Nature Playscape
A social outdoor play space filled with natural elements to encourage fun through unstructured play.
In 2018, we launched our plan to build a free and accessible Nature Playscape at LSNC. Filled with natural elements, this outdoor social space encourages building, exploration, and fun through unstructured play.
Support to the LSNC Nature Playscape:
Establishes a free and accessible play area that will serve Southeast Michigan for generations to come.
Invests in the well-being of our community and environment.
Provides opportunities for children to socialize during a critical stage in their development.
With your support, we can build something truly remarkable: relationships with nature that will last a lifetime.
EBT Discount Program
Together, we can open doors to discovery for our entire community.
Originating with a belief that STEM and environmental education should be open to all and free from financial barriers, in 2019 we began to provide a discount to any Museum visitors who qualify for EBT, WIC, or SNAP benefits. We immediately saw the impact this program had for families across our greater Southeast Michigan community. Currently, we find that approximately 1 in 5 visitors utilize this discount, and to date, it has made more than 11,000 first-time Museum visits possible.
Support to our EBT program:
Eliminates a barrier that prevents many children and families from accessing informal science education.
Builds a bridge to transformative moments of connection between children and STEM fields.
Enables families to create lasting memories by learning together.
Preschool Programs
Bringing social and educational experiences for young children to our sites.
Though we have all struggled to adapt to our ever-changing circumstances, children have borne the challenges of the pandemic with astonishing resilience, teaching us lessons about patience, courage, and caring for others.
For the entirety of our existence, both AAHOM and LSNC have been committed to providing age-appropriate learning opportunities for our youngest visitors. As we explore what these experiences might look like coming out of the pandemic, we will seek funding to help us create opportunities that prioritize:
Nature-based activities at Leslie Science & Nature Center. Through story times and drop-off preschool age programming, children will experience environmental education in an age-appropriate format. We will provide immersive experiences which build upon one another allowing children to take in information about their environment using all their senses and promoting an understanding and appreciation of our natural world.
A staffed Preschool Gallery at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum with activity stations. Gifts of support will help us hire a specialist in preschool education, who will train a team of volunteer educators to lead age-appropriate STEM activities, engaging preschoolers, and their families, in hands-on exploration of states of matter, basic physics, and even chemistry experiments, feeding their natural curiosity and encouraging exploration of the sciences.
Wildlife
Strengthening our community’s relationship to the natural world.
For decades, LSNC’s resident birds of prey and Michigan Native wildlife have been an indispensable part of our educational programs at LSNC. Teaching our community about the behaviors, habitats, and fascinating physical characteristics of these species fosters insight into the animals that share the earth with us. We know that curiosity today leads to more purposeful lives tomorrow and believe in the power of education to transform how people view and behave toward the world around them. Visitors who make informal trips to our site are often awed by the chance to see these magnificent birds up close and observe their keen eyes and fierce talons.
Each of our raptors have sustained permanent injuries in the wild, leaving them unable to survive without human aid. They are housed in outdoor enclosures year-round, where they have ample space to move about, many perches, and places where they can sleep and hide.
Wildlife support through an animal adoption or donation to our wildlife fund directly contributes to the day-to-day care of our animals including feeding, veterinary checkups, maintenance of the enclosures, staff support, and training of our wildlife volunteers.
Endowment Funds
Investing in the work and mission of our united organization.
Begun with a single donation, our Endowments, which are managed by the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundations, have grown to over $1.5 million. Contributions made to this fund build the principal creating more interest which may be re-invested into our organization or used to cover essential operational costs for the organization.
With a goal of reaching $3 million by 2024, your gift to our endowment fund provides a sustainable investment guaranteeing AAHOM and LSNC’s longevity and ability to withstand future challenges and uncertainty.
Our endowment funds are managed by Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation.
