The Children’s Museum of Phoenix has received a landmark $2.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., marking the largest single gift in the Museum’s history. The Museum will use the grant to establish a new character-focused signature exhibit and enhance several existing exhibits, incorporating opportunities to foster positive character development among children.
Building on its commitment to nurturing young children’s cognitive, emotional, and social growth through play and exploration, the Museum conducted extensive research during 2024, including Imaging Workshops with 400 stakeholders, on-site prototyping, and surveys of members and visitors. These efforts identified Kindness, Curiosity, Bravery, Creativity, and Respect as key character traits the Museum is uniquely positioned to foster.
“This grant provides an extraordinary opportunity to deepen the impact we have on children’s lives,” said Kate Wells, CEO of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. “By inspiring character-building through hands-on, play-based experiences, we hope to spark lifelong values in the children and families we serve. We are deeply grateful to Lilly Endowment for supporting our vision to empower young minds.”
During the next five years, the Museum will undertake a series of projects supported by the grant, coinciding with its expansion efforts. Lilly Endowment’s funding will support the Museum’s Power of Play Capital Campaign, which aims to fully activate a 27,000-square-foot expansion of the Museum, funded by a lead investment of $5.37 million from the City of Phoenix, voter approved, 2023 General Obligation Bond.
The grant is part of Lilly Endowment’s Fostering Character Through Children’s Museums initiative, which supports children’s museums nationwide in creating programs that inspire positive character traits in children and youth. The Children’s Museum of Phoenix is honored to be among 15 institutions across the country selected for this initiative.
“Children’s museums are places where children of all ages can learn informally, discovering new ideas through play, multi-sensory experiences, and self-expression,” said Ted Maple, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for education and youth programs. “We are excited to see how the museums funded through this initiative will help children and their families explore various character traits and reflect on ways these traits can be practiced and strengthened.”
