KidsBridge
The College of New Jersey
P.O. Box 4561
Chambersburg Station
Trenton, NJ 08611

Organization Description and Mission

Kidsbridge Children’s Museum is dedicated to providing imaginative, interactive exhibits and programs that foster character education, diversity appreciation, life skills and conflict resolution/anti-violence (bullying).  It will be a place to go, see, do, learn and have fun.

Goals:

To help children to be responsible, cooperative and informed citizens

• To foster peacemaking and peacemaker skills
• To create programs and exhibits with measurable learning outcomes
• To increase diversity appreciation and sensitivity
• To encourage and herald community service by youth
• To be an educational resource for parents, guardians, teachers, other educators and the community
• To foster children’s creative thinking, problem-solving skills, socially responsible behavior, self-confidence and self-esteem
• To provide opportunities for children and families from diverse backgrounds to learn together in a safe, nurturing, inclusive, and stimulating environment

Needs Statement

Geographically and demographically, New Jersey is a microcosm of diversity.  New Jersey’s population of 8 million people includes more than 100 ethnic and cultural groups.  Sadly, the very diversity which enriches our society is the source of conflict and ill-will for many citizens.  The fabric of our local and national society has been threatened by acts of intolerance and prejudice. 

Today, more than ever before, we believe it is of utmost importance for children, teachers and families to engage in educational experiences that lead to increased awareness of our place in the world and in the human family.  The foundation for Kidsbridge programs is sound educational practice, through interdisciplinary activities which support the Core Curriculum Content Standards instituted in 1996 by The New Jersey Department of Education.  Underscoring academic areas and cross-content standards is the Kidsbridge commitment to multicultural education. 
Kidsbridge hopes to be a change agent in the lives of children, guiding them to be independent thinkers who believe in themselves and in their power to make the world a better place to live. Additionally, we strive to close the achievement gap that often plagues children from disadvantaged backgrounds.  This colossal task necessitates the joint work of educators, parents and other stakeholders.  To this end, Kidsbridge has been working diligently to build partnerships with established educational organizations. 

Programs

Sixth Annual Young Humanitarian Awards: Each year, this Awards program is warmly received by the educators and administrators of Mercer County public and parochial schools.  Individuals and student groups who committed acts of kindness, bravery, or extraordinary community service are nominated by school administrators and teachers.  The winners, selected by a panel of independent judges, included children from both public and parochial schools, in urban and suburban school districts.  Winners are awarded Certificates of Commendation, as well as gift certificates from Triangle Art Supplies Store. The 2005 program was held at Merrill Lynch honoring 117 students across the County.  The 2006 program was held at The College of New Jersey honoring 56 students.

Professional Development Conferences:  Kidsbridge believes that the support of professional educators through quality training and development opportunities is essential to our education system.    We are pleased that the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA) invites Kidsbridge, Inc. to develop full-day conferences to be held at the NJPSA conference center in Jamesburg.  Workshops feature exciting multidisciplinary activities and explore the challenge to design and implement innovative and relevant elementary and middle school curriculum.  Our most recent seminars were “Building School Civility” and
“Growing Character in Elementary Schools.”

Summer Leadership Camps:  Kidsbridge designs and conducts summer programs for children ages 6 through 18 who reside in urban neighborhoods.  The program includes a combination of creative and team-building activities, which will empower children to see themselves as capable and achievement oriented.  Seed money for program design was provided by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.  The program is being implemented in partnership with the Trenton YMCA, the Trenton YWCA and Prevent Child Abuse of New Jersey.

Community Events:  Kidsbridge staff and volunteers participate in several special community events.  For Safe Kids Day at St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, we created a fun, interactive bingo game, teaching children safety facts.  For the Lore Multicultural Festival, Kidsbridge staff creates a multicultural mask-making activity complete with interesting facts about masks around the world. 

Gang Resistance and Awareness Programs:  Our programs are designed to help young students recognize, understand and resist gangs.  Third Grade through eighth grade students in Trenton experience a combination of lessons, videos, playacting and interactive participation.  The program measures the students’ perceptions and attitudes before and after the programs. Answering a community need, Kidsbridge also plans to host professional development opportunities for educators. 

