The Cincinnati Children’s Museum, consistently ranked in the top 10 children’s museums in the U.S., is a past project and on-going partner of the Junior League of Cincinnati, located in Cincinnati Museum Center at historic Union Terminal. The JLC is thrilled to continue our partnership with the Cincinnati Museum Center and our most recent grant gives big smiles all around. The restricted grant in the amount of $27,719 will be used solely for upgrading or maintaining the CMC’s “Inside the Grin” exhibit or for oral health educational programming, which was created through our Program Development committee project, GRIN UP. As part of the grant, we also provided the Children’s Museum with approximately forty cases of books relating to children’s oral health programming and education and a trademark for GRIN UP.

The Inside the Grin Exhibit opened in the spring of 2016 and is a permanent exhibit. The exhibit allows museum patrons to step inside a giant mouth to improve their dental knowledge and learn about proper oral health. The exciting experiences in the exhibit allow children to use giant floss and a massive toothbrush to practice their brushing skills. The exhibit is modeled like a dentist office, complete with a reclining chair, child-safe dental instruments and interactive videos. The exhibit is intended to present oral health in a positive way that will ease a child’s fears and misconceptions about visiting a dentist. For more than five years, it has inspired children to care for their smiles in a healthy way.

The exhibit was originally developed in partnership with the JLC as part of an initiative to address the serious issue of poor oral hygiene. Tooth decay is a leading chronic infectious disease in children, with more than 40% of children nationwide experiencing dental decay by kindergarten. This is a preventable condition and through our continued partnership in this project, we will persist in making strides in our community towards healthy smiles.

To support the initiative, please visit the exhibit and continue your support of the JLC and Cincinnati Museum Center. There is nothing greater to smile about than to see how our initiatives come to life towards greater health in our community. The partnership is a classic model of the JLC’s commitment to strengthening childhood environments in our community.