Our Offices
211 Gervais Street
Columbia, SC 29201.
Tel: 803.779.3100
Fax 803.779.3144
Our Staff
Catherine Wilson Horne
President/CEO
Paula Thayer
Assistant to the CEO
Educational
Leadership and Museum Experiences
Susan Bonk
Director of Education and Exhibits
Nikki Williams Manning
Director of Educational Leadership
Greg
Nagel
Director of Museum Experiences
Ashlee Buchanan
School and
Group Programs Manager
Laura Painter
Guest Services Manager
Huck Behrends
Exhibits Manager
Dr. Kathie Williams
Health Education Programs Manager
Mallory Coleman
Volunteer Coordinator
David Ruff
Exhibits Technician
Development
Margaret Wallace
Director of Development
Tina Shanker
Gills,
CFRE
Director of Annual Giving
Mandy Wren
Community Engagement Manager
Pam Altman
Development Associate
Marketing
Jennifer Suber
Director of Marketing
Kim Asbill, APR
Public Relations Senior Manager
Maya Smith
Senior
Marketing and Sales Associate
Theresa
Dozier
Senior
Marketing and Sales Associate
Kerry Johnston
Creative Director
Operations
Julia Kennard,
PHR
Vice President of Museum Operations
Wendy Trice
Retail Manager
Darrell Huffstetler
Facilities Manager
Flora Wingard
Accountant
Tasha Derrick
Bookkeeper
Adrienne Evans
Museum Operations Assistant
Our Board of Trustees
Our board consists of 22 diligent men and women from across the Midlands.
|
|
Our Vision
Our vision is to create new generations of lifelong
learners.
Our Audience
Children 12 and younger, families, teachers, caregivers and anyone who has a
child's best interest at heart.
Our Location
EdVenture makes its home at 211 Gervais Street, Columbia
(next to the SC State Museum). Easily accessible from major
thoroughfares into the City, the site is within a booming area known
as The Vista.
Our Funding
EdVenture is a locally-managed, not-for-profit informal
educational institution. We are not a state-funded
government agency. Our funding comes through three main sources: 50% of our annual operating budget comes
from admissions and earned revenue, 30% from members,
sponsors and donors, and 20% from local government support.
Our Exhibits
Behind EdVenture's doors, we are proud to have six
world-class exhibit galleries,
a library, several laboratories, a 200-seat community
theater, two resource centers and other visitor amenities.
Two additional outdoor gallery spaces are located just outside
the museum's front doors. Within the total 67,000 square
feet that is EdVenture Children's Museum, there are more
than 350 individual hands-on exhibits.
Our Economic Impact
Based upon local analysis and benchmarks from successful
children's museums, long-term projections show EdVenture
generating $13 million for the local economy in its first
five years. Additionally, 40% of
our visitors are from areas beyond the Midlands who
contribute to the tourism and hospitality industries here at
home.
Our Attendance
EdVenture is designed to appeal to families and children
around the state as well as visitors to the Midlands.
Permanent exhibits and programs along with a vibrant
schedule of changing exhibits will entice both return
visitors and new arrivals. EdVenture's average annual
attendance is 200,000. Since opening on November 8, 2003,
EdVenture has welcomed visitors from all 50 states and 18
foreign countries. Eighty percent of our visitors are
families, with the remaining twenty percent attending as
organized groups including school field trips, civic
organizations and church clubs.
Our Educational Programs
At EdVenture, we believe in reaching out to the children of South Carolina through a
variety of field trips and outreach programs. Some of the
programs we currently offer include Learning Alive,
EdVenture-To-Go,
Camp EdVenture,
Hands-On, Minds On! professional development institute and
more than
14 standards-based field trip programs. We are continually
developing new offerings and, ultimately, our goal is to develop activities with
and for the diverse communities we serve.
Our Yes, Every Child Fund
EdVenture believes every child deserves the chance to
imagine, discover and understand, including those whose
families don't have the economic resources to provide these
opportunities.
That's why EdVenture created a scholarship fund for Camp
EdVenture, Club EdVenture, fire safety camps and other
outreach programs, along with our
Community
Partners Program. Please consider a gift of any size
donation above and
beyond a membership to EdVenture to help support our
scholarship programs. It's an easy way to have a positive
impact on a child's life.Link Disclaimer
Within the EdVenture Website there are links to non-EdVenture websites. When you link
to third party websites, you leave our website. We are not responsible for the
privacy practices nor the content of non-EdVenture websites, and the presence
of such links is not intended to be an endorsement of non-EdVenture websites or
their content.
|
|