SEASIDE, Ca., December 4, 2019 – The MY Town Pop-up Children’s Museum launched at the CSUMB Salinas City Center during the summer of 2019. The exhibition provided a free children’s museum for Salinas and saw nearly 6,000 attendees. It also functioned as a research space for CSUMB students.

In addition to being the inaugural space for the traveling MY Town exhibition, CSUMB involved Psychology and Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) programs. Students conducted research and assessment of the exhibition’s success and how children and families from Monterey County interact. The data collected through this learning experience was also used to improve the exhibition in real-time.

Photo by: Children and families use the interactive MY Town children's pop up museum at CSUMB at Salinas City Center.

Led by CSUMB Psychology Professor Jennifer Dyer-Seymour, CSUMB students presented their research on December 4, 2019 at CSUMB Salinas City Center and answered questions about the impact of the exhibit on kinder readiness, cultural differences in how parents interact with children and more.

For the CSUMB students, this project was the first step in developing a better understanding of how children are learning in and out of school environments, such as MY Town.

 

Each student in the class focused on a slightly different topic, from gender differences in play to the impact of cell phones on parent-child interaction. This is a hallmark of the capstone experience in psychology.”

— CSUMB Psychology Professor Jennifer Dyer-Seymour.

Children and families use the interactive MY Town children's pop up museum at CSUMB at Salinas City Center.

 

We encourage students to ask their own questions and develop new knowledge. Because we know there are a variety of paths that students can take we want to help them develop their skills in critical thinking, writing, and speaking, so they can apply them no matter where they go.”

— CSUMB Psychology Professor Jennifer Dyer-Seymour.

CSUMB at Salinas City Center was only the first stop for MY Town. After its incubation at CSUMB, the organizers are hopeful this can move throughout the county and are looking for additional sponsors and potential host sites to bring this experience to more children and families.