Discovery Museum Rolls Out Extensive Set of Educational Materials Translated into Multiple Languages for Museum Visitors, At-home Learners, and Student Families

A $75,000 Grant from Yawkey Foundation Funded the Project over three years

Acton, MA – Discovery Museum has completed work to translate educational content used onsite and online for learning at home from English into seven additional languages, part of a multi-year project to support non-English speakers visiting the Museum or using its online educational resources. A three-year, $75,000 grant from Yawkey Foundation funded the project.

More than 130 multi-page content pieces have been translated from English into Simplified Chinese, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Translated content includes more than 60 “Discovery at Home” hands-on STEAM explorations; parent-student surveys and hands-on activity instructions for children who visit on field trips or experience the Museum’s Traveling Science Workshops in their classrooms; exhibit guides for each of the Museum’s galleries; guides for parent chaperones accompanying their children on field trips; and the Museum’s “Social Story and Sensory Map,” an accessible introduction to the museum experience for families with children with sensory sensitivities or neurological differences. Additional materials have been translated for the Museum’s work to support incarcerated young fathers at North Central Correctional Institute and Middlesex House of Corrections and their children.

“Twenty-five percent of Massachusetts students speak a language other than English as their first language, suggesting that families would benefit from access to translated materials when exploring the Museum or learning together at home,” said CEO Marie Beam. “We are thrilled to offer this broad set of content in multiple languages to better welcome and engage a diverse audience of families across the more than 300 cities and towns that we serve. We are particularly grateful to Yawkey Foundation for sharing this vision and supporting this work.”

About Discovery Museum 

Discovery Museum is a hands-on museum for families that blends science, nature, and play. The museum and its Discovery Woods accessible outdoor nature playscape and giant treehouse blend the best of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning on a beautiful 4.5-acre campus abutting 180 acres of conservation land in Acton, MA, about 20 miles west of Boston. Originally founded in 1982 and expanded to two museums in 1987, the museum reopened in a single, 16,000sf accessible building after a complete renovation and expansion in early 2018. Hands-on, open-ended exhibits developed by professional educators inspire curiosity and exploration, providing a fun and engaging experience for children and adults to discover their world together. Serving families and schools from towns throughout the region, the museum is devoted to informal education that enhances classroom learning. Discovery Museum is committed to accessibility and is a proud recipient of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Award, the only winner in the Access category, and a LEAD® Community Asset Award from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 

In 2024 Discovery Museum was awarded a National Medal for Museum Service from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the nation’s highest honor awarded to museums that make “significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.”

Discovery Museum is a community-supported non-profit organization.

###

Translation work was completed by JR Language Translation Services, Inc.