BGE Presents $75,000 to Port Discovery Children’s Museum and Unveils the New BGE Studio Workshop for Children

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) today presented $75,000 to the Port Discovery Children’s Museum, a three-year commitment, providing a safe, creative learning environment where children can express themselves through visual arts activities. BGE and the Museum teamed up to unveil the new BGE Studio Workshop today and the room was alive with activities and a safety demonstration from BGE personnel with children from the Beaver Creek Child Care Center in Anne Arundel County. As Port Discovery's artistic learning laboratory, the BGE Studio Workshop provides opportunities for children to express themselves through visual arts activities that help develop creative thinking skills, imagination, and the confidence and desire to innovate.

BGE today presented $75,000 to the Port Discovery Children's Museum, a three-year commitment, providing a safe, creative learning environment where children can express themselves through visual arts activities. BGE and the Museum teamed up to unveil the new BGE Studio Workshop today and the room was alive with activities and a safety demonstration from BGE personnel with children from the Beaver Creek Child Care Center in Anne Arundel County. Pictured left to right (standing): Dennis Rasmussen, Port Discovery Children's Museum Board Chair, Bryn Parchman, President and CEO of Port Discovery Children's Museum, Carim Khouzami, Exelon's Chief Integration Officer and Port Discovery Children's Museum board member, and Councilman Jack Young, President of the Baltimore City Council. Seated in front: Children from the Beavercreek Child Care Center. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Since our founding nearly 200 years ago, BGE has played an integral role in working with Maryland communities to address education initiatives, public safety, economic development, civic issues and other initiatives that help improve the quality of life for our customers and their families,” said Carim Khouzami, Exelon’s Chief Integration Officer and Port Discovery Children’s Museum board member. “I have had the privilege of serving as a board member for the Museum since 2011 and I have witnessed first-hand the tremendous impact that Port Discovery has on the thousands of children, parents and teachers who visit each year. As an educational resource for the community, Port Discovery promotes art, STEM education, physical health and healthy lifestyles, early childhood development, and literacy. At BGE, we recognize the importance of art and culture programs to the health and vitality of the community, and we are proud to sponsor the new BGE Studio Workshop, the artistic center of the Museum.”

The mission of Port Discovery Children's Museum is to connect purposeful play and learning. The Museum provides play-to-learn experiences that ignite imagination and nurture growth.

“As a children's museum and a trusted community resource, we are committed to providing early learners the opportunity to exercise their creativity through the arts,” says Bryn Parchman, President and CEO of Port Discovery Children’s Museum. “We are grateful to BGE for its support of our Studio Workshop exhibit which engages thousands of children to a variety of quality art programs every month.”

In the BGE Studio Workshop, children have the opportunity to interact with and create pieces alongside professional artists from the community. They are introduced to new art techniques and vocabulary, and to the use of traditional and non-traditional art materials. Port Discovery's visual arts programs: promote and inspire creative processes; expand children's abilities to examine, analyze, and discuss art and the world around them; inspire appreciation for the arts; and foster confidence in artistic endeavors. The BGE Studio Workshop is an inclusive environment, and activities are universally designed for children of all abilities.

Each year, Port Discovery serves approximately 265,000 visitors, comprised of children from birth to age 10 and their families, caregivers, and teachers. Emphasis is placed on children and families from underserved communities, children with disabilities, and supporting the adults in children's lives by sharing information on childhood development, parenting, and teaching through play. Port Discovery provides a safe, invigorating, nurturing, and playful environment where children and families learn together.

BGE and its employees are committed to enhancing the quality of life for its customers and their families in communities the company serves throughout central Maryland. BGE regularly supports organizations and activities that promote educational outreach. BGE’s corporate citizenship aligns with that of its parent company, Exelon Corporation. As part of Exelon’s merger in March 2012, Exelon and its subsidiaries have committed to maintain charitable giving of an average of $7 million per year in Maryland, including BGE’s service area, for the next 10 years.

In 2013, BGE contributed more than $3.5 million to more than 250 non-profit organizations and is on track to contribute nearly $4 million to charitable organizations throughout the BGE central Maryland service area this year. BGE employees volunteer in a wide-range of youth-focused opportunities, from mentoring and tutoring children, to teaching students about electric safety, energy efficiency, visual arts and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educational initiatives. Additionally, BGE is focused on helping kids live an active and healthy lifestyle and the company continues to support organizations like the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, PlayWorks, KaBoom!, and NFL Play 60 to provide safe places and opportunities for underserved youth to take on leadership roles and learn the importance of teamwork. BGE’s sponsorship of the BGE Studio Workshop at the Port Discovery Children’s Museum supports BGE’s commitment to educational initiatives for families throughout its central Maryland service area.

To view photos from the event, visit BGE’s Flickr site at Flickr.com/photos/mybge. For more information on BGE’s commitment to volunteerism and charitable giving, visit bge.com/giving.

About the Port Discovery Children’s Museum:

Port Discovery Children’s Museum provides experiences that ignite imagination, inspire learning and nurture growth through play. Port Discovery offers 3 floors of educational, interactive and hands-on/minds-on experiences designed for children ages birth-10 years of age and has been ranked among the Top 10 Children’s Museums in the United States by Child Magazine and Forbes. Port Discovery Children’s Museum has served over 3.8 million visitors and continues to grow as one of the leading non-traditional educational resources in the Mid-Atlantic region.

About BGE:

BGE, headquartered in Baltimore, is Maryland’s largest gas and electric utility, delivering power to more than 1.2 million electric customers and more than 655,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. The company’s approximately 3,400 employees are committed to the safe and reliable delivery of gas and electricity, as well as enhanced energy management, conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with 2013 revenues of approximately $24.9 billion. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, YouTubeand Flickr.

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