Transit System Adds 24 Bus Stop Murals

The Milwaukee County Transit System recently added 24 new bus shelter murals around the county as part of the City of Milwaukee’s Pop Spots program, which has put family-friendly installations and spaces around the city that children and families can interact with, supporting early childhood development.

At a press conference Tuesday, partners on the project, which include Milwaukee Public Schools, the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Early Childhood Initiatives and local advertising agency BVK, explained that the primary goal of the project was to create interactive murals at the bus shelters that stimulate young children, and hopefully contribute to their cognitive and educational development. The event was held at a bus stop at the intersection of N. 64th St. and W. Silver Spring Dr.

The 24 new bus stop murals bring the number of murals up to 53 throughout the transit system.

Dea Wright, director of the city’s Office of Early Childhood Initiatives, said, “I want to invite, encourage and welcome every business, organization, anyone living, playing in our city to, ya know, do their part… to create these mighty, small moments for our children”

Mayor Cavalier Johnson said, “We’re sharing a very important message today, that getting young people engaged and headed in the right direction early on in their lives is essential.”

Johnson said it’s important that young people are curious and inquisitive about their surroundings and the world. He added that this contributes to the success of the entire community.

“We have to imagine our city splattered with things that help parents be their child’s first teacher,” Wright said. “It’s up to all of us to do that if we’re gonna change the outcomes not just for our children but for ourselves.”

Felicia Saffold, MPS Senior Director of Curriculum and Instruction, said the pop spots, like the new bus murals, are intended to create more opportunities to prepare children for school during the critical window of development, their first five years of life. Saffold explained how it works during the press conference using the new bus shelter pop spot she was standing in front of, saying “This pop spot builds oral language development, by encouraging young children to create simple stories and strengthen a parent-child relationship through a simple interaction.”

The advertising firm BVK helped design the new murals. Founder and Creative Director Gary Mueller said the project partners “wanted to make sure that all the activities in and around the shelters really engaged the child’s senses.” He explained that, “activities include counting, identifying shapes, objects, colors, foods,” and some involve reading stories, scavenger hunts or physical activity.

Mueller, too, called for more businesses and organizations to partner on the project. Wright explained that all over the city there are opportunities to engage children in early education development outside of the school through these small installations.

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