The Tech aims to inspire the innovator in everyone. We embrace the idea that all people—regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or socio-economic status—are born with the ability to solve problems. Our exhibits and programming engage visitors by presenting them with difficult problems, by giving them the tools to innovate and solve those problems, and providing the guidance they need to develop their own creative potential. For example, our Social Robots exhibit is a hands-on design challenge in which visitors take a robot base and add components using inputs and outputs to make the robot perform various functions. The task is less about tinkering with parts and more about building a robot to meet a specific social need, such as helping a family at home. The Tech also aims to give young people, especially those from underserved communities, the opportunity to engage deeply in STEM learning. That is our short-term goal. We want to inspire boys and girls to think big and dream big. They spark their imaginations through hands-on design challenges in our galleries, workshops and labs, and discover new worlds through an educational IMAX film. Our interactive experiences help budding innovators build confidence in their ability to pursue a STEM-related career someday. That is our long-term goal. Over the next several years, The Tech will continue upgrading current exhibitions and designing unique new interactive ones. Success will be measured by the volume of visitors, in addition to regular visitor surveys that will measure both the appeal of and the lasting imprint that visitors take away from The Tech's exhibitions, labs and programs. In 2016, The Tech aims to fulfill these key strategic goals: 1. Inspire and equip low-income young people to succeed in a world driven by technology. 2. Inspire and equip girls to succeed in a world driven by technology. 3. Become a meaningful community resource for innovation. 4. Raise the funds we need to make these things happen.

The Tech's primary strategy for achieving its short- and long-terms goals is Tech 3. 0, a $100 million capital campaign (revised from the original $50 million) that will fund museum exhibitions, staffing and programs for the next decade. Tech 3. 0 will allow the museum to achieve its ultimate goal of becoming an even more relevant resource in Silicon Valley. The campaign is already supporting: · Custom interactive exhibitions. Social Robots was unveiled in 2013, followed in 2014 by Body Metrics, where wearable technology combined with data collection and analysis gives visitors a window into their physical and emotional selves. Two exhibitions debuted in 2015: Cyber Detectives, the nation's first interactive exhibit designed to help visitors learn about Internet safety, and Innovations in Health Care, which explores advances in health care technology. In Spring 2016 we opened BioDesign Studio, a place where people of all ages can play, tinker and design with biology. · Bowers Institute. In 2015, The Tech opened this flexible learning space to provide top-notch professional development in STEM to educators who are teaching underserved Bay Area students. · The Tech Academies of Innovation, a partnership with schools in underserved communities to build model programs for teaching STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

The Tech has seen significant staffing changes in our Education, Marketing and Exhibits departments. All are aimed at bolstering and sustaining our mission. Our new Vice President of Education oversees all of The Tech's education efforts, as well as manages The Tech's gallery staff. She has retrained staff to become experts in Design Challenge Learning so they will be able to identify whether visitors are doing real engineering and can facilitate deeper learning. Marketing also added several key positions and reorganized to reflect The Tech's new emphasis on achieving relevance and impact as a vital community learning resource. This team is also working to rebrand The Tech as a leading community resource for developing innovators. Partnerships have always been, and will always be, a key component to The Tech's ability to work efficiently and effectively. A key message the staff has adopted is “do less, partner more. " Our numerous partners include local schools; the County Offices of Education for Santa Clara San Mateo and Monterey counties; Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula; Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley; Campbell Union School District; Catholic Charities CORAL of San Jose; Franklin McKinley School District; Girl Scouts of America; Maker Faire; MESA; NASA; RAFT; San Jose Parks and Rec Afterschool Programs; San Jose State University; Third Street Community Center; and YMCA of Silicon Valley, among others.

The Tech uses a master timeline that details the opening of each new or refurbished exhibition. It is aggressive but doable. The staff is held accountable in terms of both scheduling and staying on budget. On-time and under-budget openings will be key indicators of reaching each target. In addition to these timeline-driven goals, The Tech conducts regular visitor and membership surveys to instruct staff on the effectiveness of programs and guests' overall museum experience during their visits.

The Tech 3. 0 campaign continues to reap results that show strong community confidence in The Tech's plans. If fundraising goals are not achieved, we will need to scale back plans, but there are contingency plans in place should some areas of funding not be met. Confidence is high that, with the community's continued support and encouragement, The Tech will indeed achieve its short- and long-term goals. Program success examples · Recipient in 2015 of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the highest U. S. honor for these institutions. · The Tech has welcomed more than 8 million visitors, including nearly 2 million students on a field trip, since the museum's opening in 1998. · Approximately 225,000 students have taken part in a Hands-on Science Lab since the program's debut in 2005. · Participation in The Tech Challenge continues to increase year over year. Founded in 1988, the program attracts more than 2,500 youth every year from all over the Bay Area. · The Tech for Global Good is a year-round program designed to create the next generation of innovators ready to tackle the toughest challenges facing our planet. Learning to think like a social innovator encourages young people to consider the ethical and empathic aspects of making things.