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Serving Children
We believe the two most pressing and inextricably linked challenges of today’s world are the health of our children and the health of the planet. Current research shows that 84% of young people have moderate to severe climate anxiety, with 45% reporting being greatly affected by climate change worries in their daily lives. Additionally, over 50% of young people report that adults in power are not listening to their concerns. Children are also more vulnerable to long term health impacts of climate change, like food insecurity, lack of clean water, and emergence of new diseases, as well as the direct effects of heat, drought and natural disasters.
Climate change is the single biggest threat to humanity the world has ever known.
Every sector of society must contribute to avert catastrophic outcomes, the museum sector among them. The United Nations Secretary General has warned that we have reached “code red for humanity”, while the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement warning that climate change poses threats to “children’s mental and physical health,” and that “failure to take prompt, substantive action would be an act of injustice to all children”.
Serving children means acting in their best interest. Since the 1990s, Madison Children’s Museum has directly linked making those choices with children at the heart to the environment they live and grow in.