Children's Museum Installs Learning Hub At Harlem Shelter

HARLEM, NY — More than 150 homeless families living at the Hamilton Family Residence in Harlem will have access to educational tools as a result of an expanding partnership between the Children's Museum of Manhattan and the city Department of Homeless Services.

City and museum officials cut the ribbon on the latest "Health and Learning Hub" in the Harlem shelter last week. The installation is an exact replica of educational programming offered at the Children's Museum of Manhattan, museum president Andrew Ackerman said.

"Children living like places in homeless shelters will greatly benefit from work we do at the Children's Museum," Ackerman said. "The idea is to take out exhibits and our programs and to replicate them offsite in all five boroughs.

The partnership between the Department of Homeless Services and the Children's Museum of Manhattan began nearly two decades ago and has resulted in more than 15 learning hubs, Department of Homeless Services Joslyn Carter said. In addition to the learning hub at the Hamilton Family Residence, DHS and the Children's Museum opened a learning hub this spring int eh Park Avenue Manor Family Shelter in Brooklyn and will open two more in the fall, cofficials said.

The museum installations at the Hamilton Family Residence are primarily visual and interactive and cover a variety of topics including basic educational skills such as reading and also health and wellness tips.

"I believe, like the Children's Museum does, that learning and education for children is paramount," Carter said. "That's how he grow children out of poverty."

Jessica Jordan, a 23-year-old resident of the Hamilton Family Residence, said the new museum installation will help her teach her 4-year-old daughter about healthy eating and living. Jordan said she is also looking forward to using a free one-year membership to the Children's Museum of Manhattan, which is being provided to all families living at the Hamilton Family Residence.

"That will be nice for all of us to go even after we get out of here," Jordan said. "We can continue to go there and help us educate our kids."

The DHS and Children's Museum will continue to look for opportunities to install more learning hubs at DHS facilities, Carter said. The learning hub at the Hamilton Family Residence was funded by a $200,000 grant from Target and a $75,000 grant from New York Community Trust.

Photos by Brendan Krisel/Patch