KidsQuest Children’s Museum2015 Annual Report

A Letter from the President

KidsQuest’s mission is to create learning through the power of play and exploration that connects children to their communities and the world. But how does an organization create learning? By creating opportunities. By investing in new programs like Low Sensory Evenings, which gives kids with sensory sensitivities the opportunity to explore the museum at their own pace. By building new exhibits like the Back to the Drawing Board Gallery which allows children to experiment with open-ended art. By increasing free public outreach so that families can experience the magic of KidsQuest at their local park, even if they can’t visit the museum.

Learning is a path, not a destination. As we continue to dream up new opportunities in our current Factoria home, we are also designing and building our new permanent home. What exhibit components will help our families learn best? How can we design a space that works with our current programs and future programs? We are infinitely grateful for all of our donors, members, and friends that support us along this path, and we look forward to creating learning opportunities for many years to come.

3,751 KidsQuest Members

180,393 Total ServedMuseum Visitors | Outreach Participants

5,079 Free or discounted admissions and memberships$1 Third Thursday Night | King County Library Systems | Bellevue Lifespring Sound Mental Health | Museums for All (EBT card holders) | KidsQuest Scholarships

712 Free or discounted military admissionsBlue Star Museums | Gold Star Museums | Veteran’s Day Discount | Military Discount

New Exhibits in 2015KidsQuest relocated its Book Nook this year in order to make room for a brand new exhibit, the Back to the Drawing Board Gallery. Children of all ages become artists and art aficionados in this introductory art gallery. On the wet art wall kids can explore paint on a vertical surface, finger paint with shaving cream, use spray bottles to experiment with color mixing, and more. Chalk drawings come to life on the Kinetic Chalk Wall with a hand crank interface that makes drawings move. And in the Chalk Frames kids can fill the gallery wall with their creations, then put on an art opening for their friends, parents, and fellow artists! This is an open-ended activity area where kids become both artists and art patrons.

KidsQuest also introduced the popular Colorful Car Collection Case this year. In this collection, kids are the curators. Kids are invited to arrange, sort and the display the cars as they see fit. Through this process they will exercise their sorting skills, learn basic math, and experiment with color and light. Then they can take the cars for a spin down the racetrack - the perfect introduction to physics!

Programming In 2015, KidsQuest focused on serving and supporting the whole family. We introduced several new programs this year to help support local families in different ways:

Low Sensory Evenings are a free monthly opportunity for kids with sensory sensitivities to visit the museum without the crowds. KidsQuest limits attendance for this event, and turns down the ambient noise and light. These evenings are especially appropriate for children with autism and/or Sensory Processing Disorder, but Low Sensory Evenings are open to children with any type of special need and their families.

Parents’ Night Out offers parents a drop-off opportunity so they can have a night to themselves to run errands, reconnect with their partner, or just have some much needed downtime. These monthly events offer a themed science or art activity in line with KidsQuest’s other educational programs. Kids are fed, get a chance to tackle a project with KidsQuest’s staff, and have the opportunity for free play.

KidsQuest also formed several new partnerships with local organizations this year. Partnerships allow us to expand our current offerings with the help of outside experts. New partnerships include:

• LEGO® Engineering with Bricks 4 Kidz• Brain Science Basics and Living Laboratory with I-LABS (The Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington)• Ceramics workshops with Studio2You• Dinner & Dancing with 3rd Shift Dance• Dental Screenings with the University of Washington Center for Pediatric Dentistry • Play and Learn Evening with Chinese Information and Service Center

Finally, KidsQuest addressed a whole new audience with Recess on the Rocks. Recess is an adults-only event designed to engage Eastside grown-ups and showcase KidsQuest as a community resource (and not just for kids!). Recent college grads, empty nesters, and parents looking for a fun date night enjoyed after-hours access to KidsQuest’s hands-on exhibits at this fun event, plus cocktails, food trucks, and themed activities designed with grown-ups in mind.

“Thank you for the low sensory evening! Our autistic son had a blast + we noticed a whole different level of focus compared to

our usual visits. Please do again!”

Outreach Every year KidsQuest continues to grow beyond the borders of Factoria. In 2015 we increased our Field Trip to Go programs by 17%, serving 14% more students. This was in part due to a partnership with the Bellevue School District Summer School Program, which brought KidsQuest Educators to Bellevue schools four afternoons a week for a month.

KidsQuest’s growing Field Trip to Go program did not put a damper on our on-site field trips either. In 2015 we saw 83 school groups (2,447 students), a 9% increase in visits over 2014, and a 13% increase in kids.

