Photo courtesy of STAMP.

It would be difficult to argue with the fact that many young people these days spend an awful lot of time in front of screens, be they phones, computers, televisions or games. As a way to offer some different cultural alternatives to teens–and to make them feel like they are welcome in museums that might otherwise seem stuffy or alienating–the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance started STAMP or ‘Students at Museums in Philly.’ STAMP: The Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Family Teen Program is a Knight-funded project that seeks to make museums more accessible to students, while also changing their perceptions of these institutions.

STAMP itself operates in a three-part approach. First is the STAMP pass, which is free and available to any Philadelphia teen between the ages of 14 and 19 years old. This pass entitles the student to a year of free admission to a wide range of Philadelphia museums and cultural institutions, like Bartram’s Garden, the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Franklin Institute, among others.

Secondly, STAMP has initiated a Teen Council in order to expand the dialogue between young people and museums. Offering free admission to teens is one thing, but understanding their needs is something else entirely. By opening a two-way channel of communication with Philadelphia students, STAMP is able to work directly with the teens it aims to engage. The Teen Council consists of 17 students from all over Philadelphia that stay up to date with museum happenings via social media and regularly supply their input on how to make arts and culture more appealing to their peers, all the while spreading the word about STAMP.

Finally, the STAMP website offers an easy way to get connected, sign up for the free pass, and stay in the know about upcoming events, job and internship opportunities, teen classes and programs around the city, and blog posts straight from the Teen Council.

Regularly partnering with other nonprofit organizations, cultural institutions and schools in the city–such as Asian Arts Initiative, Arden Theatre Company, Philadelphia Film Society, University of the Arts and more–STAMP is busy making the art world in Philadelphia a better fit for the young people in its community.