When Gwen Crider smiles, she is ageless. Even when she is contemplative, it's hard to figure how old she is. And really, who cares? She's got the ebullience and inquisitiveness of a college student, but when she opens her mouth to speak, you know you're dealing with a woman with real life experience under her belt.

Perfect for the leader of a children's museum.

Crider, a Washington, DC, native, was appointed executive director of Austin Children's Museum (ACM) last February, with a two-year initial contract. Upon first meeting, it's easy to see why she won the board of directors' vote. She wears her confidence as comfortably as her work attire, which on a brisk November afternoon consists of gray khaki slacks, a gray-and-green plaid blouse, small gold loop earrings and practical black walking shoes. Her hair is cropped, almost boyish, with a shimmer of reddish highlights. Crider, who's worked for The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and Atlanta's SciTrek (science and technology) Museum, has the demeanor of a school teacher. Her enthusiasm is palpable, contagious. Her vision is far-reaching and eloquently articulated, indicative of someone who has navigated major bureaucracies. What she discovered along the way was a strong desire to serve community in a very direct way. And what better way than through children?

"Part of working with kids is enlightened self-interest," Crider says. "Trying to provide them with what they need for healthy development is essential. I'd do it anyway, but I recognize that my future, our future, really will be in their hands. And I think most adults on some level-whether it is as parents, as Sunday schoolteachers or as school-crossing guards-realize they have an impact in shaping kids...We all do what we can. Hopefully, we do what we love."

Crider flashes a high-beam smile that says she's doing what she adores. The forty-seven year old doesn't have children, but she's spent most of her life working on their behalf.

Following an organic path through public service, starting with rehabilitation counseling for troubled youths, Crider's career seems to have led her inexorably to this position. Here, she can shape the future of a growing institution, using her organizational skills as well as her desire to bridge communities and cultures. A museum-particularly a children's museum with an annual budget of nearly two million dollars-provides a prime opportunity.

"In neighborhoods of old, institutions were fundamental parts of the neighborhood," she says. "They weren't something distinct and separate; they were something vital and part of the community. I think (the ACM) has been a vital part of Austin's community. Its fundamental beginning was being a place for everyone, for kids of all ages in Austin, and I think the museum has always cherished and maintained that."

ACM President Gerald Torres says Crider is the ideal person to further that aim. "Gwen clearly has the capacity to reach out across all the constituencies that we serve," he says, recalling his first meeting with Crider in 2000, during the museum's search for a new executive director. "She was as committed as the board is to ensuring that the museum serves all of Austin. Those were critical impressions I had of her initially, and as we brought her back (for subsequent interviews), those were confirmed."

The past couple of years have represented an important juncture for the museum, which opened in 1987 on West Fifth Street, in West Town Commons. When the search began for a new director, Torres says, "we had just moved into our new space downtown and we had decided to work on our long-range plans. Deborah Edward (the former and founding executive director) had decided to do something else, and we were interviewing candidates within the framework of, 'Who's going to be able to lead us through the planning that we have to do, and take us into the next phase?' We were looking for someone with experience in science and technology (Crider was president and executive director at Atlanta's SciTrek Museum before coming to Austin), and wewanted someone with national experience. Gwen certainly brought those qualities to the table."

In Crider's first eleven months, she has worked closely with the board and other cultural and educational entities to define the museum's future and map its course. In 2001, the goal was to enhance the facility's existing features, including exhibitions and programming such as Cultural Connections, a multicultural program with monthly workshops and theatrical performances exploring traditions from around the world. Another core element is Community Collaborations, a program designed to connect the museum with other community organizations, such as Child Inc., the local Head Start program.

In 2002, Crider will oversee the debut of the museum's Music Gallery, a hands-on, live performance space.

"The Music Gallery opens in March," the director says. "Austin has such a rich heritage in music that we thought it was just real important to make that a part of who we are. So we are converting our exhibition theater space into a Music Gallery where kids will be able to experiment with different instruments and engage in role-playing, so they can see themselves on stage." The Music Gallery will provide equipment, props and simple costumes to engage children in creative, expressive and cooperative play. In addition, the museum will work with KLRU-TV to create "Austin Kiddie Limits," which will serve as a venue for live performances featuring local artists and other guests. Currently, the board and staff are solidifying performances and schedules for the year, as well as festivities for the Music Gallery's opening.

Also in 2002, the museum will renovate its Infants and Toddler Gallery, plans for which are still in the early stages. Crider hopes the space will include a water playspace to underscore the significance that water plays in Austin's everyday life. ("Plus, all children love water," she adds.) In addition to the 2002 renovations, which include redoing the museum's entrance, the facility will continue to broaden its programming and strengthen alliances with the Austin Independent School District and other organizations.

All of these elements dovetail with Crider's background in public service and education.

