VENTURA COUNTY — KidSTREAM, the emerging children’s museum based in Camarillo, received funding from the William A. and Cynthia D. Fairburn, Jr. Memorial Fund to assess needs and measure the expected economic and social impacts that will be created by the museum when it is in full operation in a dedicated museum facility. The $6,000 grant was made through the Ventura County Community Foundation. The return on investment and impact study will be conducted by Jamshid Damooei at Damooei Global Research.
“We are thrilled for the support of the Foundation, and the vision of the Fairburn Memorial Fund. The study will give us insights as we plan and develop programming and the facility,” said kidSTREAM Board President Kristie Akl. VCCF CEO Vanessa Bechtel added, “The Foundation is proud to provide kidSTREAM with the funding needed to advance this exciting community asset.”
Indicators that will be studied for impact include the museum’s annual expenditure, including the regular budget and capital expenditures, volunteer program, visitor spending at the museum and at other area businesses, and children’s ability to succeed at school.
“While it is clear that establishing a children’s museum will generate a number of positive social and economic developments, the translation of these improvements into quantifiable terms is important to program development and fundraising, as the museum is a community asset that requires community investment,” said Jamshid Damooei, principal at Damooei Global Research and director of the California Lutheran University Center for Leadership and Values, and chair of the School of Business Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting.
KidSTREAM currently operates without a building, delivering programming on the sites of partner organizations, focused on STREAM: science, technology, reading, engineering, art and math. Programs have included making glasses for safe viewing of the recent solar eclipse, constructing creations from all types of cardboard and other recyclables donated by the community, art workshops in partnership with Studio Channel Islands, and a STEM carnival in partnership with California State University, Channel Islands.
KidSTREAM leaders are also working with a team of advisory board members, museum designers and consultants to develop a destination-worthy facility proposed for the former site of the Camarillo Library, with an anticipated 12,000 square feet of indoor, interactive hands-on learning exhibits, and 19,000 square feet of outdoor exhibits and playscapes.
Founded in 2016 as a 501c3 nonprofit organization, kidSTREAM’s 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 http://www.kidstream.org/.