New York Hall of Science

“Board of trustee members alan sinsheimer and seth dubin have a family relationship.”

“The chief financial officer engages an external accounting firm to prepare the form 990 and reviews it with the chief executive officer. The form 990 is reviewed initially by the controller. All numbers contained in the form, responses and narratives are thoroughly reviewed to make sure that they are addressed correctly. The return is then forwarded to the cfo for another review. The cfo then refers the narrative parts to the chief advancement officer, chief learning officer, chief marketing and business development officer and svp for youth development and museum culture for further review, making sure that the narratives reflect the current description of the organization. Responses to form questions are then reviewed by the avp for contracts and compliance. Changes to the initial draft, if any, are again reviewed by the controller and the cfo. A final draft will then be reviewed by the ceo and changes, if any, will be made before an electronic copy is sent to individual board members via email for approval.”

“All board members and senior staff (which includes all officers and all nysci employees who are at the level of director or above) are subject to nysci's formal conflict of interest (transparency) policy, which specifies categories of required reporting and board review of specific activities and relationships. All nysci employees are subject to nysci's conflict of interest policy, which describes prohibitions on outside work using nysci time and resources, internal review of prospective outside activity, the requirement to report outside compensation to nysci, and the institution's whistleblower policy for reporting suspected violations of conflict of interest. Personnel subject to nysci's transparency policy are required to report annually on conflicts of interest, and are instructed to report any potential conflicts under this policy at such other times as these may arise. All other employees are instructed to report potential or actual conflicts of interest to their supervisor. Board members and senior staff are issued a questionnaire annually which includes all required categories of disclosure and reporting under nysci's transparency policy. Completion of the questionnaire is mandatory for all board members and senior staff. The most recent questionnaires were completed in august 2020. There are no mandatory annual disclosures for other personnel. If a conflict arises at the trustee or officer level, this is reported to the board and reviewed by the board chair's designee for determination of action. If an employee conflict of interest is brought to the attention of nysci, this is addressed with the employee at the supervisory level, in consultation with senior management as needed, and a determination is made as to the necessary course of action to eliminate or mitigate the conflict. Nysci's whistleblower policy also addresses reporting of suspected employee unethical behavior, including unallowable conflicts of interest; in these instances, employees may report to a supervisor or to the designated compliance officer (currently the director of human resources), who investigates and reports to the board finance and audit committee for resolution.”

“Compensation for the ceo is reviewed and approved by the co-chairs and the executive committee of the board of trustees. Persons with potential conflict of interest with respect to the compensation arrangements do not participate. The co-chairs and the executive committee use appropriate and adequate data to determine the reasonableness of the compensation being considered against industry standards. The board discusses the compensation package in executive session at the appropriate quarterly board meeting, followed by a closed-door discussion with the ceo. The board's approval of changes to the ceo's compensation, along with any associated performance goals, are captured in a formal signed agreement between the board and the ceo. For key employees, the ceo uses industry standards substantiated by appropriate data such as compensation surveys and performance reviews. Written and signed performance reviews, which include future goals, are prepared and discussed between each key employee and the ceo. Changes to a key employee's compensation are documented in a written memo from the ceo to the key employee. During the annual performance review process compensation is evaluated against internal and external benchmarks which include industry specific norms. The compensation review process was last conducted in 2023.”

“Financial statements, conflict of interest policy and governing documents are available upon request. Hard copies are provided with a charge to the recipient for postage. Electronic copies in pdf format are provided for free.”

“The new york hall of science (nysci) is new york city's premier interactive museum of science and technology, as well as a global leader in stem education and a laboratory for new forms of learning. Founded during the 1964 1965 world's fair, nysci is recognized for groundbreaking exhibitions, innovative educational programs, youth development and mentorship, teacher professional development initiatives, research on learning, and large-scale events that draw children and adults into hands-on stem learning. Nysci's mission is to nurture generations of passionate learners, critical thinkers, and active citizens through an approach we call design make play an approach to learning and engagement that draws upon research on learning and guides the creation of learning experiences that encourage critical thinking, creativity, and agency. Nysci is also a partner to our local community. Nysci's drive to make stem education accessible to all starts at home in corona, queens one of the most diverse communities in the country. Nysci collaborates with community members, local schools, and community-based organizations to develop learning opportunities that improve access to stem in accessible and relevant ways. The museum hosts free weekly community hours and delivers hands-on science and engineering activities at events throughout the local area. Free family days and the annual spring community celebration invites families to engage in multi-generational learning and explore science together in ways so they feel comfortable and a sense of belonging. In addition, the museum has implemented a series of parent education courses called families learning together that help parents understand ways to support their child's learning at home and provides each family with a stem backpack toolkit for continuing their science investigations at home. Nysci also works with partners in the elmhurst corona resource collaborative (ecrc) to help families access food, jobs, health care and educational resources. In september 2022, the new york city department of education opened a steam-themed pre-k center q369 on nysci's campus, providing access to a high-quality pre-k experience to over 300 three- and four-year olds from our local neighborhood. Nysci has a long-term partnership with the department of education that allows us to work collaboratively with the teachers, administrators and families from the preschool, enriching their stem learning and teaching and making nysci available to them as a resource and community hub. Since 2022, the pre-k stem enrichment program has expanded to two additional schools reaching thousands of early learners and their families through specialized field trips, activity guide training for teachers and steam family days at nysci.”

“Employment search services: program service expenses 10,871. Management and general expenses 143,423. Fundraising expenses 8,635. Total expenses 162,929. Evaluation services: program service expenses 141,103. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 35,000. Total expenses 176,103. Exhibit design and fabrication services: program service expenses 2,114,068. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 2,114,068. Other fees for services: program service expenses 569,578. Management and general expenses 12,345. Fundraising expenses 89,160. Total expenses 671,083. Payroll processing fees: program service expenses 59,103. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 59,103.”

“Write-off of uncollectible pledges -95,631.”

“Nysci has a committee that is responsible for the oversight of the audit of its financial statements and selection of an independent accountant. There have been no changes in the oversight process of the audit of nysci's financial statements or in the selection process of an independent accountant within this tax year.”