Promoting Learning Through Play!

A Conversation with Lara Sweeney and Liz Bard, Co-Presidents of the Children’s Museum of the East End

The Children’s Museum of the East End – more familiarly known as “CMEE” and pronounced SEE-mee – came from very humble beginnings. Started as a roundtable of seven mothers in an Amagansett kitchen in 1997 looking to enrich and serve the children of the East End communities, CMEE hosted its first exhibit in 1998 at Guild Hall in East Hampton just to test the interest of the community. Fourteen weeks and 5,000 visitors later, a museum was born here on the East End with a mission “to spark imagination and foster learning for children of all backgrounds and abilities and to build strong connections within the East End community by providing playful experiences” by presenting educational exhibits and programs and by partnering with other arts and social service organizations to address issues that concern families in the community.

At first a modest idea grounded in education and service, CMEE has grown into a large operation located in a 10,000 square foot glass and steel building on 12 acres on Bridgehampton/Sag  Harbor Turnpike boasting over 7,000 square feet of exhibition and program space, as well as an outdoor amphitheater with seating for 350 people. CMEE is one of the most visited museums on Eastern Long Island bringing in nearly 75,000 visitors a year and a membership base of 1,500 families. The annual operating budget is just over $1.5 million, funded by admissions and memberships (40%) and fundraising events, grants, and contributions (60%).  

In February 2022, long term CMEE employees Liz Bard and Lara Sweeney were named Co-Presidents of the Museum. Previously, Liz served as Director of Education at the Museum and Lara served as Director of Development. Hamptons Real Estate Showcase had an opportunity to catch up with the Co-Presidents on a couple of topics.

CMEE was founded by mothers — and now is co-headed by 2 women! How does the Co-President position work for you both in terms of furthering the mission of CMEE?

It’s a dream come true! The great thing about co-leadership is that we each bring a different set of skills and lived experiences to our work. Lara brings over 20 years of fundraising and non-profit management experience whereas Liz brings a deep background in early childhood education and social services. Together, we are well suited to lead the Museum in furthering our mission to spark imagination and foster learning for children of all backgrounds and abilities and to build strong connections within the East End community by providing playful experiences. Also, we can literally be in two places at once!

Community reach: what are the ongoing challenges of CMEE in its work serving the multi-cultural, diverse community structure of the East End? Not only with respect to programming, but also financial growth of CMEE?

CMEE has long understood that contrary to the popular belief that the Hamptons is only home to the rich and famous, the East End is much more diverse than most realize. To that end, we are committed to ensuring CMEE is safe and accessible for all families on the East End. Starting in 2010, CMEE began outreach programs for the growing Latinx population including our popular family literacy program for Spanish speaking families, Cantemos. Another way we make sure CMEE is meeting the needs of all families is by hosting a Head Start Center on site since 2011.

Of course, the challenge often lies in educating donors about the hidden poverty of the Hamptons, but more and more organizations and media outlets are finally shining a light on this problem. People are always shocked to hear that CMEE has run a food pantry since 2020. The original intention was just to meet the immediate needs of families affected by the pandemic, but it soon became clear that food insecurity continues to be a major struggle for many families.

What is planned for Summer 2024?

CMEE Educators have been working hard to plan Kids Club, our daily drop off program for kids ages 2-5. We have so much fun exploring arts, outdoor play, music and movement, cooking and baking, group games and free play — all while learning to cooperate and share in an informal, yet structured environment. What’s special about this program is that it’s one of the only options for two-year-olds in our area.

We are super excited for our 14th Annual Family Fair scheduled for Saturday, July 22. This year’s theme is Happy Camper! This is a really special day filled with music, games, water rides, food trucks, peace and love! Most importantly, proceeds from the Family Fair fundraiser enable the Museum to run a food pantry, provide Kids Club scholarships and supports our outreach initiatives.

Any notable plans for the future? 

It’s very important to us that CMEE serve as many East End families as possible, especially those who face challenges that make getting to CMEE hard. For example, how do you serve families that live west of the Canal and don’t have reliable transportation? Well, you bring the fun to them! Since 2012, CMEE has presented programming in the Flanders/Riverside area and now through a partnership with the Town of Southampton, we have a permanent home to call our own. After renovations this Fall, CMEE’s satellite location should be open for business in 2025.