Travis Ford Family adopts the WONDERtorium as their local non-profit organization of choice

Monday, May 17, 2010

Heather & Travis Ford are pictured with students from Westwood Elementary in Stillwater. The Fords announced they would be adopting the Oklahoma WONDERtorium as their local non-profit organization of choice.

Oklahoma State University men’s basketball coach Travis Ford and his wife, Heather, announced Monday that the Oklahoma WONDERtorium would be their family’s local non-profit organization of choice. The Fords made the announcement at Westwood Elementary in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Children from two Westwood classrooms were invited to attend.

Heather Ford is one of fourteen members of the Oklahoma WONDERtorium’s board of directors. She has lent her support to museum activities as a volunteer and the Ford children have participated in museum camps and programs.

“As a new member of the museum’s board, I have been impressed by the efforts of all concerned to develop fun and educational events and learning experiences for children and families in Stillwater and beyond,” Heather Ford commented.

“We (Heather and I) believe there is a real need for the Oklahoma WONDERtorium," Travis Ford said. "We realize that it is already fulfilling an important need in the development of the children in this area through its outreach programs, but there is an even greater need in this community for a place every child can go to learn and play in a safe and educationally stimulating environment.”

Currently, the WONDERtorium is a “museum without walls” and developed the educational outreach program of the same name in 2006 to further its mission of inspiring curiosity to learn through play. Museum Without Walls programming offers four developmentally appropriate programs for children in Payne County elementary schools, preschools and childcare centers. Program subject matter ranges from simple activities involving brightly-colored objects, simple dance moves and music for infants and their caretakers to cutting-edge information on nanoscience principles and plant viruses for fifth graders (expanding to fourth graders in Spring 2010). With a building site at 10th & Duck streets in Stillwater, the WONDERtorium is actively raising funds to open a permanent facility in 2012.

“We are honored by the Ford’s involvement in our efforts to give children more learning opportunities,” said Oklahoma WONDERtorium Executive Director Ruth Cavins. “The Ford’s endorsement and public support of us is a critical step to continuing the work we are doing through our Museum Without Walls program and in our effort to build a children’s museum in the city of Stillwater.”