"What's curious to me is that my work has always been, in some way, shape or form, about education. And when I've moved away from it, I've been drawn back to it," says Crider, who studied educational psychology at the University of Connecticut and later attended George Washington University, where she earned a master's degree in public administration with a concentration in urban management.

After graduating from GWU, Crider was recruited by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. During her twelve years with The Port Authority, Crider worked for the Authority's world trade institution, which helps New York- and New Jersey-based companies break into international business.

Early in life, Crider foresaw a career in politics or public service. Urban management emerged as "a way to be politically involved and avoid the hassle and all the negative sides of running for election," she says. "But I decided years ago that there are lots of ways you can be more effective in creating change and helping people without getting into the formal political structure."

Having been raised in DC, Crider's love for politics isn't surprising, nor is her interest in education. Her father was a government security guard and her mother was a teacher's aide.

When she left The Port Authority, Crider took a position that combined both her passions. She became deputy director for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, one of the federal government's premiere educational facilities, attracting more than eight million visitors annually. During her three years there, Crider handled day-to-day operations, "helping to plot our course, if you will." Crider looks back with pride at her role in helping to plan the Air and Space Museum's expansion, which finally broke ground in October 2000. One facet of the expansion is a restoration workshop, which will allow the public to see how artifacts are restored for the collection.

As much as she enjoyed working for the Smithsonian, Crider missed having a more direct link to the local community. "I like to get as close to the source as I can," she says. Although the Smithsonian offered her an unprecedented opportunity, the museum's scope went well beyond the needs of DC's population, and Crider has always craved an intimate, more immediate exchange with the public she serves.

"The Air and Space Museum is a national treasure," she observes. "But for me it really is about being able to go out and talk to a school, for example, hearing firsthand what they would hope the institution could provide in terms of support, and knowing that there was an opportunity for me to do something about that."

When Crider became executive director of Atlanta's SciTrek Museum in the midnineties, she got that opportunity. During her four years there, she worked with various sectors to ascertain the museum's goals, enrich outreach programs, strengthen exhibitions and help retire capital debt. In doing that, she forged relationships with high-tech companies, corporate and foundation leaders, educators, and government officials, says SciTrek Chairman Charles Whitney.

"What she really did superbly here was she built some bridges that were very important. SciTrek is a modest institution, and under Gwen's tenure she had a vision of creating a new museum that would have plugged us into both the technology and education communities in a way that she felt would benefit the city," Whitney says.

Part of that vision lay in positioning the museum to house a Challenger Learning Center, a topnotch educational program on air and space technology. Founded by the surviving families of the Challenger Space Mission crew, the international program is a much-coveted amenity for any science and technology institution; since its inception in the late eighties, forty-two such centers around the world have been approved by the Challenger Learning Center Network. With her contacts and background, Crider was able to secure the prized endorsement, says Margie Baumgartner, vice president of business development at SciTrek. Unfortunately, the stamp of approval did not include financial grants, and the project has been put on hold for lack of museum funding.

Around the same time the Challenger Learning Center was approved, SciTrek Museum hit hard times-a problem that's plagued the museum since it opened, according to Baumgartner, who is still at SciTrek. Although Crider helped retire the three million dollar capital debt during her stewardship, by summer 2000 the museum faced a potential shortfall for operations of seven hundred thousand dollars. By the time Crider left SciTrek in December 2000, the possibility of closure clouded its horizon. The board, staff and supporters averted disaster in the first months of 2001, but it was an unfortunate farewell note for Crider, and one that she still pains her.

A brief news story on SciTrek's financial woes appeared in the Austin American- Statesman last January, in which Crider's role was examined. Although explanations of the budget deficit remained murky, even as she was leaving, SciTrek Chairman Charles Whitney defended Crider. "We've been close to the edge often over the last decade," Whitney told the Statesman. "Thanks to (Crider), we're better off now to a much greater degree."

ACM board members say Crider alerted them to SciTrek's problem, and after investigating further, the board decided it still had chosen the right executive director.

"We discussed the issue with Gwen, we listened to her response, and we were fully satisfied with the questions and the responses," says Gregory Kozmetsky, ACM's immediate past president, who headed the selection committee. "If there had been grounds not to (honor the job offer), we would have had to look at the situation at the time."

Torres echoes the sentiment. "We went through a very detailed search process and that issue came up during the search, and Gwen talked about it with us. And when the story ran, we looked further into it, and it didn't strike us as a major issue."

