Three Leaders, One Mission: Grand Forks Children’s Museum at InterActivity 2026

cachristian2000
15 hours ago
2 min read

Three members of the Grand Forks Children’s Museum team, Executive Director Katie Mayer, Administrative Coordinator Betsey Aasen, and Fundraising and Programming Coordinator Diane Martinson, were in San Diego last week attending InterActivity, the nation’s premier conference for children’s museums. Hosted by the Association of Children’s Museums, InterActivity brings together leaders, educators, designers, and innovators from across the country to explore the future of play‑based learning, community engagement, and museum design.

For our team, the timing couldn’t be more meaningful. With groundbreaking just weeks away, the Museum is shifting from years of planning into the reality of construction. The ideas, insights, and connections they gathered in San Diego will directly shape the experiences, programs, and partnerships we bring home to Grand Forks.

Katie spent the week immersed in conversations about leadership, operational sustainability, and building museums that reflect the communities they serve. Her participation ensures that the Grand Forks Children’s Museum launches not just as a building, but as a strong, future‑ready institution.

For Betsey, InterActivity is a chance to step inside the heartbeat of children’s museums nationwide. As the person who manages our donor database and creates marketing materials, she returns with practical tools to strengthen the Museum’s long‑term sustainability and expand our circle of families, donors, and partners.

Diane used the conference to deepen her dual focus on fundraising and the Museum’s emerging educational programming. She learned how other museums build membership communities, steward donors, and create systems that grow with them. Diane explored the newest ideas in STEAM learning, early childhood development, accessibility, and inclusive design, all with an eye toward building meaningful, hands‑on experiences for children. Her takeaways will directly shape our first year of programs and partnerships.

InterActivity is more than a conference…it’s a national hub of ideas, inspiration, and innovation. Katie, Betsey, and Diane brought back fresh thinking about exhibits, accessibility, visitor experience, and community‑centered design, along with networking connections to museum leaders who have built institutions from the ground up. Their participation is an investment in the Museum’s future and in the thousands of children who will walk through its doors in the years ahead.

This is a moment of pride for Grand Forks…as construction begins and the Museum’s vision comes to life, it’s inspiring to see our team representing Grand Forks on a national stage. Katie, Betsey, and Diane did not just attend InterActivity, they are learned, explored, shared, networked and brought home knowledge that will shape a museum built by and for this community.

The Grand Forks Children’s Museum is rising. Thanks to leaders like Katie, Betsey, and Diane, it will root and rise with purpose, creativity, and heart.

Katie Mayer, Executive Director, Grand Forks Children's Museum