Refugee Awareness and Sensitivity Workshops: This project would develop and present curriculum to educate elementary school students about circumstances that create refugee situations and encourage empathy for the challenging situations that refugee children face in transitioning to a new culture.  Research in Trenton’s elementary schools indicates that this is a major problem in Trenton’s South Ward for African and Central American children.

Adventures in Storytelling:  Sponsored by the NJ Commission for Holocaust Education, this pilot program enabled Kidsbridge to develop a presentation on the Native American culture and offer it free of charge to several classes in area schools.  The success of the program led to a partnership with The College of New Jersey, which is described below.

Storytelling Seminar and Outreach Program:  Kidsbridgepresents seminars to Child Development elementary education majors at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ).  The seminars detail the importance of multicultural education, and include a sample of interdisciplinary, multicultural storytelling suitable for elementary school children.  Kidsbridge subsequently assists student teachers in the development of multicultural storytelling activities to present at Trenton schools.  This program allows many children to be served through the partnership of Kidsbridge and TCNJ, with the further advantage of providing professional training for future teachers. 

Mini- Museum on a College Campus

Kidsbridge Children’s Museum has created a mini-museum a.k.a. learning lab on campus at The College of New Jersey—a highly accredited university in New Jersey rated ”Most Competitive” by Barron’s and formerly known as Trenton State Teachers College.  The mini-museum includes components of the exhibit “Face to Face:  Dealing with Prejudice and Discrimination,” an exhibit created by the Chicago Children’s Museum that Kidsbridge has purchased.  The goal is to create an environment where The College of New Jersey students and professors may interact with approximately 1000 elementary school students in 2006, and more in 2007.

This environment also provides the opportunity to bring children from different communities together.  Children from high, middle and low-income families will be mixed together so that they can make new friends, develop new sensitivities and learn about tolerance and discrimination in a truly diverse environment.

Museum Exhibits

Kidsbridge’s vision is to build a state-of-the-art, interactive children’s museum to serve Central New Jersey and the Delaware Valley.  Located in the heart of our capital city’s revitalization district near the Sovereign Bank Arena,--Kidsbridge looks forward to serving its target audience, children ages 2 to 12.  Kidsbridge is proud to introduce the corporate sponsors who have generously committed funding for the museum’s eight permanent exhibits:
 

• Paper Power Exhibit, sponsored by Journal Register Company:  Focused on communications, careers in print media and journalism, and current events, this exhibit develops the concept that writing is a “power-tool.”

• Challenge Zone, sponsored by St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center:  St. Lawrence promotes education about safety and prevention. This exhibit will teach children self-help and protection skills related to sports and recreation, as well as raise awareness toward the challenges of “differently-abled” persons.

• Science and Energy, sponsored by PSEG:  A leading factor in how cultures develop around the world, energy sources and the effects of energy increase our knowledge of the global community.

• Children’s Tolerance Exhibit, sponsored by The Gluck Family:  This exhibit will introduce issues of bigotry and bias, acceptance and appreciation of others, and taking personal responsibility for actions. 

• Kids’ Supermarket and Growing Room, sponsored by Wakefern Food Corporation/ShopRite Supermarkets:  The exhibit illustrates how food gets from the farm to the store.  A demonstration kitchen is also planned for preparing foods from different cultures and countries.

• Healthy Kids, sponsored by Capital Health System:  Getting to know about how our bodies work, both inside and out, helps us understand how to keep ourselves healthy.  Nutrition will be a central focus, with children learning why healthy eating is so important.  Key elements of the exhibit will lead to positive attitudes about the healthcare community and the importance of self-care.

• Kid’s Bank, sponsored by Bank of America:  Money makes the world go round!  Children will explore careers in banking, opening a bank account, & how an ATM works.  In this exhibit, a variety of hands-on tools and experiences will help children learn about money management.

• Kids’ Clubhouse, sponsored by Kiwanis Club of Trenton:  Kiwanis clubs the world over uphold their creed to “serving the children of the world.”  The Kiwanis Club of Trenton wants children to know that each individual can make a difference, and working together, we can accomplish even more.

