The Henry Ford in Dearborn, PNC Bank, and PNC Foundation today announced they will partner to offer year-round early childhood programming at The Henry Ford. The partnership includes a three-year $210,000 sponsorship from PNC Bank.
The organizations will provide STEAM-focused programming (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) for preschool visitors to the museum. PNC Bank will also provide more than 1,000 pre-K and Kindergarten students per year with complementary field trips to The Henry Ford.
In turn, the foundation has committed $108,000 to fund involvement in PNC Tinkering for Tots and field trips to The Henry Ford for 28 Detroit Public Schools preschool classes as part of PNC Grow up Great, a $350 million, multi-year, bilingual initiative in early childhood education.
“Our founder, Henry Ford, believed in the power of real artifacts in an environment that provided hands-on learning,” says Patricia E. Mooradian, president and CEO of The Henry Ford. “With partners such as PNC Bank and PNC Foundation, we can continue Henry’s vision and offer vital STEM- and STEAM-based programs that can unlock creativity in young minds and unleash an enormous amount of potential to change the world.”
Tinkering for Tots is a monthly, hands-on STEAM program for preschoolers. Each month’s programming is shaped by a different theme based on programming at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village.
“Tinkering for Tots was created to encourage creativity and a thirst for learning in preschool children,” says Ric DeVore, PNC regional president for Detroit and southeast Michigan. “At PNC, we believe that empowering our youngest minds is the best investment a bank can make.”
In addition to the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, The Henry Ford offers the Ford Rouge Factory Tour and the Benson Ford Research Center. In addition, The Henry Ford is home to Henry Ford Academy, a public charter high school which educates more than 500 students a year on the institution’s campus.
