CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago Public School students have an incentive to attend class on the first day of school, Tuesday, Sept. 3.
For the 13th consecutive year, all K-12 CPS students who attend the first day of school will receive a free family pass to the Museum of Science and Industry.
The offer is a part of the museum’s vision to help youth realize their full potential in science, technology, engineering and medicine. With free museum entry, families can explore 14 acres of hands-on science inside exhibits including YOU! The Experience, Science Storms, and Numbers In Nature: A Mirror Maze.
Each voucher is valid for up to three adult or child tickets to MSI between Sept. 3, 2019 and June 30, 2020. Tickets will be included in the information packets all CPS students receive on the first day of school, and tickets are distributed by each CPS school. Ticket vouchers must be redeemed on site, and cannot be redeemed through the Museum’s online ticketing system, call center or ticket kiosks. The original voucher must be presented at the time of the purchase.
The voucher only applies to museum entry and additional tickets need to be purchased for Wired to Wear, Makers United, the U-505 On-board Tour, Coal Mine, WOW! Tour, or Giant Dome Theater films.
Incentivizing first-day attendance is one small way MSI supports CPS and broader educational initiatives through the museum’s Welcome to Science Initiative that helps children achieve their full potential in science by creating learning experiences inside and outside the classroom, and removing barriers that exclude them from participating. The initiative offers administrators, teachers, youth leaders and students access to free programs including teaching professional development courses, after-school science clubs, college readiness programs and more.
“Providing access to science learning is critical, and we place a priority on serving schools and neighborhoods with predominantly low-income students and youth who are underrepresented in STEM fields,” said Rex Babiera, MSI’s Deputy Director of Teaching and Learning, in a statment. “Our longstanding partnership with Chicago Public Schools allows us to achieve this promise through directly improving the quality of science teaching in schools, connecting science to children wherever they are and showcasing diversity in STEM fields through our programs.”
The Museum of Science and Industry expects that its 2019-2020 school year programs will be utilized by CPS at the same rate or greater as the 2018-2019 school year.