The Museums at the Crossroads Consortium is a local collaboration of museums that have been working together since 1996. From their press release: “Brought together originally for a Museums in the Classroom grant, the organization meets monthly and has collaborated on a wide variety of projects that benefit all its members, including advertising publications, classes for local Osher Lifelong Learning Institute members, and an annual informational and activity tent at the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival.”
They are now changing their name to the Champaign County Museums Network and opening up membership opportunities for other area organizations as well as individuals. According to Pam Leiter, the network’s vice president,
“Museums don’t stand alone in the county. We are part of a larger network of volunteers, teachers, archivists, emerging museum professionals, schools, libraries, historical societies, convention and visitors bureaus, and media groups that work together to provide fun and educational opportunities to central Illinois communities. Our new updates, such as adding affiliates like the Illinois Distributed Museum, better represent who we are and how we work.”
Below are the current members. Seeing all of these organizations in one list is great reminder of some of the quality educational opportunities we have in C-U.
• Anita Purves Nature Center (Urbana Park District)
• Champaign County History Museum
• Homer Lake Interpretive Center (Champaign County Forest Preserve District)
• Krannert Art Museum (University of Illinois)
• Museum of the Grand Prairie (Champaign County Forest Preserve District)
• Orpheum Children’s Science Museum
• Pollinatarium (University of Illinois)
• Sousa Archives and Center for American Music (University of Illinois)
• Spurlock Museum (University of Illinois)
• William Staerkel Planetarium (Parkland College)
To find out more, you can visit their website.
Photo from Champaign County Museum Network Facebook page
