VCCF grant to help kidSTREAM explore kids’ dreams for museum design
CAMARILLO — KidSTREAM, an emerging children’s museum, has been awarded a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation in the amount of $30,000 to renovate the community room at the former Camarillo library site, transforming it into an interactive exhibit space where children and families can participate in hands-on exploration and activities to develop their vision of what they’d like to have as part of the future children’s museum space. The space and programming will focus on science, technology, reading, engineering, arts and math (STREAM).
“This generous grant from VCCF will enable us to convert a small portion of the building into a preview or pop-up museum space with inspiring exhibits and activities for the community. We want them to come in and help design the children’s museum,” said Kristie Akl, kidSTREAM founder and board president.
“Kids dream of kidSTREAM, as our board members say. Having this vision room will allow children and families to play, discover and explore in an interactive, kid-friendly way that helps them develop ideas on how they want their children’s museum to look and feel,” Akl said.
KidSTREAM is aiming to have the vision room ready to open to the public as early as this summer. The VCCF grant, funded by its Community Response Fund, will help cover costs for converting the space and for support of programming.
About kidSTREAM: Founded in 2016, kidSTREAM is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to create an engaging environment for children and families to explore, play and discover; inspiring them to become critical thinkers, innovators, and life-long learners. For more information, visit www.kidstream.org.
About VCCF: VCCF invests the charitable capital that drives the philanthropic engines of Ventura County. The foundation was established in 1987 and endeavors to build philanthropy in the region and to give generously for the well-being of all in Ventura County. VCCF invests in the future through scholarships, grant making and collaborative partnerships. For more information or to donate, visit www.vccf.org.