Print materials are a big part of our marketing strategies at the Children’s Museum of Richmond. We use brochures at all of our public events, as well as throughout the Museum to advertise our programming and events, such as special nights for children with disabilities, field trips, and other special events. We print Impact Reports each year, which showcase our accomplishments and statistics to stakeholders and the public. We also print programs every year for our Legendary Santa season, which is about thirty pages of information, pictures, and crafts for people to engage with while they wait in line to see Santa at the Museum. Additionally, we have holiday cards we print each year (for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and occasionally Thanksgiving), as well as Thank You cards that go to donors and supporters.

Each year, we host a fundraising gala, and print materials are a huge part of that. We have invitations (which we’ve done via direct mail in the past), which go out to around seven hundred and fifty people. We also have programs, which are about forty pages of ads and Museum-related content. We print silent and live auction signage, including posters and flyers. Additionally, we have lots of event signage needs, including directional signage, sponsor logos, and catering signage. We use direct mail for our end-of-year appeal, where we ask our supporters to donate and support our mission. This is one of our biggest fundraising feats of the year, so it’s vital to our operating.

A visit to the Children's Museum isn't just about fun, it's also about education. So, we have lots of signage throughout the Museum to support early literacy and learning. This includes posters, flyers, signs, and more. For example, in our “Little Farm” area (for ages 0-3), we have posters that teach about five tenets of early childhood education – Talk Sing & Point, Maximize Love & Manage Stress, Discuss and Read Stories, Explore Through Movement & Play, and Count Group & Compare. Having these posters not only educates people about the basics, but also reinforces the importance of reading and comprehension. Parents can read the posters, then use the tips and tricks in play with their children.

We want our Museum to be very print-heavy to encourage kids to learn words and reading comprehension. Kids aren’t just playing, but they’re actively learning new skills, words, and gross motor skills. We also recently gained a bilingual capacity through our new Family Engagement Manager, so we would like to implement Spanish versions of our signage and print materials throughout the Children’s Museum. We also have accessibility and inclusion materials that we’d like to make more readily available to those who need it, such as our social narrative stories that guide people with sensory issues through the Museum layout and what they might encounter in a regular visit to the Museum. Overall, we want anyone who comes into the Children’s Museum of Richmond to not only have fun, but to learn while doing so, and print helps us tremendously with that mission.