Community and Population Served by the Organization

To raise self esteem, empathy and victim empowerment, Kidsbridge offers character education and diversity appreciation programs in their tolerance museum and other outreach programs. Kidsbridge is particularly interested in assisting at risk Trenton youth with successful life skills programs and is looking for college mentors for the fall semester.

Research Questions

CYBER-BULLYING

• How have the Internet and social media affected bullying and social ostracism?  Is “cyber-bullying” a major problem, or an isolated one?  To what extent are social media sites, blogs, and other on-line communities being used to bully or intimidate children and youth?  Is anyone monitoring this activity?  How have people and institutions (e.g., schools) responded to cyber-bullying?

COMPUTER SOFTWARE FOR GANG PREVENTION

• Kidsbridge would like a student to study alternative media used as gang prevention tools. What software and software models are most effective at different grade levels (elementary, middle and high school)?  Students would research the pros and cons of different software designs at the different grade levels. Is it more effective for the software to be designed as a competitive game? Should there be an educational summary at the end of the game? What type of graphic design and scenario development would be more effective at capturing the intended audience’s attention? What companies or foundations support these programs?

SELF-ESTEEM/NARCISSICM IN TEENS AND TWEENS

• Modern elementary and middle schools often are the scenes of name-calling and overwhelming social abuse.  Are kids today different because of this social intolerance?  Is the intolerance getting worse?  Is altruism decreasing among children?   Is self-esteem rising or falling? How has the recent media climate altered children’s interest in community service and helping others? Are values of civility and respect on the rise or falling among children? Why?

KIDS’ SELF-INDUCED ISOLATION & SOCIAL SKILLS

• Kids increasingly spend their time watching television or using the computer, playing videogames, and using portable handheld game devices. As kids spend less time in social interaction and more on electronics, how does their self-induced isolation affect their social awareness and personal skills?  What should be a parent’s role in controlling the use of electronics? How does self-induced isolation affect the potential to develop job skills?

VIDEO/TV/INTERNET VIOLENCE

• Are video games, television and the internet becoming more or less violent?  How does violence in video games affect a child’s behavior and relationships?  How has the behavior of children changed since the 1960s? How have the values of empathy and self-esteem changed among children? Is copy cat behavior an issue?

KIDS & COMMUNITY SERVICE

• Kidsbridge has created a museum exhibit called “Kid Heroes: Kids Doing Community Service,” and they would like students to find out what elementary, middle, and high school students around the world are doing to make the world a better place. What is ‘service learning’ and how is that different from community service? Detail the rise and impact of service learning on kids. Is community service on the rise or fall? How important are parents and teachers as role models? How important are other role models?

KIDS AND THEIR ROLE MODELS

• Who do kids look up to as “heroes”?  Are they sports stars?  Celebrities?  Political activists?  How do children find out about these heroes?   How do children’s heroes affect what a child hopes to do in life?  Are the ‘heroes’ of the 21st century different from the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s? How and why?

PEER-TO-PEER LEADERSHIP AND LIFE SKILLS PROGRESS

• Kidsbridge would like to know more about Peer Leadership Programs for upper elementary and middle school students. Princeton students could report on successful programs that have been implemented in other parts of the country. What works and what does not work? Why is this the case? What parameters are needed to create a successful program? Evidence-based programs?

PREJUDICE/DISCRIMINATION/HATE CRIMES

• What are the effects of prejudice and discrimination in children?  How do prejudice and discrimination affect self-esteem?  How do they impact academic learning? What is the percentage of young adults in New Jersey that are affected by intolerance and prejudice? Are hate crimes in New Jersey increasing or decreasing?

VICTIM EMPOWERMENT AND BYSTANDER PROGRAMS

• What programs exist to teach kids victim empowerment skills? What effective program exists to teach a bystander how to ‘stand up and speak out’?  Do these programs teach children how to counteract a bully?  How to be an upstander?  How many schools have effective programs in these areas? What are the effective character education programs?  What do they measure? Are longitudinal programs more effective than short-term ones?

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