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15 of the artists who worked on Indy’s Black Lives Matter mural in Downtown Indianapolis this past summer will participate in The Children’s Museum’s First Thursday event on Feb 4, 2021. They will be showcasing some of their artwork and discussing their involvement with the mural that was created on Indiana Avenue as part of the museum’s Black History Month celebration featuring our own Visiting Artist Israel Solomon. In addition, Portia Jackson will be sharing stories of the Civil Rights Movement. The museum will also be highlighting interpretation programs in The Power of Children exhibit (see below for descriptions), Making WAVES and Barbie: Women Changing the World.
February First Thursday—Feb. 4, 2021 takes place from 4–8:00 p.m. with a greatly reduced admission price of $6 per person. Due to COVID-19 reduced capacity restrictions, the Museum recommends visitors purchase tickets in advance at www.childrensmuseum.org. This event is expected to sell out quickly.
Here are some of the other events and programs happening at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis during Black History Month (February).
- Public Event: Presidents Day – Monday, Feb 15, 10 a.m.–3p.m., Free Admission
- In-Person Programming connected to Black History Month:
- Can You Vote? – Families will learn the history of how different groups of people in our country were excluded from voting, and what they had to overcome to be allowed to vote.
- Political Pinbacks – Families will identify a cause they are passionate about and can create a button representing this cause while observing political imagery from collections.
- Digital activity bundle (find on our website and Museum at Home on social media channels)
- Video—Book Reading of Mae Among The Stars
- Video—Book Reading of Come With Me
- Blog Post Activities
- Mood Music – Learn backgrounds of eight different artists from four styles of music. Listen to musical tracks to inspire different art pieces.
- African American Inventor spotlight – Traffic Lights
- Political Pinbacks – Digital adaption of activity from Presidents Day
- The Making of a Leader – Brainstorm the qualities needed to be a good leader then create the ideal leader in your community.
- Making WAVES – Social Justice in Action in the Power of Children exhibit area
- Join us in using the power of our WORDS, ACTIONS, VOICES, and EDUCATION to take a stand for a social justice cause!
- Gain a deeper understanding of how protest creates change
- Discover how children and adults can protest nonviolently
- Create a family protest sign
- This program will occur in the Ruby Bridges’ classroom in the Power of Children gallery. This experience has limited capacity and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. It will last approximately 20 minutes. Masks are required. Recommended for children 8 and older.
- Up Close and Personal —Women Changing the World in the Barbie You Can Be Anything: The Experience exhibit
- Join us to get up close and personal with some extremely inspirational female role models! These amazing women’s stories are sure to inspire you to follow your dreams and empower you to be anything you want to be!
- The Museum Store features many books and toys to celebrate Black History Month.
First Thursday is supported by Donatos Pizza.
The Visiting Artist Program is a project of the Lechleiter Indiana Visiting Artist Fund with support provided by The White Oak Foundation, Sarah and John Lechleiter.
The Power of Children exhibit is made possible by lead gifts from Deborah Simon, Efroymson Family Fund, Chase, National Endowment for the Humanities, Duke Energy Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome P. Martin, U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Cummins Foundation, and The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
Barbie You Can Be Anything: The Experience is presented by Subway® and supported by Franklin Pest Solutions and KinderCare Learning Centers.
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is proud to partner with Riley Children’s at Indiana University Health, Old National Bank and Ice Miller LLP.
About The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is a nonprofit institution committed to creating extraordinary learning experiences across the arts, sciences, and humanities that have the power to transform the lives of children and families. For more information about The Children's Museum, visit www.childrensmuseum.org, follow us on Twitter @TCMIndy, Instagram@childrensmuseum, YouTube.com/IndyTCM, and Facebook.
