Learning Lab at Hanford Mills

Posted on June 13, 2017June 24, 2022 by admin

Please note: Due to COVID-19, the hands-on, interactive features of the Learning Lab are not available.

Hanford Mills Museum features a space for young children and their families to explore, build and create. The Learning Lab offers a range of activities, including building with gears and blocks from Keva and Imagination Playground, problem-solving challenges, mini-waterwheels and other power generation models, and a reading center with comfortable kid-sized seating.

“We created the Learning Lab to provide an inviting, kid-friendly space to foster innovation and creative problem solving,” says Kajsa Harley, the Museum’s executive director. “Kids can explore topics highlighted in Mill tours like power, energy, technology, and sustainable resources. And, because young children learn through play, we have lots of fun activities for kids to choose from.” She noted that the Learning Lab is included with regular admission.

“Local families can view the Learning Lab as a resource they can visit again and again. It is an enjoyable, meaningful and affordable way for families to spend time together.” –Museum executive director Kajsa Harley

Hanford Mills staff worked with museum education consultant Katie Boardman of the Cherry Valley Group and Museum Studies students from the Cooperstown Graduate Program to create a space especially for children 8 and under. The planning was supported in part by a grant from the Museum Association of New York.

Hanford Mills will continue to add activities to the Learning Lab. The Learning Lab is located across the Mill pond from the Museum’s historic sawmill and woodworking shop.

News Release: Learning Lab Grand Opening

Posted on June 12, 2017June 13, 2017 by admin

Hanford Mills Museum News Release
For Immediate Release

Contact: Liz Callahan, 607/278-5744

Hanford Mills Museum to open new place for children to explore, create and build

Learning Lab Grand Opening part of Free Family Saturday on June 17

[ East Meredith, NY June 2, 2017] On June 17, Hanford Mills Museum will open the Learning Lab, a new space for young children and their families to explore and create. The Learning Lab offers a range of activities, including building with gears and blocks from Keva and Imagination Playground, problem-solving challenges, mini-waterwheels and other power generation models, and a reading center with comfortable kid-sized seating.

“We created the Learning Lab to provide an inviting, kid-friendly space to foster innovation and creative problem solving,” says Liz Callahan, the Museum’s executive director. “Kids can explore topics highlighted in Mill tours like power, energy, technology, and sustainable resources. And, because young children learn through play, we have lot of fun activities for kids to choose from.” She noted that the Learning Lab is included with regular admission.

“We are looking forward to having the space filled with children, and hope that local families will view this as a resource they can visit again and again,” said Callahan. “It is an enjoyable, meaningful and affordable way for families to spend time together.”

June 17 is a Free Family Saturday at Hanford Mills Museum, so any adult who is accompanied by a child under 18 receives free admission. Children and teens also receive free admission that day. Additional Free Family Saturday dates at Hanford Mills are July 22, August 12, and September 2.

Hanford Mills will continue to add activities to the Learning Lab, and will be installing solar panels on the roof of the building soon to provide opportunities to talk about solar power. The Learning Lab is located across the Mill pond from the Museum’s historic sawmill and woodworking shop.

About Hanford Mills Museum
As one of only a handful of operating water-powered mills, Hanford Mills Museum has earned a place on both the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places. The mission of Hanford Mills Museum is to inspire audiences of all ages to explore connections among energy, technology, natural resources, and entrepreneurship in rural communities with a focus on sustainable choices.

Hanford Mills Museum is located at 51 County Hwy. 12, at the intersection of Delaware County Routes 10 and 12 in East Meredith, NY, 10 miles from Oneonta and 15 miles from Delhi. The Museum is open Wednesdays through Sundays, 10 am to 5 pm, and also on Labor Day and Columbus Day. Children 12 and under receive free admission, as do Museum members, anyone with an EBT card, and Museum neighbors who live in the following zip codes: 13757, 13739, 13786, 13750, and 13806.

For more information, visit www.hanfordmills.org or call 607.278.5744.

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www.hanfordmills.org

www.Facebook.com/HanfordMillsMuseum

CONTACT: Liz Callahan, [email protected] 607.278.5744

Hanford Mills Museum Receives Grant to Expand Offerings for Young Children

Posted on February 11, 2016February 11, 2016 by admin

[East Meredith, February 11, 2016] Hanford Mills Museum has been awarded a $5,000 grant to develop content and interactive educational activities for young children. The Mini-Grant, from the New York State Council on the Arts, is administered by the Museum Association of New York.

Consultant Kathryn Boardman, a founder and principal of The Cherry Valley Group, will work with Museum staff to research, create and design engaging, educational and interactive content and activities for the Museum’s new Learning Lab. This project will broaden the resources offered to young children and their families visiting the Museum, and also enhance and create new relationships with local schools, day care programs, and early childhood experts. The Learning Lab will enable visitors to explore topics such as contemporary renewable power generation, sustainability, ingenuity, and problem solving.

“Our goal for the new Learning Lab is to introduce young children to key STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts in a meaningful, fun and engaging way. We are grateful to the Museum Association of New York and the New York State Council on the Arts for this grant which will help us achieve this important goal,” says Liz Callahan, executive director of Hanford Mills Museum. “We look forward to working with Katie on this project.”

The Learning Lab, which will have solar panels installed on the roof, will open in the summer.

Mini-Grants are offered to help museums and historical societies strengthen and develop their institutions and work with their communities. These grants are designed to make it easy for organizations to access professional help and improve their institutions. To learn more about these grant programs, visit the Museum Association of New York’s website at www.manyonline.org or contact the Museum Association of New York, by email at [email protected] and by phone at 518/273-3400.

About Hanford Mills Museum

Hanford Mills Museum operates an authentic water- and steam-powered historic site, which includes a sawmill, gristmill and woodworking shop. The mission of Hanford Mills Museum is to inspire audiences of all ages to explore connections among energy, technology, natural resources and entrepreneurship in rural communities with a focus on sustainable choices. The museum, which is listed on the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places, will open for the 2016 season on May 15.

Hanford Mills is located at 51 County Highway 12 in East Meredith, at the intersection of Delaware County Routes 10 & 12, just 10 miles from Oneonta, and 15 miles from Delhi. For more information, visit www.hanfordmills.org or call 607-278-5744.

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For more information, please contact: Liz Callahan, Executive Director, Hanford Mills Museum, 607/278-5744, [email protected]