Once a museum without walls, the KID museum is a place where everything is meant to be touched. KID offers unique, maker experiences for elementary and middle school-aged children that integrate hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) learning with an exploration of world cultures and global citizenship. The museum has four focus areas or studios including woodworking, textiles, electronics, and a fabrication lab. KID Museum's current site at Davis Library in Bethesda, Maryland provides schools and the wider community with programs and workshops during the school day, on weekends, after-school, and in the summer. It is a first step toward the museum's vision of a larger, permanent home in Montgomery County, focused on empowering the next generation to invent the future with creativity and compassion. Programming in the space is designed, developed, and facilitated by KID Museum's educators. KID Museum's educational approach blends formal and informal learning by intersecting STEAM principles with hands-on learning. It also supports public and private school educators in their endeavors to lead quality maker learning experiences in the classroom. KID Museum has developed unique partnerships, including with Montgomery County Public Schools, the 18th largest system in the US, to meet the needs of underrepresented populations. With an eye to the future, KID Museum expects to leave the Davis Library and will open a new, larger, 50,000 to 60,000 square foot museum that will serve 250,000 visitors per year. However, situated in a well-to-do Bethesda, Maryland neighborhood, the museum is challenged with meeting the needs of underrepresented populations due to location and costs associated with running the space. This chapter explores KID Museum.
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