Welcome to the Caretakers of Wonder toolkit page. This toolkit site will launch in August 2024. If you'd like to know more about the project, please sign up for our email list, below.
We'll send emails to let you know about...
How to sign up for the Caretakers of Wonder Virtual Summit (July 17 & 18, 2024) when registration opens
When we release the Climate Action Playbook, our innovative developmental framework
When we launch the Caretakers of Wonder toolkit—our dynamic, cohort-authored catalog of resources to help museums and other cultural organizations take regenerative and resilience-building steps along their green journeys
When there are opportunities for your museum to join a Caretakers of Wonder cohort or project
Other Caretakers of Wonder news, from time to time
The Caretakers of Wonder initiative is led by Madison Children's Museum in partnership with Environment & Culture Partners and the Association of Children's Museums.
About Caretakers of Wonder
The changing climate is putting children’s physical and mental health at risk. There are resources available to help older children cope, but there is little available to help younger children and their caregivers. That is why the Caretakers of Wonder project was created.
Caretakers of Wonder is a national project that connects young children to nature, fosters empathy, and instills a sense of agency. Those are resiliencies kids need now to thrive in the world—and later to change it. The project, through work with partner museums, supports caretakers to help children grow and be healthy. And parents learn how they can take and model action in this global crisis—in straightforward and hopeful ways.
The institutions on the project are also modeling solutions by reducing their carbon footprint.
The project is producing a developmental framework called "The Climate Action Playbook: Supporting Young Children in a Warming World." It is a resource for museum professionals to communicate with and provide programs to support children eight and under, and the adults who love them, in building compassion, climate knowledge, agency, and hope for a bright climate future. A toolkit website, hosted here, will house the Playbook and provide further resources for museums wanting to address climate change and become more sustainable in their work and facilities.
The project team includes nine children’s museums and science centers in four bioregions across the U.S., along with experts in climate education, communication, early childhood psychology, climate action and emissions reduction.
Thank you to our sponsors
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MG-252083-OMS-22.