BOSTON, June 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Boston Children’s Museum has received a grant of $1,000,000 from the Yawkey Foundation to support the first phase of its Climate Resilience Campaign. As water levels continue to rise along Fort Point Channel, the goal of this project is to protect the Museum’s most vulnerable utility systems from potential water intrusion, thereby ensuring uninterrupted service to children and families.
What was once a hypothetical is now reality–the Museum has already experienced flooding over the past several years. If no action is taken this decade, by the 2070s, the Museum plaza is expected to flood approximately 182 days per year. This poses a threat not only to the Museum, but also to the five at-risk neighboring communities that would be affected by this flood pathway–the Seaport, South Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, and the South End.
“As the only nonprofit landowner abutting Fort Point Channel, Boston Children’s Museum has had to confront climate change more rapidly and with fewer resources than many of our neighbors,” said President and CEO, Carole Charnow. “This critical initiative will ensure that we continue as a model for the countless organizations and communities around the globe who are–or will soon be–battling climate change. Boston Children’s Museum has been a beacon of joyful learning and connection for over 112 years, and our commitment to the children and families in our community is unwavering. We are grateful to the Yawkey Foundation for supporting this important work.”
“Boston Children’s Museum has been a neighbor, an educator, and a gathering place for this region for over a century,” said Alicia Verity, CEO of the Yawkey Foundation. “The Museum’s Yawkey Center for Children and Learning is a place so many of us have taken our own children and watched them light up. Those moments matter, and this Museum has been creating them for families across Greater Boston for generations and we want that to continue. When an anchor institution this cherished faces a threat to its future, you help – and we’re honored to stand alongside Boston Children’s Museum as they take this important step.”
As a forward-thinking and creative institution, Boston Children’s Museum set a course to be an early innovator in adapting and protecting its building and South Boston’s shoreline against the threats of sea level rise. The first phase of this project focuses on flood prevention by protecting the Museum’s most critical utility equipment, waterproofing the facility’s brick exterior, and installing new drainage systems to better manage stormwater during flood events. Subsequent phases of this project will transform the Museum’s “front yard” into a vibrant, accessible, and inclusive waterfront park that doubles as flood protection.
About the Yawkey Foundation
The story of Tom and Jean Yawkey and their impact on the lives of children and families goes back over eight decades to the commitments they made to the people of Massachusetts, New England, and Georgetown County, South Carolina. The Yawkeys’ love for these communities, and their quiet sense of responsibility for those in need, is captured in the careful steps they took to ensure that their legacy would live on through the work of the Yawkey Foundation. The Yawkeys were perhaps best known for their longtime ownership of the Boston Red Sox. More quietly, but with just as much passion and commitment, Tom and Jean Yawkey were also engaged in an unwavering dedication to those most in need.
Today, the Yawkey Foundation remains as committed as ever to continuing to honor Tom and Jean Yawkey and their commitment to those in need. Having awarded more than $620 million to-date in charitable grants to organizations focused on Health Care, Education, Human Services, Youth and Amateur Athletics, Arts and Culture, and Conservation and Wildlife, the Yawkey Foundation is committed to preserving and sustaining the charitable values of the Yawkeys by investing in impactful nonprofits providing resources, opportunity, and dignity to the vulnerable and underserved.
About Boston Children’s Museum
Boston Children’s Museum engages children and families in joyful discovery experiences that instill an appreciation of our world, develop foundational skills, and spark a lifelong love of learning. More information about Boston Children’s Museum can be found at www.BostonChildrensMuseum.org. Like us on Facebook and follow us on LinkedIn.
Hours and Admission
The Museum is open Wednesday–Monday (Closed Tuesday) from 9:00am–4:00pm. Advance tickets/reservations are highly recommended, especially during weekends, holidays, and school vacation weeks. Adults, $24, children (1-15) and senior citizens, $24; children under 12 months and Museum members are always free.
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SOURCE Boston Children’s Museum
