Staten Island Children’s Museum (SICM)
Staten Island Children’s Museum (SICM) nurtures the creativity and curiosity natural to all children. It recognizes and celebrates different learning styles, and demonstrates vividly that learning can be exciting and fun. SICM works to achieve these goals through programming that emphasizes direct and authentic hands-on experiences. They encourage participation by visitors of all abilities and design special programs to serve as an educational resource through community centers and schools.
Sector: Nonprofit Cultural & Educational Institution | Location: Staten Island, NY
Staten Island Children’s Museum sought help from WebServes following Pandemic shutdown
The Challenge
How can WebServes assist SICM to deliver alternative programs during COVID closure?
SICM approached WebServes to assist in implementing a content delivery platform for museum programs based on the physical facilities. SICM had shutdown during the Pandemic but wanted to meaningfully engage with their audience, community. This was not only a technical challenge, but also a cultural and experiential one. How could SICM maintain its authentic, interactive, hands-on engagement character? How could SICM continue to benefit its youth-centric community (pre-school youth, students, parents, teachers, and caregivers), who were denied access to the physical space?
The Process
Needs-based analysis and customer insights guide the design
- WS needs-based and human-centered in its approach to cultivating responses to client requests and their subsequent problem-solving efforts.
- We convened a series of video conferences with SICM principals. We began to identify sets of goals and sets of hindrances and aversions related to the shaping of a response with maximum satisfaction potential.
- We isolated key attributes of the effort: execution time, execution cost, adaptability, accessibility, maintenance cost, avoidance of redundancy, among others. In order to satisfy such criteria, we needed to prioritize.
- The initial list of priorities: To minimize cost overall; to maximize accessibility to community; and to produce durable content.
- We also concluded that: to satisfy all the main criteria, we needed to predicate our response on the existing web platform, already familiar to its established audiences. The creation of a dedicated web portal within the hosted web framework.
The Solution
A new portal was developed for access to virtual, online experiences
WebServes developed a unique web portal: AT HOME WITH SICM. It offered customized video content, downloadable resources, and chat sessions, all focused on remote activities, (esp. art projects and cooking sessions). WebServes offered content guidelines and optimization services to implement these web-based resources. The execution was very timely and efficient; and WS continued to provide support services during the Pandemic.
The Outcome
WS created a digital content framework and cultivated an online community for SICM that would otherwise be isolated and without access to the enriching resources afforded by the physical facility. The project built on SICM’s established value to a community. The impact was significant and built deeper and more sustainable relationships over this period to the present. Working quickly and efficiently, WebServes demonstrated a commitment to creative and technically effective responses in unprecedented times.
