Education :: Success Stories

Nearly 4,000 young people have benefited academically and personally through...since 1987

Students stay at the Museum, year-after-year. Many begin as children in the Museum Club and mature into Discovery Squad teens.

100 percent graduation rate for D-Squad teens, who enter their senior year while in the program!

92 percent college admission rate for D-Squad teens (most are the first in their family to attend college)

Improved academic achievement. The longer a student is in the program, the more their grades improve. All students are required to produce report cards and progress reports. Study skills, reading levels and an overall interest in learning develops as young people experience education in an informal, hands-on, interactive environment that encourages individual achievement, mutual respect and cooperation. Teams are formed as Museum staff, students, parents, teachers, social workers and principals work together for a child’s success!

Teens develop a renewed interest in education and other fields which often leads to specific college and career choices.

Social skills blossom through community service projects; participation in Museum events, receptions and programs; mentoring other students; working together on experiments, projects and on trips; sharing their knowledge with Museum visitors.

The Museum Club has been acknowledged by the local chapter of the NAACP for “enhancing the quality of life for youth in the Capital District.”

On a national level, the Museum Club was recognized by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities for “innovative, educational programs that offer opportunities for children and youth to learn new skills, expand their horizons and develop a sense of self, well-being and belonging.”