We also partnered with the Downtown Seattle Association and Bellevue’s Parks & Community Services Department to offer Science in the Park, a free outreach program at local parks around Seattle and Bellevue. This new program allows us to reach a more diverse audience that may not have the opportunity to visit the museum or experience a Field Trip to Go at their school. Science in the Park increased our public outreach offerings by 138% and grew our audience by nearly 1,000 people.

5,039 people in 2013 6,212 people in 2014 7,084 people in 2015

Field Trip to Go Program

3,613 people in

2013

4,190people in

2014

5,155people in

2015Public Outreach

New Museum Update:In 2015 we focused on planning and designing the new museum in preparation for construction to start in 2016. The aesthetic direction of each of the exhibits galleries was finalized, as were the exhibit activities (ie: what visitors will be interacting and experimenting with in each exhibit). We chose the building finishes (counters, floors, walls, etc), and redesigned the climber in the atrium.

$10,482,018 million raised so far

$12.7 million goal

We’re 83% of the way there!

2015 Annual Operating BudgetRevenueContributions 212,429Fundraising events 187,572In-kind 45,576Admissions 297,965Membership 353,593Programs 251,508ExploreStore 22,499Total: 1,365,058

ExpensesPrograms 1,018,115Management 242,066Fundraising 190,807Total: 1,450,988

Change in net 85,930

Admissions 22%

Membership 26%

Program Tuition 18%

ExploreStore 2%

Contributions 15%

Fundraising Events 14%

In-Kind 3%

Programs 70%

Management 17%

Fundraising 13%

BizQuestWith more and more families and businesses moving to downtown Bellevue – including the Museum – KidsQuest introduced a new annual event designed to bring community members together for a valuable discussion. On June 4th KidsQuest hosted its inaugural BizQuest breakfast at the Bellevue Club. BizQuest offers the chance to hear from and engage with local leaders as they share their expertise and perspective on issues challenging families in today’s workforce via a dynamic panel discussion. Our inaugural panel featured executives from Expedia, Tetra Tech and Taco Time NW and the event raised over $30,000 in support of KidsQuest Children’s Museum.

Connie and Leslie PesterfieldJeff and Jody PetersonMichelle and Scott PeyreeGlenda PhilioStephanie PhilioMakiko PierceHilary and Scott PikeLaura Powell and Gary GuentherKeri Pravitz and Nicole LukarisKerry Price and Mike DuffyTracey QueenAmber QuintalJustin and Anne RabeRon and Jacquie RauchFraser ReachMichelle and Todd ReevesTimothy Reinertson and Tami

ReinertsenNicole Ricca and John HopsonVincent and Carole RiccaJill and Dave RittenhouseLeslie and Will RobbinsJennifer and Scott RobertsonLynne Robinson and Daniel

WatsonJoan Romano and Jim MooreCassie and Mark RonishKate RooseveltAubrey RossAlissa Rupp and Tom BakerJennifer and Bob SamerLiz and Steve SantamariaShelley Saunders and Andrew

BenjaminMichael Schrepfer and Suni ElgarJennifer and Peter SchumacherJennifer and John SchwartzMeenakshi Sharma and Amit

BahreeAlison and Barry ShawTia Shaw and Jeremy TaylorCharlie ShefflerJJ Shephard and Lisa AllisomLawrence Shih and Ingrid ChiangYoko ShimomuraAndrea and Tyler SimpsonNichole SimpsonRick and Sally SimpsonMatt and Cherrie SkagerToby and Dee SkeyMoya and Don SkillmanBen Slusser and Erica MeliefKevin and Amy SmithNancy Smith and Mike SterlingSherry and Matt SmithKathryn Smoot and Rafael ZayasAdam and Janna SnyderHeather Speight and Audrey

ChisholmSarah and Brent SpencerDeborah StaffordHeather and Scott StaplesSusan and Liz SteadDeborah StillBettina and John StokesBrandon StoneMaida SuljevicAlayne SulkinEileen and Nick SunMatthew and Sara SutoriusNahoko SuzueJenna and Daniel SytmanOlga and Greg SzwedDavid TanAnthony and Katie TerribiliniSara and Jay Terry

Maria Teruel and James YarrowIvor and Jan ThomasJonathan and Brook ThompsonMounica ThuparaniFaye TillAdrea and Adam TillotsonRobby TonkinBelinda Towns Jackson and

Douglas JacksonMark TranterHeather and Nicolas TrescasesMaggie Tai Tucker and James

