The mission of the Orpheum Children's Science Museum is to inspire, engage and educate diverse children of all ages through the exploration of the sciences and arts.
Our team is small, but we work hard to ensure quality educational opportunities that serve families, children, schools through exhibits, programs, field trips, special events, and parties. Programs are offered for children kindergarten through 5th grade including camps, clubs, and drop in programs. The Orpheum's home is a 1914 vaudeville and moving pictures theater, and it is one of the finest examples of adaptive reuse in Illinois. You can learn more about our history here.
Objectives:
Objectives:
- To preserve one of our community’s rarest and most beautiful historic structures by providing an appropriate and economically viable reuse of the Orpheum Theatre.
- To become a community leader that unites schools, universities and community colleges, performance centers, groups, and artists as well as the array of talent and resources prevalent in our community to enrich and enliven daily life.
- To provide interactive and accessible experiences and exhibits which facilitate learning for all social and economic strata regardless of physical, cognitive, or financial circumstances.
- To serve as an extension to schools by providing experiences which may be integrated into classroom curriculum and by providing demonstration materials and equipment which may be too expensive or bulky for location in classrooms.
- To involve parents, caregivers, and educators in learning activities which will enable them to encourage and assist their children.
- To serve at-risk children and their families by providing a nurturing learning environment in which they can learn the skills and knowledge which often deny them access to science and technology careers.
- To become an anchor in downtown preservation, revitalization, and cultural arts district efforts. of downtown Champaign.