The Iowa Children's Museum expands access by providing free admission to qualifying families

The Iowa Children’s Museum has launched a new program that will provide free admission for qualifying families any day the museum is open to the public.

The Coralville museum announced it joined Museums for All, a program of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides free or reduced admission to visitors who receive food assistance.

More than 900 museums across America participate in the program. In Iowa, those include the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, the African American Museum in Iowa, Dubuque Museum of Art and the Des Moines Children’s Museum.

The mission of the Iowa Children’s Museum, according to its website, is “to inspire every child to imagine, create, discover and explore through the Power of Play.”

Jeff Capps, executive director of the Iowa Children’s Museum, told the Press-Citizen the museum had discussed joining Museums for All for some time, and the staff was aware other children’s museums had taken advantage of the opportunity.

“We just really felt like it was time for us to try to do something (and) take a next step in that regard of making the museum truly accessible for all,” he said.

The Iowa Children's Museum is located in the Coral Ridge Mall.

Capps said the two words in their mission statement, “every child,” is something the museum evaluates often.

“Are we really making good on that part?” Capps said.

The museum has done ICM for Everyone for about two decades, a program Capps said he felt has been “impactful.” The program offers free membership for a year for economically disadvantaged families. Families can access an application for the program through United Action for Youth, Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County and more.

“If ICM for Everyone has been reaching a segment of the population that can benefit from it, what would happen if we do something that is even more accessible?” he said.

Capps said the responsibility of a community-based nonprofit museum is to use the resources “entrusted” to it to make its services available to “everybody we possibly can.”

While the museum doesn’t have numbers regarding how many visitors would qualify under this expanded access, Capps said that anytime there is free admission at the museum, there’s “quite a demand.”

ICM consulted with Johnson County Social Services to identify programs that target economically vulnerable community members.

Johnson County Social Services identified that visitors who use SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa, Head Start and free school lunch programs would benefit from free admission.

According to Federal Reserve economic data, 9,928 people used SNAP benefits in Johnson County in 2019. The Iowa WIC Program served about 59,000 people each month during the federal fiscal year of 2021, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Capps said the museum tried to "cast a wide net" for qualifying programs but recognized it can’t cover everything. The museum is still determining how it will ask for proof from qualifying visitors, he said.

The Iowa Children’s Museum is more than an indoor playground, it’s a learning institute, he said.

“If kids are to develop in healthy ways, they need healthy ways to play to learn,” Capps said.

Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or (319) 519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa Children's Museum expands free admission to qualifying families