5/5/2008 - 2008 Austin Children's Museum Luncheon Press Announcement

Austin Children's Museum Celebrates Future and Honors Donors at 12th Annual Luncheon

Austin, Texas (May 5, 2008) — The annual Austin Children’s Museum luncheon will be held May 14 at the Hilton downtown Austin. The premiere event, sponsored by Frost Bank and HEB, annually attracts over 600 attendees, and will kick off with a mixer at 10:30 a.m. followed by the 11:30 a.m. luncheon. This year’s luncheon theme is “Inspiring this Generation and the Next,” and the event chair is Birgit Enstrom.

The luncheon speakers are Lois Winslow, director of education at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh; and Julie Eizenberg, president of Koning Eizenberg Architecture. Eizenberg is the architect for Pittsburgh’s recently completed children’s museum and the future Austin Children’s Museum. The women will present a case study in success factors for a children’s museum, and discuss how the collaborative process between the architect and museum enabled the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to be a true reflection of the community and achieve their goals for the new space. They will also address the economic impact and discuss how design impacts visitation, demographics, and the learning experience.

In order to raise funds for the museum’s ongoing and future projects, there will be a silent auction that includes a week in Paris, a children’s playhouse, a Baja vacation for four, Anthony Nak jewelry, a signed Lance Armstrong jersey, and a girl’s dream package for six. There will also be a mystery gift auction at each table with packages ranging in value from $500-$1,500.

Media attendees should rsvp to PR co-chair Suzanne Erickson at Suzanne@weeksco.com to secure complimentary luncheon tickets. For more information on the luncheon, please visit: http://www.austinkids.org/ACM-Luncheon.aspx. To sponsor a table, please contact Lisa Lee, Director of Development at llee@austinkids.org or call 512-472-2499 x212.

ABOUT ACM
The mission of the Austin Children's Museum is to create innovative learning experiences for children and families that equip and inspire the next generation of creative problem solvers. Located at the Dell Discovery Center downtown at the corner of 2nd Street and Colorado, the Austin Children's Museum is one of the city's popular cultural attractions with 210,000 visitors annually. Founded in 1983 as a non-profit organization, the Austin Children's Museum delivers its mission through a variety of exhibits, programs and outreach activities. For more information, please visit www.austinkids.org.
###