We need our community’s support to revitalize and reopen!
Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert Reopening in 2022, Reimagined
Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert (CDMoD) has been closed to the public since the stay-at-home order was issued in March 2020. The museum began offering online programming and virtual camps to keep our families engaged and keep staff members working. Without admissions, membership renewal or revenue-producing camps, the museum has been using its limited reserves to pay for the very bare minimal maintenance costs and limited virtual programming. With continued uncertainty around regulations from the state, the Board of Directors made the heartbreaking decision to layoff the remaining staff and discontinue all museum programming. “This decision was not made lightly,” said CDMoD Board Co-Chair Davis Meyer. “We understand the history and importance of the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert and its staff to our community.”
“Museums across the country are facing these pandemic-related challenges; our motto at CDMoD has always been to not only look but also to touch and play. Research shows that hands-on activities, guided by a parent or museum staff, are very effective teaching tools for children. Now, we are reimagining some museum components and will call on the community for their support to save our much loved museum. Financial donors will be essential to a renewed comeback – we will also need corporate partners, leaders, and volunteers to assist in this grand effort. It almost feels we are at the forming stage again, similar to when the museum first began. It took a large group of private citizens and community donors to make the dream a reality.” – Katie Stice, IOM, Board Co-Chair.
“On a personal note, I worked here as Operational Director for eight exciting years and have seen first-hand how this organization molds children, families and our community. I am passionate about the role our children’s museum plays in the valley,” added Stice.
We are grateful to the generous donors who have helped sustain the museum through its closure and throughout the last 22 years. Our future depends on your support. A large-scale campaign is launching to engage donors, corporate partners, sponsors and the community at large. Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert has been an institution in the valley (in two different locations) for three decades. Reopening CDMoD will take long-term planning and commitment from its board of directors and greater Coachella Valley community. If people want this major attraction and educational organization to remain, we must all work together. If you would like to be a part of the efforts to reopen the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert please contact Katie Stice and or Davis Meyer or visit www.CDMoD.org
Staff
Cindy Burreson, CEO
Executive Committee
Co-Chairwomen of the Board:
Katie Stice, Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce
Davis Meyer, Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitor’s Bureau
Immediate Past Chairman: Amir Afsar, Afsar Legal Group
Treasurer: Wes Oliphant, Affiliated Construction Co., Inc
Secretary, Laura Hunt Little, Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitor’s Bureau
Board Members
Jamie Steinberg, mint Modern Marketing
Catherine Robinson, First American Title
Heidi McArthur, Jadabugs
Richard Kite, UBS Financial & City of Rancho Mirage
Advisory Committee
Cara Van Dijk, Cara Van Dijk Consulting
Lea Goodsell
Karina Quintanilla, City of Palm Desert
Paula Karcher, Carl’s Jr/CLK Enterprises & Philanthropist
Austin Beneteau, Modern Woodmen of America
Media Contacts:
Katie Stice, CEO, Rancho Mirage Chamber and Co-Chair of the Board for CDMoD (760) 574-4916
Davis Meyer, Director of Partnership, Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitor’s Bureau and Co-Chair of the Board (760) 861-1636
Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert (CDMoD): 71701 Gerald Ford Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
CDMoD had been serving families for decades – help us continue our mission
The Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert (CDMoD) is a special place where children and families experience the joy of learning about themselves and the world around them. The Museum inspires personal growth through exhibits and programs that inspire the curiosity and creativity of visitors through hands-on exploration.
