About
http://www.coolculture.org/
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Contact: Monica Abend, Program Director
monica@coolculture.org
From Cool Culture's Press Release
"Cool Culture was founded in 1999 to address the absence of low-income families in the audiences of New York’s arts, cultural, and scientific institutions. Through partnerships with 90 of New York City’s cultural institutions, which generously provide free admission, Cool Culture serves 50,000+ low-income families by connecting them with programs that empower parents in their role as their child’s first teacher and encourage a lifetime of learning. In 2011, Cool Culture families made over 180,000 visits to partner museums, which include the American Museum of Natural History, The Studio Museum in Harlem, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, El Museo del Barrio and the Queens Museum of Art."
Cool Culture is Funded by the IMLS
In 2011, Cool Culture secured a $244,430 Twenty-first Century Museum Professionals Program grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
From IMLS Grant Announcement
"Cool Culture helps to build connections between museums and a new audience through its ongoing collaborative work with 90 museums and 40 early childhood learning centers in the greater New York City area. With IMLS funding Cool Culture will create a laboratory for new audiences, creating 12 new partnerships between museum educators and early childhood teachers. Through a series of seminars, participants will be encouraged to reflect on their own practice and exchange ideas on how museum educators can align their museum’s resources with community needs. Through formal presentations, peer discussion groups, and collaborative problem solving, the three-year laboratory project will deepen museum professionals’ knowledge of early childhood learning practice, outreach strategies for low income audiences, and how to align their museums’ resources and programs with community needs."
How It Works
The Cool Culture Family Pass
  • Helps parents, grandparents and caregivers of eligible families to give their children educational and cultural experiences that cultivate a lifelong love of learning
  • Provides free general admission for up to 5 individuals to 90 cultural institutions including museums, botanical gardens, zoos and more
  • Is available for families with a child currently enrolled in a participating early childhood center or elementary school (pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classrooms)
Target Audience: Under-served families
Cool Culture provides 50,000 under-served families free access to NYC's museums, botanical gardens and zoos.

A majority of Cool Culture families earn less than 200% of the Federal Poverty Line. For a family of four, that income amount is $47,000, making museum admission out of reach.

Source: About Cool Culture
Sustained effort over time
Families can register for their Cool Culture Family Pass beginning in August. It expires on October 31st.
Monthly family events are promoted by the Cultural Liaisons at their centers, on Facebook, in the Family Time magazine, e-Family Time e-newsletter and The Rundown e-newsletter for Cultural Liaisons
Active involvement of participants
Cool Culture provides families with:
  • Cool Culture Family Guide
  • Family Time magazine published four times a year to inform families about new events, exhibitions and programming
  • e-Family Time e-newsletter to keeps families informed about upcoming exhibitions, events, and family programming
Partnerships with other organizations
Cool Culture partners with:
  • 90 NYC Cultural Institutions
  • Corps of Early Childhood Educators from over 425 Child Care, Head Start, and Universal Pre-K programs and Title I public schools
Assessments
Cool Culture requires Cultural Liaisons to complete a mandatory online survey in February and June about progress at their center.
[The SPELL Project will need to inquire with Cool Culture about their assessments.]
Individual attention
The Cool Culture Family Pledge (see appendix)
As a member of Cool Culture, each family signs a pledge to:
  • have only my family use my Family Pass; an adult with the last name on the Pass will be present,
  • explore as many of the 90 museums, zoos and gardens as possible,
  • try out new museums my family has not been to, &
  • ensure my family has a FUN museum trip by asking my Cultural Liaison for tips and info.

Group Dynamic
  • Cultural Liaisons are encouraged to create a “Cool Culture Corner” and bulletin boards where families post pictures and brochures from different museum visits
  • Cultural Liaisons attend orientations where they meet and develop relationships with representatives from the different institution partners
  • Cool Culture uses its Facebook page to create a sense of community
Cultural Proficiency
Cool Culture makes materials available in English, Spanish and Chinese including the Family Guide, Family Time Magazine, Hunt Cards, Activity Guides and more
Works through existing infrastructures: Early childhood educators



Our programs succeed by working in partnership with early childhood program and elementary school staff that have long-standing relationships with low-income families, and are therefore able to inspire parents to travel outside their communities to access cultural and educational opportunities for their children’s development.
-- Cool Culture Cultural Liaison Handbook
Cool Culture works with early childhood educators and elementary school staff who already have long-standing relationships with low-income families. Families already trust EC educators. As Cool Cultural Liaisons, the EC educators inspire parents to participate in the Cool Culture program and bring their children to as many of the 90 participating museums, botanical gardens and zoos as possible.

The Cool Culture Cultural Liaison Handbook outlines the Cultural Liaisons':
  •  Three goals to help increase parent participation:
    (1) Every family knows how to use the Family Pass
    (2) 75% of families will use the Pass at least once by February 1
    (3) 50% of families will use the Pass at least twice by June 1
  • Responsibility to complete a mandatory online survey in February and June about progress at their center
  • Role to coordinate Family Pass registration and distribution
  • Role to inspire and prepare families to visit museums and distribute and promote resources: e-Family Time, Get Out & Go!, promotion flyers, etc.
  • Opportunity to attend Professional Development Workshops to generate excitement about exhibits and activities at partner cultural institutions
  • Resources to keep informed: The Rundown e-newsletter, Facebook, Website
Fun or gaming element
Cool Culture provides Tools for Family Engagement in the Cultural Liaison Handbook including:
  • Tips on creating a “Cool Culture Corner” and bulletin boards with pictures from different families' museum visits
  • How to promote Get Out & Go! flyers
  • Downloadable Hunt Cards to discover unique cultural objects from museums and to do related activities both at home and at museums 
  • Downloadable Activity Guides to prepare for visits