Glazer Children’s Museum
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The Glazer Children's Museum is located at 110 W Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa, Florida. It is located downtown, next door to the Tampa Museum of Art and Curtis Hixon Park, alongside the Tampa Riverwalk. It is part of the Waterfront Arts District.
The Glazer Children’s Museum promotes learning through hands-on, interactive play. The majority of the Museum’s effort is focused on visitor experience and educational programming. The Museum offers a variety of programs ranging from formal curriculum based classes for visiting schools, to informal workshops for visiting families, to camps and specialized programs.
Based in a 53,000 square foot facility in downtown Tampa, Florida, the Museum has 170 hands-on exhibits in multiple themed areas. Exhibits are designed to engage children in the discovery process through play. Traveling exhibits supplement the Museum’s permanent collection twice throughout the year. These 3-4 month exhibits are meant to create an additional level of engagement for visitors and enhance the guests’ educational experience.
Recent awards to the Museum include:
- 2012 WEDU Be More Award winner for Outstanding Educational Outreach
- 2012 Tampa Downtown Partnership Urban Excellence Award Recipient
- 2012 Tampa Bay Business Journal Arts Culture and Humanities Non-Profit of the Year
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Contents
History
The mission of Glazer Children’s Museum is to create learning environments where children play, discover and connect to the world around them to develop as lifelong learners and leaders.
The Children’s Museum of Tampa, Inc. was founded in 1987 by dedicated community volunteers and with support of many private and public partners. The Children’s Museum of Tampa served children and families in Tampa Bay for over two decades. From humble beginnings in a small storefront location, the Museum provided exhibits that gave children a safe place to learn and play. As the Museum’s popularity grew, more space was needed.
In 1989, with support from the City of Tampa, the Museum moved the location next to the City’s zoo. This site did business under the name Kid City and consisted of a series of outdoor miniature buildings simulating a small town. From 1989 – 2003 Kid City was an ideal space for the Museum to provide curriculum centered on the value of community. Kid City served over 750,000 visitors from the Tampa Bay area and became an important part of the cultural and educational fabric of the Community.
In 2003, Museum volunteers and staff began looking at the next step of expansion to meet the community need. After conducting a feasibility study and gathering input from over 400 people, plans were drawn for a new 53,000 square foot state-of-the-art children’s museum in downtown Tampa’s new Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. After a $22 million capital campaign to build the new building, the Museum opened in September 2010 operating as Glazer Children’s Museum. In its first year of operation, the Museum served 250,000 guests, donated over 25,000 admission tickets to underserved youth populations, and hosted 26,000 children during school field trips and educational programs.
Exhibits
Level 1
KidsPort
One of the museum’s most popular attractions, KidsPort is a huge water table where children can explore activities from navigating through a shipping channel to loading and unloading cargo. Children can imagine themselves as dockworkers or harbor pilots, and can move boats, build bridges and explore the importance of how water moves.
Tug Boat Tots
This exhibit provides tactile exploration in a safe and dedicated space for children under 3 and their caregivers. Children can explore a tug boat, play at fishing, or enjoy a story under a huge oak tree!
Water’s Journey
A 35 foot tall climbing structure designed to educate children about the water cycle. Kids can pretend to be a water droplet making its way through the ecosystem and even encounter bugs and other animals.
Cruise Ship
Kids can pilot their own ship to exotic destinations, and even make a stop to dig for buried treasure!
Telemundo Tampa Exhibit Hall
This hall houses the museum’s traveling exhibits. Traveling exhibits help keep the museum exciting. The museum's goal is to create as many learning opportunities as possible, and traveling exhibits help ensure that.
Level 2
Get Moving
This high energy activity space gets kids up and moving. Kids can see how they measure up to physical challenges such as strength, endurance, and speed by using our mini-climbing wall, becoming a virtual athlete, or racing animals in the jungle!
Engineer’s Workshop
This exhibit is the perfect workshop for young inventors and all the children who always want to know just how things work. Kids can generate electricity, design airplanes and learn all about the fun of engineering.
Design + Build
In this exhibit, kids can become architects and designers. Our house is always ready for renovation and constructions. Kids can operate a giant crane, or even redesign downtown Tampa. This exhibit also contains Tot’s Construction, a dedicated area for children under three.
Kid’s Network
This “media zone” gives kids the chance to explore high- and low-tech communications, language, and media in a hands-on way. Visitors can control the news cameras in the control center, or even give a weather report in front of a blue screen.
Airplane
Kids have the chance to swoop and soar over Tampa Bay in a replica 1900s biplane.
My House, Your House
This specially designed multi-cultural house allows children to explore the world through food, stories, art and music. Neighboring Twinkle Stars Theater allows children to create their own play, or experiment with lights and sounds.
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Art Smart
In Art Smart kids can let their creative sides loose. Visitors can make a noodle sculpture, write with light, create a kaleidoscope, or even have their own dance party. In the Art Lab, children can participate in more in-depth art explorations.
Publix
Kids make the buying choices in this store, all while learning about healthy food choices!
Vet Clinic
Guests can help animals in need just like a real veterinarian!
Health Clinic
Visitors can take a look inside the human body and see how it all works together.
Outback Café
In this kid-sized restaurant, guests can cook up a pizza, ring up orders, or just enjoy a meal with a view!
Firehouse
Children can don safety gear, slide down the fireman’s pole, and drive a fire truck through the streets of Tampa!
Central Bank
Children can explore the basics of banking and commerce.
Programs
The Glazer Children’s Museum offers many recurring programs throughout the year, such as Camp Connect, Sunshine Sunday and Scout Programs.
Camp Connect
Camp Connect is the museum’s seasonal camp program that focuses on spring, summer, fall and winter activities.
Sunshine Sunday
This award winning program opens the museum outside normal hours for families of children with special needs. Lights and sounds are turned down, specially trained staff and volunteers are on hands, and service providers are available to connect their services with the community need. This creates a ‘no-judgment zone’ that allows children and families to play comfortable in an environment created especially for them
Scout Programs
The Glazer Children’s Museum partners with local Boy Scout and Girl Scout organizations, and provides badge workshops and other scout programs to participate in.
Events and Birthdays
Events
Beautifully located in the heart of downtown Tampa, the Glazer Children’s Museum is also a unique event venue with spectacular views of the downtown skyline and Hillsborough River. Our third floor event space can accommodate up to 500 guests and includes a state of the art A/V system.
There are also multiple meeting and event rooms available located on Levels 1 and 3, renting the full museum accommodates 1500 guests. Full catering options are also available.
Birthdays
The Glazer Children’s museum offers a wide range of birthday packages to fit every child and budget. There are several party options available, as well as optional upgrades for more guests, party themes, games, balloons and much more. You can even reserve the entire museum for a kid birthday party of a lifetime!
References
- http://glazermuseum.org
- http://www.glazerfamilyfoundation.org/glazer-childrens-museum
- http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article927122.ece
- GCM Fact Sheet
