Discovery Museum 40th logo. Small square photos of each dinner speaker. Velora Washington is a smiling black woman in a purple blazer. David Sobel is a smiling white man posing with a girl and boy outside with a table of vegetables. Peter H. Reynolds is smiling with his chin resting on his hand holding a pencil. Cartoon characters are sitting on his shoulder. Derrick Z Jackson is a smiling man in a grey blazer.

40th Anniversary Dinner Dialogues

Perspectives on the Future of Childhood

 

Please note that we are no longer accepting registrations for these dinners. Thank you to the many supporters and friends who have made them possible!

As we at Discovery Museum celebrate 40 years of service to the families of our region, we also turn our vision and imagination to the future. What will childhood look like in the next 40 years?  And on what critical issues can our communities prepare now to inspire future change?

Please join us for a very special experience at the Discovery Museum this fall. At four small and exclusive dinners, we will examine, discuss, and debate the future of childhood under the guidance of national experts with compelling and sometimes provocative perspectives.  

These dinner events are a fundraiser for the Museum; ticket donations start at $500 per seat. 

The Manton Foundation has granted a generous challenge of up to $100,000 to match each dinner ticket donation dollar-for-dollar. There will be no fundraising at the dinners. If you cannot attend the dinners, but would like to help us achieve The Manton Foundation challenge, we would be grateful for your support. 

Schedule

All events will be held at Discovery Museum, 177 Main Street, Acton, and will begin at 6:00pm. Cocktails in the Discovery Treehouse will be followed by dinner and discussion inside the Museum. Each dinner will be limited to 40 guests. Catering by Timothy S. Hopkins Catering of Essex, MA.

The Future of Childhood: Changing the Game for the Alpha Generation 
Tuesday, September 13, 6:00pm
Valora Washington, Ph.D.
President & CEO, The CAYL Institute; former Vice President, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Children and Nature: A Critical Future Partnership 
Wednesday, September 21, 6:00pm
David Sobel
Trailblazing environmental educator and author; Professor Emeritus in the Education Department at Antioch University New England

Readying Kids to Build the Future on Empathy and Creativity
Thursday, October 6, 6:00pm
Peter H. Reynolds
Writer, storyteller, and illustrator (The Dot); Founder, FableVision and Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning, and Creativity 

The Future of America’s Worst Experiment: Denying Science 
Wednesday, October 12, 6:00pm
Derrick Z. Jackson
Pulitzer Prize finalist; former columnist, The Boston Globe, Newsday; Union of Concerned Scientists Fellow