Milestones FY24 Milestones FY24
We had our third most well-attended year in the history of the Museums!
In addition, our school group attendance for field trips also returned and we served over 9,000 students this year, matching our FY19 levels. Next year promises to be even better!
Last November the Museums were granted reaccreditation from the American Alliance of Museums and noted as an exemplary organization in the field by the reviewers. Accreditation is a distinction that only 3% of museums have been granted.
In March 2019, the Museums began a campaign to offer Massachusetts drivers a specialty license plate featuring the Cat in the Hat. Orders came in quickly at first, but then plateaued during the pandemic.
We revitalized the Campaign last summer and by March exceeded the 750-plate minimum that the Registry of Motor Vehicles requires and began production of the specialty plates. Proceeds will benefit literacy programs at the Springfield Museums.
The Springfield Museums received a Springfield Preservation Trust award for our restoration of the childhood home of Theodor Seuss Geisel a.k.a. Dr. Seuss in Forest Park. It is our fourth preservation award since 2018.
Smit hs onian A liate
This April our museum grounds blossomed even more beautifully with the opening of Habitat, a four-yearlong outdoor exhibition exploring the critical need for varied habitats, how interconnected and fragile they are, and what we can do to protect them. The experience showcases the unique habitats throughout the gardens and landscapes of our museum grounds. This exhibit was developed through our proud multi-year partnership with the Smithsonian Institution funded by MassMutual Foundation.
We delivered the 8th consecutive year of surpluses on our operating budget after more than a decade of deficit spending.
In October, we announced that we were awarded an outstanding $800,000 three-year grant from the Art Bridges Foundation for “Free First Wednesdays,” a program to enable all visitors to receive free admission on the first Wednesday of every month for the next three years. We have never received multi-year operational support of this magnitude, and securing this grant was a major milestone for our Museums.