When asked about it, Crider, who worked with three chief financial officers in her four years at SciTrek, discusses her last months there with some chagrin. "What I'm comfortable saying is something I believe to be true. SciTrek is an institution that has struggled financially from its very beginning. It was, and continued to be while I was there, a hand-to-mouth operation. It had been in the position of near closure before, as many cultural institutions in Atlanta have...While I was there, we were able to do some great stuff, but the museum, financially, did not continue to grow strong. And once again, it faced a crisis," she says. "I think one of the challenges that many nonprofits face is, if you want a leader to do the visionary kind of focus and growth-the outside work- then you really need a strong internal team. SciTrek didn't have that because of the turnover in the key financial position."

SciTrek Chairman Whitney concurs. "The real problem was we went through a series of CFOs, and because we didn't have any continuity, we weren't able to quantify the financial status. Gwen knew there would be a problem, but I don't think she knew what the real number was. Nobody knew...With the benefit of hindsight, we should have had stronger help for her in the financial arena." He adds that Crider was probably asked to wear too many hats at a time when the museum was expanding rapidly.

Asked what he would say to Austin about Gwen Crider, Whitney said, "They got a winner. They got a great person who has a lot of talent. I think you're going to be impressed with her."

Crider says she has no fear that a similar financial situation could occur at the Austin Children's Museum. "Here, there is a clear number-two person, so there is a real management team. Plus there is a really strong finance com mittee," she says. "This museum has done a lot of work in developing communication tools to be sure that everyone who needs to, understands our finances. Everyone who needs to be is actively engaged in making sure the resources are there."

Like every other city in the country, Austin has experienced a tightening of the belt recently but Crider doesn't see that as an obstacle for the museum and its goals. And listening to Crider outline those dreams, watching the enthusiasm play across her face, it's difficult not to picture what she foresees: A lifelong learning center, a source for information and constructive play that reaches people of all ages. Learning shouldn't be just for kids, she says. Those "aha moments," as she calls them, should be part of a never-ending adventure. And children's museums don't have to be just for toddlers to teens; they can also be for the adults in a child's life.

"Long-term, we believe-and again this is part of what we're studying-...there is a unique opportunity here to create a lifelong learning center, one that not only serves a one year old, but also provides programs for her parents or grandparents. Right now, we're focusing on programs for kids zero to nine, and when we talk about lifelong learning, we're talking about keeping that sense of discovery alive. To me, if you can't find that kind of discovery and joy, regardless of age, it's sad. To me that's what it's all about."

The Austin Children's Museum, which drew about two hundred thousand visitors last year, is ideally positioned because it already takes a multidisciplinary approach, Crider says. But she is reluctant to give more details on the plan. The concept is still being discussed with the board of directors, the Austin Visitors and Convention Bureau, cultural leaders, educators, and the committee of visitors, the latter composed of representatives of organizations invited to share ideas on how the museum can better serve the community.

"It needs to be an evolution," she says. "I've been here for ten months (at press time last month) and I can't begin to pretend to know what this community needs. A big part of what I've been doing this year is listening. I don't want to put an artificial timeline on something, because ultimately that would lead to its failure."

What Crider can do, and is happy to do, is articulate her views on the importance of institutions like the Austin Children's Museum and the crucial part they play in the "development of a whole person," starting from infancy. Aside from offering weekly early learning programs in math, science, languages and other disciplines, the museum has a core commitment to the arts and humanities, cultural exchange, and bridging socioeconomic strata.

"My interest really piqued when I got in this business and I saw what museums could be and could do for kids, in terms of getting them excited and engaged," Crider says. "When you realize that for many, many years, museums, for many people, were viewed as these high-class stuffy places-not for everyone. And I think seeing more children's museums began to change that attitude. You began to introduce children to things that would carry through with them into adulthood." She mentions that as a kid growing up, even in the city of Washington, DC, she didn't go to museums much.

"I think museums have come a long way in terms of reaching out to everybody, in terms of letting people know you don't need any kinds of special skill or status to enjoy them. Art can be enjoyed by anybody, and if you start kids out going to a museum and associating a good experience with museums, I think that will stick with them as they grow older."

As for children's museums, even ones that hope to engage children of all ages, Crider believes they are increasingly important as schools across the country deemphasize the arts in favor of scholastic advancement.

"I think that places like children's museums give kids a chance to be kids, without the pressure of having to achieve. Kids today are very scheduled; they're involved in fifty million things. They need the opportunity to debrief." They'll have plenty of time later to enjoy all the pressures of adulthood, she adds.

"Our goal is to be the most all-out absolutely phenomenal children's museum, bar none! So that if a family is trying to figure out 'What do we want to do this weekend?', it's a no-brainer," she says.

Crider glances at her watch and realizes that she needs to get to her next meeting. Downstairs on the main floor of the ACM, brightly colored hands-on exhibits vibrate with activity, echoing with the sounds of young voices. A lone, high-pitched squeal travels up the corridor. Crider laughs.

"That's what it's all about," she says.

Shermakaye Bass agrees that it's all about the "aha moments." In getting to know Crider, she had many.