The link between the Cultural Institutions Group and the public schools began when city officials mandated in the first CIG contracts that all “teachers of the public schools of the City of New York shall be admitted … for study, research and investigation, free of any charge therefor.” As a result, generations of New Yorkers recall with great fondness visiting one or many of the 34 CIGs.
Today, given the longstanding partnership between the CIG and the public school system, educational services offered by the CIG go well beyond having schoolchildren crowd around exotic specimens in glass cases. Many innovative programs have been developed to help the schools address issues of particular relevance today.
CIGs offer 37,600 on-site programs to 5.1M participants as well as 5,900 off-site community programs with 480,800 participants.
The educational programs for schoolchildren provided by CIG members include:
Museum tours: Guided tours to discover and explore masterpieces of art and unique cultural, historical, and scientific artifacts.
Hands-on workshops in art, science, and performing arts: These programs, conducted by skilled educators, extend and personalize the tour experience.
Lectures, performances, concerts, exploration tours, and seminars: These offer direct contact with living artists, performers, curators, scientists, and historians, and a personal view of the institutions they represent.
Family programs: These involve parents and their children together to discover the world-class collections and programs of these institutions.
Internships/Volunteering: These positions build workplace skills and offer exposure to exciting career opportunities.
Out-of-school programs: They provide both a safe haven and a highly stimulating learning environment for children after school and during the summer months.
STEM education: The Urban Advantage Science Initiative (UA)—a partnership between the City’s eight science-rich cultural institutions (American Museum of Natural History, Bronx Zoo, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York Aquarium, New York Botanical Garden, New York Hall of Science, Queens Botanical Garden, and Staten Island Zoo) and the New York City Department of Education—is a model inquiry-based science education program that connects NYC public schools, middle-school teachers, and students, teaching them how to conduct scientific investigations. In FY2018, UA serced 314 schools, 949 teachers, and more than 95,000 NYC students.