years, and thousands of events are in the works this year.

The events give youth a chance to showcase the skills they learn and talents they develop at their afterschool programs, and to send the message that millions more children and youth need quality afterschool programs. (A growing list of events is available here.) The Afterschool Alliance organizes Lights On Afterschool to underscore the need to invest in afterschool programs, which provide homework help; mentors; healthy snacks and meals; computer programming; opportunities to think critically, collaborate and communicate with peers and adults; job and college readiness; sports and fitness activities; robotics; art, dance and music; and continuous opportunities for hands-on, team-based learning.

MCM’s Launch into Learning afterschool program began in 2020 due to community need for a safe environment for virtual learning during the pandemic. MCM’s staff is committed to providing families with quality childcare during the critical after-school hours. Launch into Learning serves over 100 children each afternoon, providing them with academic enrichment, mentoring and character building, STEAM programming, healthy snacks, and more!

MCM’s Director of Education, Monique Ealey, is one of only 17 afterschool leaders named this year to serve as an Afterschool Ambassador, chosen by the Afterschool Alliance – a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality afterschool programs. To arrange interviews, contact Monique Ealey at 601-709-8970 or monique@mcm.ms.

About the Mississippi Children’s Museum
The Mississippi Children’s Museum (MCM) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission of creating unparalleled experiences to inspire excellence and a lifelong joy of learning in all children. The 53,000-square foot museum is designed around five primary initiatives, with correlating exhibits, programs, and outreach efforts. These initiatives include: Literacy, STEAM, Health and Nutrition, Cultural Arts, and Mississippi Heritage – the keys to helping our children mature into healthy and productive adult learners. In response to community needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MCM shifted operating and programming priorities to best serve Mississippi’s children and combat learning loss through facilitating virtual schooling and creating online educational enrichment – services that continue today through a robust, daily afterschool program and an online platform for teacher professional development.

In 2021, MCM celebrated a monumental year by receiving an Institute of Museum and Library Services National Medal, the nation’s highest honor for museums, and through opening its first satellite museum, MCM-Meridian, which received the 2021 Governor’s Award for Travel Attraction of the Year. To learn more about MCM visit www.mschildrensmuseum.org.

About The Afterschool Alliance
The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality afterschool programs. More information is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.