museum has accommodations for visitors with disabilities, including scheduled time for children with disabilities and their families to visit the museum in a quiet environment. Museum admission during these times is limited and exhibit lights and sounds are turned down. Sponsored Admissions and Memberships Program Childcare centers and elementary schools in which 50% or more of the student population is eligible for the National School Lunch Program qualify to receive free educational programs led by Museum educators. In addition, participating children are offered a free year-long family membership. Approximately 15,000 students received sponsored admissions to the museum in 2015. SNAP Initiative In January 2015, the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus started a pilot program to offer lower admission, $1 per person, for families who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. As of December 2015, the museum had served 17,096 guests through the program. Growing Scientists Collaborative This collaborative program provides science learning experiences for early elementary school students coming from low-income families in partnership with the Denver Botanic Gardens and Butterfly Pavilion. The program includes teacher trainings, curriculum support, in-school outreach programming, field trips, provision of science supplies and annual family passes to these informal education institutions. It is evaluated by an objective third party with focus groups and surveys of various parties involved (teachers, parents, administrators, etc.) The program began in 2003 as G.R.O.W. (Growing Respect by Observing our World) and received the 2006 Environmental Education Award for Excellence for nonprofit organizations from the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education. Museum pedagogy Constructivism as a theory of learning was established by developmental psychologist Jean Piaget, whose research demonstrated that children construct and reconstruct knowledge through firsthand interactions with materials and phenomena. According to Piaget, learning and conceptual knowledge cannot be imparted through the passive receipt of information. For a child to make sense of the world, they need to explore and experiment for themselves. Like Jean Piaget, Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky believe that children learn through active experiences in their environment and that during play, children are able to think in more complex and abstract ways. Based on this understanding of play and child development, the museum includes educational programming and exhibits to allow for open-ended play. Additionally, the museum recognizes the importance of the roles of parents and caregivers in a child’s development and designs exhibit spaces to include adult engagement. Permanent exhibits The museum's exhibits focus