Please Touch Museum (Museum or PTM) seeks a visionary, strategic, and exceptional organizational leader to serve as its next president and CEO (president).
Founded in 1976 by a Montessori educator, PTM is the only children’s museum in the sixth largest city in the nation, Philadelphia, and has been voted a USA TODAY/10 Best Readers’ Choice Top 10 children’s museum four years in a row. Located in Memorial Hall, a National Historic Landmark and one of only two remaining buildings from the Centennial Exposition in 1876, the Museum’s mission is to change a child’s life as they discover the power of learning through play.
Today, the Museum welcomes 400,000 to 500,000 visitors annually, of which 30 percent attend for free or reduced admission. With two floors of fun, the Museum features over 15 permanent exhibits for children to engage with, as well as literacy, science, and creative and performing arts programs. PTM has a staff of 80 employees and a point of pride for the Museum is that 66 percent of its staff identify as people of color and/or are members of the LGBTQ+ community. A leader in informal and early childhood learning, the Museum partners with regional colleges and universities on research studies. Noted as a standard of excellence in the field, it is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
The next president will join the Museum at a pivotal time. PTM is embarking on a comprehensive Interpretative Plan that will outline a strategic framework and implementation roadmap to enhance the play-based visitor experience for multigenerational learners across exhibits and programs. Earlier this year, the Museum began a $4.2 million marble floor renovation project in advance of the building’s 150th anniversary celebration in 2026. Given that the building’s celebration coincides with the 250th-anniversary celebration of American independence and the 50th anniversary of the Museum, 2026 will be a momentous year for both the Museum and Philadelphia. To commemorate this historic year, Please Touch Museum, the Mann Center for the Performing Arts and the Philadelphia Zoo are collaborating on a Children’s World’s Fair, an unforgettable, multi-generational, family-friendly experience that celebrates the promise of children as the leaders and decision-makers of the future and recognizes the Centennial District’s contribution to Philadelphia’s past, present, and future. In essence, it is an exciting time ahead.
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