GwertzmanMande TurnerLi-Ming Ueng and Michael

KomarnitskyDavicia and David Van De VenterRita and Matt Van Der PeetGregory and Amiee VaughanElizabeth and Kristian VielbigSteve VincentQuynh Vuong and Cary FalkWende and Craig WadsworthTawni Wagner and Amanda

WhitingLindsey and Chad WalimakiKaikai Wang and Jia PanKatie and Jeff WeaverKristen Webb and David SchoolerMarisa and Richard WebbAngie and Chad WeiserDavid and Sharon WestJoe and Sherry WhiteLauren and Craig WileySheryl WillertRandy Williams GurianStuart and Lucy WilliamsTiffany L. WilliamsPeggy WillinghamJason and Sarah WineKelly and Alan WittmanNicole and Eric WongDave and Sherine WoodeySharon Woo-Tzeng and Tony TzengKim and John WymanSherry Zeiler and Joe WhiteMichiko and Todd ZieglerKristina and David ZimmerRobi and Eric Zocher

Corporate, Gov’t & FoundationExpedia, Inc.4CultureAlaska AirlinesAmazon Smile FoundationAvalon BayBader MartinBellevue Rotary FoundationBNSF FoundationBoeing CompanyBungie, Inc.Capstone PartnersCity of BellevueCity of KentClark Nuber, PSCoughlin Porter LundeenDupar FoundationEide ConstructionExpress ConstructionFactoria Pediatric DentistryFoster RealtyFoushee & Associates Co., Inc.Gates FoundationGLY Construction, Inc.Google Matching Gifts Program

Hasbro, Inc.Heritage BankJones Lang LaSalleJTM ConstructionKaye SmithKemper DevelopmentKey BankLincoln Property CompanyMicrosoftNational Living LaboratoryOgden Murphy Wallace, P.L.L.C.Parker Smith FeekPrecorPrime ElectricPuget Sound EnergyRepublic ServicesSeattle FoundationSterling Realty OrganizationSuttell, Hammer & WhiteSymetra FinancialThe Commerce Bank of

WashingtonThe Estate of Fred W. AberleThe Portico GroupUber Entertainment, Inc.Umpqua BankWalmartWilliams KastnerWockner Foundation

In-Kind425 MagazineACT TheatreAlaska AirlinesAll Covered PaintingAlpine Specialty CleaningAmerican Dance InstituteArtsWest Playhouse & GalleryBarefoot Wine & BubblyBellevue Arts MuseumBellevue Botanical Garden SocietyBig 5 Sporting GoodsBurgermasterCaffe LadroCarmilia’s BoutiqueCaspar BabyPants LLCChihuly Garden and GlassChinoise CafeCostco WholesaleDacels Jewelers & GalleryEl Gaucho HospitalityEMP MuseumExpedia, Inc.Ezell’s Famous ChickenFatburgerFrye Art MuseumGarageGeaux BrewingGregg’s CyclesHale’s Ales Brewery & PubHard Rock Cafe SeattleHeavy Restaurant GroupHilton Whistler Resort & SpaHothouse Spa & SaunaHyatt Regency BellevueJill ImiPic EntertainmentIvar’s and Kid Valley RestuarantsJet City ImprovJubilee FarmsJulia’s RestaurantsKarate WestKemper DevelopmentKing County CouncilKirkland Performance Center

L’Ecole No. 41Todd LozierLucky Strike Lanes & Power PlayLunchbox LabratoryMacrina Bakery & CafeMatthews WineryMercer Island Martial ArtsMerrill ImagesPete MillerDon MorganMuseum of FlightNintendo of America Inc.Nordic Heritage MuseumNorthwest African American

MuseumNorthwest Outdoor CenterNorthwest Railway MuseumTim O’HaraOola DistilleryPacific Science CenterPaint AwayPaint the TownPaolo’s Italian RestaurantPatterson CellarsPeddler BrewingPenelope & The Beauty BarRain City Fencing CenterRed Lion HotelsRedhook Ale BreweryRemlinger FarmsRyanWenzel EventsSail Sand PointSeattle Children’s TheatreSeattle Holiday LightsSeattle MarinersSeattle MetSeattle Musical TheatreSeattle SeahawksSeattle Shakespeare CompanySeattle Sounders FCSilver Reef Hotel Casino SpaSound ExperienceSouth Point Hotel, Casino & SpaSpace NeedleSponge SchoolStottle WineryStudio EastSugar MountainTacoma Rainiers Professional

BaseballTamarack CellarsTen MercerThe 5th Avenue TheatreThe Better State Crew - State FarmThe Cheesecake FactoryThe Comedy UndergroundThe Fairmont Olympic HotelThe Pacific Jazz InstituteThe Woodhouse Wine EstatesTriplehorn Brewing Co.Truce SpaTutta Bella Neapolitan PizzeriaVeraci PizzaVillage TheatreWabi-Sabi Sushi Bar & RestaurantWild Waves Theme ParkWing Luke MuseumWizards of the CoastWoodland Park ZooZippy’s Giant Burgers

Thank You 2015 Annual Fund Supporters!

