OMA Award Spotlight - Little Buckeye Children's Museum

On Sunday, April 14, the Ohio Museums Association held our Annual Awards dinner to recognize the winners of our 2018 Awards of Achievement and 2018 Visual Communication Awards, in conjunction with the 2019 Annual Conference in Akron.

In the beautiful Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens Manor House, OMA celebrated the outstanding achievement of Ohio museums in Visual Communications, individual and institutional achievement, and the tireless work museum professionals undertake to help to advance Ohio’s museum community both locally, and on a national level.

Over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting our 2018 OMA Award of Achievement winners with our OMA Award Spotlight. 

OMA Award Spotlight - Awards of Achievement

The Awards of Achievement are presented to reflect the outstanding quality and caliber of work by Ohio museums and their professionals in two categories: Institutional Achievement Awards and Individual Achievement Awards.

Nominations for these awards are incredibly detailed. This in-depth process helps to illustrate how these institutions and individuals have gone “above and beyond” the normal call of duty to support their institution, serve their public and advance the cause of the museum community.

Each year, the review panel is overwhelmed by the outstanding projects, innovative programming and dedication to our field as exhibited in each of the institutional and individual nominations. Congratulations again to each of our award winners! 

Today, we'll be featuring our winner for the 2018 award for Best Community Partnership under $500,000.

Little Buckeye Children's Museum - Discover Richland Membership Bundle

In early 2018, Little Buckeye Children’s Museum met with three other family-oriented community organizations – Kingwood Center Gardens, Ohio Bird Sanctuary and Richland Carrousel Park – to discuss how they could better serve their shared customer-base. Almost a year later, the Discover Richland Membership Bundle was officially launched.

Through the bundle, participants receive a year-long membership to Little Buckeye, the Gardens and the Bird Sanctuary, plus 12 tickets to the Carrousel Park at a savings of 20%. Working together, these organizations not only increased their membership, but expanded awareness of their fellow partners, allowing the organizations to more fully serve their community and better fulfill their missions.

As anyone who has partnered with outside organizations know, it wasn’t always an easy path. As they wrote in their nomination, “The road to launch was often paved with challenges. At many times, it would have been easier to quit and continue independently.

“But we knew the impact that this project could have on the families in our community…and we felt it was our responsibility to that community to continue.”

As the President of Destination Mansfield wrote, “The Discover Richland Membership Bundle is a wonderful example of identifying a need and putting together a product that makes it easy for families to find a diversity of fun and educational experiences close to home.”


Does your museum have an innovative and impactful collaboration planned for the 2019 season? Be sure to nominate it for the 2019 award for Best Community Partnership! Learn more here.

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