Member Spotlight (February 2018)
Introducing…The Wormenor Family!
Photo Credit: Wormenor Family photograph by Don Reimer
The Children’s Museum’s 35,000 square-foot learning landscape offers a warm, child-centric oasis for the next generation of creative problem-solvers, and for those who support them. Open 359 days a year and one of the first museums in the province that children visit, we welcome 150,000+ guests annually, including 3,600+ active museum members.
Children’s Museum membership is an economical means of exploration and discovery at a world-class museum that cannot be fully experienced in just one visit. A member since 2015 and a teacher by profession, Jaelynne Wormenor parents three children under the age of ten with her husband Simon. Jaelynne shares her reasons for choosing the Children’s Museum.
Q: You have visited the Children’s Museum as an educator with your students, and as a parent with your family. In your observation, how do the educational experiences provided here positively impact children?
A: I remember coming to this museum long before I had my own children and I always loved the way the museum encouraged ‘kids being kids!’ Since having my own children, I appreciate the large spaces in which kids can hop, skip, jump, and really engage in using their whole bodies. The Children’s Museum really is all about ‘hands on education.’ I love knowing that my kids leave here every time with a greater sense that learning is fun. Both my students and children always come away with new facts and information!
Q: Why did you choose Children’s Museum membership for you and for your family?
A: I appreciate the big spaces and allowing of kids to use indoor but not ‘museum/library’ voices. We really enjoy the consistency of having the ‘regulars’ to visit like the art stations and noodles and train and of course the water station! But we also value the big room that changes every few months. We’ve loved everything from the Adventures of MR. POTATO HEAD exhibition and the Run! Jump! Fly! Adventures In Action exhibition to the Kids Celebrate exhibition. This museum is able to capture the loves and interests of my kids who range in ages 4, 7, and 9. Each time we come they always ask to stay longer!
Q: Membership provides one year of unlimited museum admission. How often do the members in your family visit?
A: My two oldest children Justice (9) and Jubilee (7) wish they could come more often, but there’s school after all! Sometimes during the day, my youngest daughter Journey (4) and I will meet other friends for playdates at the museum. Other times we’ll come during the members events and bring the whole family. My big kids get super excited for those times and also during the summer when they get to visit more often.
Q: With 40+ reciprocal membership partners and numerous other benefits of Children’s Museum membership, which benefits do you value the most and why?
A: The top three benefits I value the most are the free passes we receive when we first join/renew our membership and the fact that we can get discounts for other places in Winnipeg such as Manitoba Museum. I love the partnership and supporting local. I also love the member events.
Q: You and your family attended the recent Children’s Museum November Members Night. What do you and your children like best about the member events?
A: I love how there are always themes and different crafts and snacks to go along with the members events. I also really appreciate that you can bring other guests for free. It’s a great way to introduce new people to the museum.
Q: As a member, you know that the Children’s Museum is a special place reserved for children and for those who care about them. What would you tell people who are considering purchasing a membership for themselves and/or for others in their lives?
A: I would definitely encourage them to get a membership! There are so many great opportunities for learning and engaging so many of our senses…both young and old can enjoy. As a teacher and parent I see so many families who struggle with finding ways to connect and spend time with each other. Technology/screen time can be good, but it often creates distance and sometimes way too much sitting and solitude. In our climate here in ‘Winterpeg’ it’s so great to come to the Children’s Museum and move around a bit…climbing stairs, playing dress-up on the train, scrambling up the noodle holes, flying down the kaleidoscope slide, and then slowing down and snuggling in the train car and reading a good book while the unique creations dry at the art table. A membership would also be a great gift!
Membership Program
Photos supplied by Jaelynne Wormenor
With 12 permanent galleries, innovative temporary exhibitions, and a variety of drop-in programs, workshops, and special events, the Children’s Museum is a great place for the whole family.
Click here to learn more about the Children’s Museum Membership Program.