Individual DonorsAnonymous DonorAlicia and Adam AbdelhamedTrevor and Kendra AbernethyJason and Heather AckermannErika Adams and Jim BaerBouchra AgourBrian and Christine AlbrechtGillian Allen and Nick BarrattDavid and Cheri AndersonLars and Michal AndersonTraci and Brooke AndersonCarly AndrewRebecca and Kenneth AndrewTanya AndrewsAndy Augustin and Cathy

Ettienne-AugustinMike and Robyn AustinCandi Avery and Warren HullBrian and Shannon BaileyClaudia Balducci and Jim HarjaPatrick and Sunni BannonAndy and Jean BarlassGaeia BartlesEric and Natalie BartlettCassandra BassKamlesh and Shiv BatraSuzanne and Bruce BaughNick and Amy BaxterChristopher BeanTed and Megan BearorBecky BeersNathan BenjaminGloria and Eric BensussenDonna and David BergerMelissa Berger and Jamie BonnettBob and Keiko BerryPutter and Paul BertJustin BirdJill and Chris BirkelandKristen Bishop and Chris DeugauChristopher BixbyBen BlankenshipGary and Susan BlattenbauerJennifer BlevinsAnna and Josh BockZuzana and Peter BodikKatie and Matt BoehmAnn and Rodney BoehmJennifer BoesenbergJeff and Jill BorgidaGalina BorodyanskyBlaise and Rachele BouchandBrenda BownAlicia BrillantesKersten and Andrew BrinkworthMike and Cathy BrobergTim and Beth BrockwayEmi and Michael BrownKathy BrownKimberly and Stuart BrownMatt and Michele Brown-RueggBryan and Natasha BurginDoug and Kay BurkeCatherine BurnsVictoria Burwell and Carl ZytowskiSteve Bush and Christine ChangTherese and Nate BushnellColin and Malisa CagneyDevon CampbellGentry and Joshua CampbellBruce and Sherry CarbaryEric and Susan CarlsonClyde and Maralaina CarpenterSteve and Yukie CarriganMargaret and Boris Castellanos

Tony ChalfantDarren and Michelle ChalleyMichael and Amanda ChanEllen Chang and David ChoJennifer and Raymond ChenLydia Chen and Heung ChaiKatherine ChengTeddy and Katie ChoiShuing-Jeh and Melissa ChowPai-Ling ChuGrace ChuCharles ClegernBenjamin ClineJuli and Geoff CoburnBen and Mia CoffmanGreg CollinsJudy and William CourshonKaren CovalAllison CraigSundineMark and Debbie CrislerEric CumleyAmy CurrenNick and Cassie CurryMichelle and Kevin DamourSarah Daniels and Rod FleckCarolee DanzYurina and Mark DebenportKathy and Don DeCaprioGail and Pat DeGiulioDean and Deb DeshetlerErika Dowd and Douglas LanmanMargot DuBey-Keany and Travis

KeanyDarlene and Chris DuceyBonnie DuncanKara and Brett DurbinManda and John EdererDenise and Frank EdgarAlyssa and Michael EdwardsLee Ann EdwardsBen EggertsenJonathan Eisler and Jessica

FerrantiDennis and Katisha EngChristine and John EnsleinJohn EvansEmily and Dominic FerrariToni FieldsJennifer and Kurt FischerKent Fisher and Barbra RichardsonKrystyna and Luke FisherKrystyna FisherMatt and Melissa FitchLisa and Damon FordAlan ForneyBarbara and George ForsmanAndrea Fraga and Santos

CardenasDrea FragaScott FreebornJoshua FrendendallTom and Shannon FroslanNicole FrymierElizabeth and Tod FukutomiAlan FulpRupa and Rudy GadreDaniel and Anna GarciaBrian and Aubrey GardnerDaniela GarvueCindy and Chris GayteMelissa GiddensTom and Nancy GilchristCatherine Godfrey and Martin

TailleferJoe Gowan and Stephanie RoupeKristin Graham and Michael Dolgin

Tim and Patty GramleyStacy Graven and Ken JohnsenSari Graven and John JexRon Gregush and Erica

