Child’s Play
Alumna fills senior role at Philadelphia museum where fun and learning go hand-in-hand
“Again! Read it again!”
Anyone who has read a favorite book to a child recognizes the reaction that often accompanies the story’s end.
Children who visit Please Touch Museum, the Children’s Museum of Philadelphia, can explore its exhibits—including River Adventures, Flight Fantasy, Roadside Attractions, Wonderland, and more—as many times as they want, pretending to purchase items at a supermarket, peering out from a tree house, repairing a car, riding a carousel, or even wandering through a maze of mirrors to enjoy the Mad Hatter’s tea in the Wonderland exhibit.
“The goal of the museum is to launch children onto a lifelong continuum of learning where education occurs both inside and outside the classroom,” explained Concetta Anne Bencivenga, ’91, executive vice president of Please Touch Museum. “It’s all about imaginative play, getting down on the floor. A lot of parents get into it, too.”
Bencivenga recently supervised an $88 million project that is helping more and more children have the opportunity to learn through play, overseeing the museum’s transition to its new location at the historic Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park. The new site allows Please Touch to accommodate nearly 500,000 more visitors per year than it could at its former, significantly smaller, location in Philadelphia’s museum district. In its first year at Memorial Hall, Please Touch Museum welcomed more than 675,000 visitors.
“We went from being the little museum that could, to the museum that does,” said Bencivenga, who credits the success of the museum to its dedicated staff of approximately 200 employees. “Our goal is excellence in everything we do; and being excellent every day for more than 600,000 people is a major undertaking.”
The thought and effort put into the museum is evident as soon as visitors approach the newly restored Beaux-Arts style building. Upon entering, guests are greeted by friendly staff and a 40-foot-tall replica of the Statue of Liberty’s arm and torch, made entirely of discarded toys. From there, children are free to roam the exhibits, interact with other kids, and enjoy one of the many plays and shows sponsored by the museum.
For Bencivenga, working at Please Touch is a dream come true. She joined the museum as its chief financial officer/ vice president of finance and administration in 2003.
“It was the perfect trifecta for me,” said Bencivenga, a history major who had previously worked as a consultant for a financial management company. “I could get re-involved in the community, return to the non-profit sector, and bring my skills to bear for people who needed them.”
Bencivenga, who holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin, has always been passionate about serving others. At Loyola, she participated in many community service programs and, following graduation, served two years in the Peace Corps in Thailand. While there, she created an HIV-prevention curriculum for middle school girls that became the educational model for schools throughout Thailand. The next four years she served as a Peace Corps recruiter and coordinator for the northeast region.
“For me, the Peace Corps was a continuation of the values I learned at Loyola,” said Bencivenga, who escorted a group of high school students to Thailand in the summer of 2001. “It’s the whole idea of being men and women for and with others.”
Bencivenga has carried those values with her to Please Touch Museum, where she works tirelessly to provide children with fun, educational experiences that will serve as a foundation for continued learning and success. Occasionally taking a break from her work, she likes to walk out into the museum where she sees firsthand the fruition of her efforts.
“To me, nothing is more important than seeing the learning and enjoyment of a 3-year-old.”
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What another great learning tool from a museum! I found another museum who is teaching children through doing a ‘relic guardians trail’ where they basically have a guide dressed in period costume of a historical figure & then have activities throughout the ‘trail’ that help the children become more active in what they are learning about which in turn makes them retain it more. This is the same concept only in a more playful way, I think that’s great & there should be more programs like this in the community.