SARASOTA, FLA.- The modern museum is a vibrant, inclusive hub of activities for the community that it serves. With the guidance of its new strategic plan, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art has made great strides toward achieving its goals of inclusion, inspiration and excellence. As The Ringling’s Youth and Family program manager, Angelica Hull has seen firsthand the difference that creative and inclusive programming can make in the lives of Sarasota families. Hull reports that last year over 10,000 children, ages 0-12 years and their accompanying adults participated in the museum’s family programs, including Stroller Tours, Museum of Art Mondays, Family Saturdays, Home School Thursday’s and ROAR (The Ringling’s Preschool reading program). “We have facilitated 222 programs for children and families over the last year. All of the programs are free of charge to families. The Ringling education department has a strong commitment to making the museum accessible to people of all ages,” said Hull. Information can be found here.

The museum also positively impacts an additional 9,500 students who come to the museum from 17 Florida counties on field trips. As the State Art Museum of Florida, The Ringling is a favorite destination for both school trips and teacher training. Six workshops were held that provided continuing education credit and professional development opportunities for 150 teachers, training them in topics such as visual thinking strategies and how to integrate the arts into classroom subjects. According to Katie Nickel, School and Teacher Program Coordinator, “The Ringling has awarded over $9,000 in bus scholarships to local schools. This allows teachers to bring students to the museum at no cost. This is very important for our Title 1 schools.”

The Ringling’s Where Everyone Belongs (WEB) program is part of an outreach initiative which provides free Family Level memberships to underserved families. Through the WEB program, families in our community have the opportunity to explore the museum together. More than 600 families have received free memberships, thus far. Participation in WEB is by way of partnerships with nonprofit community organizations. Generous funding from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County have made this program possible.

Families engaged in the program will learn how to make the most of a museum visit with their children – including how to spark children’s curiosity and find learning opportunities all-around! WEB families may return to the museum as often as they like. WEB Family memberships include free admission to the museum, guest passes and much more. More information can be found at webfamily@ringling.org.

“The Ringling is committed to engaging with all members of our community” said Executive Director Steven High. “Family, school and community education programming are essential to our mission. To make the museum accessible to all is paramount in our strategic vision.”