Brandling-BennettSherry GrindelandJennifer GrovesBrent and Genevieve GuinnCathy and David HabibCyrus HabibKathy HaggartChris and Jodi HallumJul HamKaren and Isaac HammerShuqing Han and Jiping WangMichael and Christine HarderBrad HardwoodLaura HarlosChris and Crystal HarrisonMelissa and Eric HarwoodLisa and Todd HaugenRena HavesonAndrea Hawkins-Daarud and

Justin DaarudSandy and Pat HayesAmy HedinJosh and Alexis HedrickJenn and Robert HeintzJessie HeneghanGreg and Olivia HermannKerry and Brad HillStephanie and Mack HinsonJack HodgsonRichard E. HollowaySarah and Dave HolmesNatalie and John HovanecAshley Howard and Brian NevilleElizabeth and Felix HuangMike and Rachel HubbardFergus and Lindsay HudsonJabeen Hussain and Kalaikko

ElangoWinifred and Peter HusseyJames and Laura HutchinsonTroy HyattRogelio IbaveJill and Edward ImKathleen Isdith and Richard

AndersonShauna and Matt IseriJohn and Madoka ItoJeff and Lisa IwataNicole and Sean JacksonRoss JacobsonAmanda and Simon JaegerKurt JensenM. John WayNaoka JonesMohammad KaddouraMichael KangMaria and Rob KaplanCoreyAnn and Muhammad KhanAndy KimStacey Kinch and Chris TanakaDale and Nancy KingShelbe and Chauntae KukowskiRoshin Lal RamesanMolly and Eric LambrightKaren and Jonathan LangmanSarah and Todd LangtonMichael LarsonJane Lauckner and Sean

LyndersayEllen and Geoff LawsonAshley and Lance LeasureJuhee Lee and Dongil Kim

Stephen Leff and Becca FraserJanet Levinger and Will PooleMeghan and Jeffers LewisonAndy and Chelsea LientzErik and Sachi LindquistStuart LinscottAllie LongeneckerCorey and Brad LoveringTodd and Judy LundeAnn LundquistKristen and Sean LundquistPaul and Spouse LwaliCeleste and Jon LykkenJustin LyonSarah and Chance LyonSarah Mader-Dohmke and

Thomas DohmkeBarbara and Chuck MaduellDjordje and Jovanka MandaricRachel and Aric ManionTim and Jessica MantheyClaire Marks and Benno RiceMarcie MaxwellCharles and Jan MayesMiyoko McConnellMonica McCoolBill and Diane McDonaldKristy and Redmond McDonoughMarisa McKelvey and Matt SkirvinLaura MedleauBeth and Kevin MeidingerLisa and John MerrillPete and Kelli MillerTodd and Megan MillerJosh and Lori MiskarBrad MiyakeNido and Justin MonwaiJoan MorseAmy and Keith MukharTracy and Marc MunsonDavid and Sandy MurphyBryan MyrickConnie and Jason NapNicole and Paul NashJens and Stephanie NedrudRobert and Julie NeileyRobin and David NelsonWendy New and Chip MalinRobert NicklosJudy and Jim NielsenMichiko NiwaMari and Yusuke NodaDenise and Steve NovoselSarah and Eric OeltjenTim and Karyn O’HaraLaura O’Hara and Rick GustafsonPeter and Celia OkaneMartin O’Leary and Naomi EbiraMelody OlsonCrystal Ondo and Edward WengerVicki OrricoSara and Kevin Oshikawa-ClayCasey and Christy OtleyTim and Amy OwensJesse and Colleen PacemHwa and Michael ParkStephanie Parry and Warren

JohnsonCindy and Jasmin PatryWill and Raeann PattonErik and Teresa PaulsonLucy and Jarrett PayneMelissa Pearce and Howard BehrGaro and Jen PehlivanianAmy and Cameron PellyKevin and Tiffany Perry

Andy Barlass Bob Berry Christopher Bixby Gary Blattenbauer Alyssa Edwards Tom Gilchrist Kristin Graham Stacy Graven Mike Hubbard Jim Hutchinson Jill Im Ross Jacobson Janet Kelly Dale King Sarah Langton Lisa Merrill *Pete Miller Todd Miller Tim O’Hara Casey Otley *Moya Skillman Adam Snyder Greg Vaughan

*Co-chairs

Board of Trustees

KidsQuest Marketing & Development Staff

Shelley Saunders, Director of Advancement Katie Boehm, Annual Fund & Events Manager Cassie Ronish, Marketing Manager Madeline Read, Marketing & Development Coordinator Christopher Bean, Grants Coordinator