WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 1 00:00:00.770 --> 00:00:06.220 The National Medal for Museum and Library services is the nation’s highest honor for 2 00:00:06.220 --> 00:00:11.900 libraries and museums that are serving their communities in exciting ways. 3 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:16.870 Madison Children’s Museum director Ruth Shelly and community member Benjamin Perreth 4 00:00:16.870 --> 00:00:22.580 traveled to Washington to receive the national medal and spoke to IMLS about how the museum 5 00:00:22.580 --> 00:00:23.880 impacts the community. 6 00:00:23.880 --> 00:00:30.460 Ruth Shelly: Madison Children’s museum I think is unique in its intensely only local 7 00:00:30.460 --> 00:00:31.460 focus. 8 00:00:31.460 --> 00:00:37.800 We use only local people, only local products and processes that involve the local community. 9 00:00:37.800 --> 00:00:42.850 Madison, Dane County, and the State of Wisconsin is growing in its diversity. 10 00:00:42.850 --> 00:00:47.580 The University of Wisconsin is there and so we have many different cultures coming to 11 00:00:47.580 --> 00:00:48.580 the university. 12 00:00:48.580 --> 00:00:52.760 It’s the state capital and so we have many different people coming to use the city as 13 00:00:52.760 --> 00:00:58.740 for government but I see an increasing diversity not just cultural diversity but also in people 14 00:00:58.740 --> 00:01:05.950 with differing abilities in age, and we realize that as a museum we wanted to be as inclusive 15 00:01:05.950 --> 00:01:07.479 as possible. 16 00:01:07.479 --> 00:01:11.659 Well like any non-profit, we’re working on a shoestring budget and so volunteers are 17 00:01:11.659 --> 00:01:14.149 the backbone of our organization. 18 00:01:14.149 --> 00:01:19.140 We really rely on them to help us deliver high quality visitor service, to work behind 19 00:01:19.140 --> 00:01:25.219 the scenes, but in addition volunteers give our museum that unique community character, 20 00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:29.819 because it’s the people of the community who built the museum and then when they’re 21 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:33.799 part of it as a volunteer they feel even more invested. 22 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:39.539 And we work particularly with people with special abilities like Ben who find a home 23 00:01:39.539 --> 00:01:43.549 in the museum because it’s a welcoming easy place to be. 24 00:01:43.549 --> 00:01:50.499 Benjamin Perreth: I struggle with mental illness and physical illnesses too. 25 00:01:50.499 --> 00:01:59.569 Right before I joined the volunteering staff at the children museum, Madison Children museum. 26 00:01:59.569 --> 00:02:10.580 I was in a low point of my life and I had no hope, but the Madison children museum has 27 00:02:10.580 --> 00:02:12.570 re-written my fate. 28 00:02:12.570 --> 00:02:20.420 When I am there my bosses assign me to be on the floor and I am like the mother bear 29 00:02:20.420 --> 00:02:28.970 always watching for a kid is lost or like if they lost their toy I pick up and I go 30 00:02:28.970 --> 00:02:32.420 straight to the front desk where the lost and found is. 31 00:02:32.420 --> 00:02:40.010 And also I am walking around always and just giving influence to the kids like, “Good 32 00:02:40.010 --> 00:02:43.640 job,” or “You climbed up can you can climb across?” 33 00:02:43.640 --> 00:02:53.190 The imagination of the kids is infinite, and I just love watching them grow and learn and 34 00:02:53.190 --> 00:03:01.310 at the children museum it’s like a dream, a lovely dream never ending. 35 00:03:01.310 --> 00:03:05.690 Ruth Shelly: Ben speaks so eloquently about the difference Madison Children’s museum 36 00:03:05.690 --> 00:03:11.710 has made in his life but the reverse is true because his presence has really influenced 37 00:03:11.710 --> 00:03:13.280 us as well. 38 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:19.920 And so we have plans for Ben in terms of helping us as we become a museum even more attuned 39 00:03:19.920 --> 00:03:26.760 to people with special needs because Ben can advice us in terms of how we can be more accessible, 40 00:03:26.760 --> 00:03:31.540 more inclusive and more welcoming to people from all abilities. 41 00:03:31.540 --> 00:03:38.380 When people walk in to our museum we want them to see themselves in the employees that 42 00:03:38.380 --> 00:03:39.850 surround them. 43 00:03:39.850 --> 00:03:47.490 And so Ben is a wonderful example of someone with special gifts and special challenges 44 00:03:47.490 --> 00:03:50.790 who is working very successfully on the floor. 45 00:03:50.790 --> 00:03:58.010 And so when children with special needs come in its like wow they employ people like me 46 00:03:58.010 --> 00:04:03.320 and I have this hope to be able to be employed in the future but its not just special needs 47 00:04:03.320 --> 00:04:07.569 it’s people from all different economic backgrounds, cultural backgrounds we’re 48 00:04:07.569 --> 00:04:14.400 so committed to having our staff reflect the people we serve because that’s what being 49 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:16.690 about the community entails. �