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Children’s Museum of Illinois & ���������� School of Education

The Children’s Museum of Illinois and Millikin University’s School of Education have collaborated for the past two years, developing exciting ways for children and families to engage in learning experiences in the indoor and outdoor spaces at the Museum.

School of Education faculty and Children’s Museum staff worked together to create “Messy Materials” in a Reggio-inspired outdoor classroom, filled with many hands-on, child-centered experiences that promote critical thinking and other 21st century skills.  In this way, the School of Education has helped the Museum develop an ecological approach in providing learning materials from the natural environment – such as wood, rocks, sand – that are more meaningful from the children’s own community of Decatur.  In their “work,” the children create their own structures and add on to others’ work in a learning environment that promotes exploration and open-ended problem solving.

The School of Education has also worked with the Museum to provide an annual trip to the Museum to every 1st grader in Decatur Public Schools.

For more about the Children’s Museum of Illinois, visit   

Not Forgotten

An organization started in 2015 by Millikin alum Rebekah Harrelson and School of Education faculty member Denice Love, Not Forgotten’s main purposes are to develop awareness, resources, and partnerships throughout the Central Illinois communities for children and adults with special needs, their families and their educators.  

Parents and educators in the community suggested that they wanted to learn more about topics such as emotion regulation, managing behavior at home and in public, the IEP process, and more.  We have brought in experts in these and other areas and to date have had over twenty guest speakers come to the Millikin campus over the last two years to provide needed information to our community.  

We have paid particular attention to helping families navigate the special education process and the Director of Special Education for the two-county area (that serves 14 school districts) gives a talk to the group at the start of each school year on the IEP process and answers any questions families have.  It is a valuable opportunity for this Director to understand the priorities of our families.  

Not Forgotten has also been actively involved in educating the Decatur community on the needs of families with children with special needs.  We have assisted the Children’s Museum of Illinois, the Scovill Zoo, and the Decatur Public Library in developing sensory-friendly programming and are currently working with the Park District to develop athletic camps for children with disabilities.  The Children’s Museum of Illinois has had regular sensory-friendly events that so many of our families enjoy.  We have also participated in the St. Patrick’s Day parade and the Future Superstars Basketball event.

Not Forgotten is working to develop a “Bridge Club” for young adults to provide them with opportunities for, and support in, socializing.  This young group of 18-26 year olds has met a few times to chat and discussed getting together to play games and share other interests.  The owners of The Board Knight have offered to host their meetings and we look forward to this group becoming a regular opportunity for young adults with special needs to socialize and have fun together.  

Not Forgotten is developing an online, social media-based presence that we hope will become a community forum where parents and educators can share information, listen to one another, and work more effectively to meet the needs of their children with special needs.  Follow or contact Not Forgotten at: , @notforgotteninc on Twitter, and notforgottenmaconcounty@gmail.com, or by calling (217)358-8548.

Pi Lambda Theta

For many years, the School of Education has engaged in work with Pi Lambda Theta, one of the nation’s most prestigious education honor societies.  Students with outstanding academic achievements receive invitation to be inducted in Pi Lambda Theta.  These students are recognized at graduation by the gold honor cords they wear.  The benefits of Pi Lambda Theta are significant and include scholarships to support undergraduate or graduate studies, discounted professional liability insurance, and professional connections with outstanding professionals in our field.  Membership in Pi Lambda Theta signifies a student’s hard work and dedication to excellence in their studies and the teaching profession.

Each April the School of Education hosts an induction and recognition ceremony and reception for all eligible and joining students and their families.  Students may run for office in our local chapter of Pi Lambda Theta.  Annually, the student organization coordinates an event to benefit an outstanding service group or to draw attention to a need that affects children.  When beginning your program in Education, aim for an invitation for membership in Pi Lambda Theta with a 3.5 GPA and demonstrating potential leadership in the teaching profession.