OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION & BELONGING
DISCOVERY Children’s Museum (DCM) sees diversity, equity, and inclusion as a fundamental part of our mission to foster a welcoming, vibrant, and inclusive environment where all are invited to engage in playful and educational experiences that ignite a lifelong love of learning. We further recognize our responsibility to ensure that our Board, staff, committees, and volunteers reflect the diversity of our community, members, and visitors and are committed to our Core Values.
DCM values and embraces Diversity: The full range of human or organizational differences and similarities. This range includes the personal dimensions of diversity-related to ethnicity, race, gender, spiritual and religious beliefs, sexual orientation, sexual identity & expression, age, physical ability, as well as additional dimensions that include (but are not limited to) parental/family status, work experience, educational background, geographic location, organizational affiliation, and management status.
DISCOVERY Children’s Museum honors individuals of all abilities, backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives. DCM respects the diversity of members of our community, our employees, and visitors. DCM encourages all to bring their unique, authentic selves to learn, grow, build, and create.
DCM values and embraces Equity: Fairness concerning the utilization of practices, policies, and systems maintained by Pursuing equity and inclusion is a best practice that reflects a commitment to serving all children and families and advancing the growth of our field.
DISCOVERY Children’s Museum fosters fair treatment of all people, ensuring that everyone has access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. As a premier educational partner, we strive to identify and eliminate barriers and imbalances that have prevented the full participation of some. We collaborate with our community to address the effects of access and opportunity by increasing the fairness of policies, practices, systems, and resource distributions. We provide opportunities that help people facing disparities achieve their full potential and turn imagination into reality.
DCM values and embraces Inclusion: The process of engaging/leveraging a diverse population across a wide range of dimensions and welcoming them to contribute their whole selves to assist in achieving the organizational mission.
DISCOVERY Children’s Museum believes play is a child’s way of learning and that laughter and happiness are essential for every child to experience. An inclusive and welcoming climate embraces differences, creates belonging, and offers respect in words and actions for all people. DCM believes every child should have an equal opportunity to become an innovative thinker through the joy and wonder of hands-on discovery. DCM creates opportunities and experiences through exhibits and programs that are culturally competent, represent diverse perspectives, and serve diverse audience needs.
DCM values and embraces Belonging: An organization that engages the full potential of the individual, where innovation thrives, and where views, beliefs, and values are integrated. The organization understands and appreciates the value of diverse cultures and strives to educate and celebrate differences in a way that unifies and engages. Leadership recognizes the importance of everyone working for and contributing to a common goal. They also understand the impact their mindsets and behaviors have on the successful implementation of the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. People who feel a sense of belonging at work or within their organizations will be more resilient and willing to challenge themselves and others to be better stewards of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Organizations where individuals hold a high sense of belonging will result in more engaged employees who are energized by their work and team and ultimately perform with better creativity, execution, and productivity. In this scenario— Belonging—everyone achieves better outcomes.
DISCOVERY Children’s Museum is a place where everyone feels welcomed, respected, supported, and valued. Our aspiration is to encourage and maintain a feeling of being part of something and mattering to others without fear of being ridiculed or rejected. DCM empowers all to use their voice, share, and have their viewpoints heard. We invite feedback and take it seriously. We foster a community proud of its differences; this ensures that we establish trust, demonstrate care, build self-esteem, and promote a culture where all can flourish. We believe in cultivating an environment that does not leave anyone out, where everyone can make meaningful contributions and have their work valued by others. A sense of belonging has inspired and energized our Board, staff, committees, volunteers, community, members, and visitors with a high level of engagement, retention/repeat visits, productivity, and innovation. Our Museum culture provides a climate of being accepted, genuine feeling of belonging, and the power to bring about positive change.
DISCOVERY Children’s Museum is dedicated to strengthening our practice of diversity, equity, and inclusion for long-term sustainable impact. DCM is committed to continuously improving the value of DEI for the wellbeing of our community, global society, and the future of our children. We recognize that advocacy, forging strong community partnerships, and conducting an ongoing assessment of our content, goals, and commitments is necessary to serve the diverse interests, backgrounds, and abilities of our board, staff, members, and visitors. DCM believes in creating a safe, positive environment and offering unique learning activities that value dreaming, education, play, and respect for all.
From their first day of school to their first A-HA moments.
We put our kids first.
That’s a FIRST made possible by the DISCOVERY Children’s Museum.
As a premier educational partner in the community, we will champion collaboration that inspires every child to become an innovative thinker through the joy and wonder of hands-on DISCOVERY.