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Anne Fullenkamp is the Senior Director of Creative Experiences at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.
With nearly 25 years of experience in the design and architectural field, Anne is responsible for design and execution of museum experiences. In this role, she oversees the Museum’s permanent exhibits and collections, design consulting and business development programs, leading complex design team consisting of artists, scientists and researchers.
In 2014, Anne was the lead designer for “XOXO: An Exhibit About Love and Forgiveness”, a traveling exhibition designed to further the principles of love and forgiveness.
She has continued to explore best practices of designing for empathy and marrying social-emotional learning opportunities with the Museum’s Play with Real Stuff design philosophy for informal learning environments.
Children are facing deep emotional stress as they navigate the complexities of COVID-19, racial unrest, and environmental degradation. These stresses have long-lasting impacts on children’s health and wellness that fall disproportionately on Black and Brown children and children with disabilities. Museums are experts in fostering emotional experiences, but have not always committed to supporting visitors’ long-term emotional wellness. This session shares research and concrete examples of how the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh is supporting children’s emotional wellness by providing intentional opportunities to practice empathy and resilience, building children’s capacity to persist through frustrations they encounter in their daily lives.