Program Name: The Next Generation Youth Advisory Council

Award Amount: $29,642

Partner(s): The Y of Central Maryland

Project Description: The proposed Next Generation Youth Advisory Council will be a youth-driven leadership group serving to increase and enrich communication and collaboration between youth and adults to ensure that the children we serve have a voice within both the Museum and the community.

The Council’s goals are to:

* Offer meaningful input that will help guide decisions in Port Discovery’s revitalization

* Serve as a vital resource in the Museum’s efforts to be relevant to our community

* Ensure that new and refined services and programs meet the needs of young people

* Build Council Members’ advocacy and leadership abilities

The Museum will conduct 2.5 hour sessions on one Saturday per month for 30 children ages 8-10 who attend elementary schools connected to The Y of Central Maryland. Each session will include a group meeting to review prior months’ work and discuss next steps, an activity or training that moves the group toward collective goals, debriefing and planning for the following month, a meal, and free-play in the Museum. Members of the first Youth Advisory Council will be enlisted as Alumni to model appropriate adult participation and share experiences as former Council Members