The Chicago Academy of Sciences

What it reported doing in 2024

Education: educational programs are at the heart of the nature museum's efforts to fulfill its mission. With research and study at the core of the institution's founding, nature museum educators provide more hands-on contact hours with students and teachers than any other museum in the city: more than 78,000 hours each year, with ten full-time school program staff members who teach a combined total of more than 38,000 students and 1,200 teachers from schools throughout chicago, most of which serve high percentages of low-income students primarily from chicago public schools. Students learn about the natural environment and how it directly impacts their lives. These hands-on school programs are aligned with the next generation science standards (ngss), and feature the naturemuseum's unique resources: from live animals to our vast preserved scientific collection. In partnership with depaul university's user experience design capstone class of 2025, the nature museum's sustainability center underwent an incredible digital transformation. Over the course of 13 weeks, the students worked together to develop these games, receiving feedback from museum staff throughout the entire process. The result of their efforts were completely redesigned screens for each of the 5 digital components in the exhibit: water, economy & culture, energy, food, and the library. The finished screens make the content more accessible and engaging for all audiences, while still educating our visitors on the importance of conservation in each pillar.education programs and curriculum grew and expanded over the past year. We piloted new day-off camps and a program specially for tweens (ages 10-14 years old). Summer camp added another group of students to each session, bringing the joy of a summer connecting with nature to more kids, as well as increasing revenue opportunities. Education staff created 3 new science on the go curriculum, grounded in next generation science standards, to bring to teachers and classrooms next school year, building on our 30-year science on the go tradition. We partnered with the lawndale pop-up museum to bring nature connections to their friday evening community events, and the resulting nature-inspired, community-created art work will be showcased at the museum in the fall.through our school partnership programs, nature museum educators are able to reach students from across the city and provide them with high quality, educational lessons that are centered around our mission to help create connections to nature. Science on the go, a teacher professional development program, served 153 classrooms in the 2024-2025 school year. This meant that approximately 5,000 students and 153 teachers received a science and nature based educational program that was designed to help deepen their connection with the environment, and, for teachers, strengthen their confidence and comfortability with teaching science subjects.through in- and out-of-school time opportunities throughout chicago, museum educators make a lasting impact through whole-child learning approaches that build knowledge, skills, interest, and enthusiasm for stem topics. Education programs are founded in a student-driven and inquiry-based approach to connect our audiences to interdisciplinary nature and science phenomena. Fiscal year 2025 student programs included: 634 field trip workshops (at pnnm), 427 summer campers, 89 winter campers, 89 nature on the go (in communities) workshops, 8 after school science club schools, 4 overnight events. Fiscal year 2025 multi-touchpoint school partnerships with teacher professional development programs included: 153 science on the go classrooms, 3 whole school science partnership schools, 34 urban nature partnership classrooms, and 32 science teachingnetwork teachers. Fiscal year 2025 teens & young adults programs included: 1 quarter-long course environmental education theory and practice for depaul university undergraduates, and 25 seasona

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 96%; rating input score 96
• Program expense ratio: 77%; rating input score 77
• Fundraising efficiency: $10.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -20.8%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.78; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings