Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Thanks to a new initiative from ArtsWave, 2,500 more children know the answer to that question.

ArtsWave's “More Arts More Kids” program kicked off this week, providing the opportunity for 2,500 Cincinnati Public School (CPS) third graders to see daytime performances of The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati's (TCT) production of “SpongeBob The Musical: Youth Edition” at the Taft Theatre.

“More Arts More Kids,” sponsored by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, is designed to provide every student in grades 1-6 with an annual arts field trip. This year’s pilot program with CPS includes the third-grade trips to TCT, a visual art field trip to the Cincinnati Art Museum for all fourth graders, funded by Florence Koetters; and a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Young People's Concert at Music Hall for a portion of the district’s first graders. Over the following school years, additional grades will be introduced to the arts at venues across the region, with a total of 50,000 kids going on trips over the course of the pilot program.

Such exposure and connection help students develop social-emotional skills such as tolerance and empathy. Additionally, students who attend multiple arts field trips demonstrate higher levels of school engagement, increased conscientiousness and perform better on their end-of-grade standardized tests.

The “More Arts, More Kids” program also addresses ArtsWave’s Blueprint for Collective Action goal of Fueling Creativity and Learning in All Kids Through the Arts. ArtsWave regularly invests in arts education to promote the development of 21st-century skills by ensuring that all children in the region, particularly those who may be underserved, have equitable access to meaningful arts experiences.