California Museum of Science and Industry
700 State DriveLos AngelesCA90037
213-744-7444213-744-2052

Program: Avalon Gardens Curators Kids Club Year Started: 1993 Focus: Visual Arts Youth Served: 45 Ages: 10-13 Budget: $55,000 When Diane Miller, director of outreach at the California Museum of Science and Industry, identified a grant program to support science education for at-risk students, she turned to her own experience as someone who grew up in an impoverished inner-city community. Miller talked to a lot of people, put together an advisory board and focused on programs she would have liked as a child. Working with the Avalon Gardens public housing community, she designed a 3-year pilot program through which youth could learn about persistence and self-motivation while exploring physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology. The second year of the program, sensing children's uncertainty about their creativity, Miller brought in photographers, printmakers, jewelers and mask-makers to oversee afternoon arts projects. Participants take at least one field trip each week, which combines science and the arts. At the program's conclusion, youth curate a presentation for family and friends. In the following year, participants serve as mentors to new participants whom they have personally recruited.