Meet Monika Tucker! No two days are the same for our Education Manager of Mobile Museum. Monika has grown the Mobile Children’s Museum from a handful of exhibits and activities to a fleet of two vans and multiple workshops and exhibits aligned to California’s Common Core curriculum standards. Through the Mobile Children’s Museum, the Museum is able to serve communities where they are and provide rich educational experiences to children and families who may not have the means to come on-site. Since its founding, mobile museum experiences can now be found multiple times a week at libraries and schools across San Diego County.
Monika has a degree in Anthropology from San Diego State University and a Master’s in Museum Studies from Syracuse University. Throughout school, she worked in informal education and knew she wanted to pursue a career in the museum industry working with children.
“I wanted an experience where I was going to really be able to dive deep into the education part of museums. As someone coming from a background in informal education, exploration, imagination, and experimentation were our pillars. San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum has those same values at the center of what it does and that was really appealing” she says.
She joined the museum team in 2017 as a part-time educator and felt herself drawn to the Mobile Children’s Museum. “I have positive memories of people coming into my classroom when I was a kid, so being able to give to that to other people is definitely my favorite part of my job,” she comments.
Since becoming Education Manager of Mobile Children’s Museum, Monika has developed two different programs schools can choose from – mobile exhibits and mobile workshops. Each program is aligned with STEM concepts, Next Generation Science Standards, and engineering standards, making the experience even more appealing to teachers looking to enhance their students’ learning experience. “I think the fact that mobile is coming in as this special experience for them, makes them more excited to learn and makes it even more memorable than having a standard lesson,” she adds.
While the Mobile Museum is still growing, Monika envisions the program expanding and making a greater impact within the community. Thanks to scholarship funding provided through donors and various grants, 60% of students the mobile program served in 2019 were enrolled in a Title-I school (schools where the majority of students come from low-income families). Eventually, she’d like to offer this program to all low-income schools free of charge.
“The most important part of a children’s museum is children becoming life-long learners. School is something everyone goes through, but it doesn’t always give people a passion for learning or being curious. Museums have a unique role in sparking this passion and curiosity for learning. When that’s instilled early, it helps children succeed later in life.”
You might not see Monika hanging out in the Museum, but you can find her all over San Diego County at local schools, libraries, street fairs, malls, birthday parties, and more. You might even spot her on the road in our Mobile Museum vans.
Some of Monika’s favorite things:
Hobbies: Rock climbing, surfing, biking, hiking, volleyball, or anything outdoors
Favorite Children’s Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Favorite Children’s Book: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury
Favorite Children’s Movie: Finding Nemo