The Children’s Museum Of The Brazos Valley
Is Making Moves
Article + Photos Courtesy of | The Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley
What’s on the horizon for the Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley in 2021? We’ve heard that you guys are planning a big move. Can you tell us more about that?
- When the pandemic started and we had to shut down like almost every other business in the world, we had the time to think about where we were as a museum – both our physical location as well as where we fit into this community. While we were happy at our space on 29th street, we knew that we could not remain there forever. We wanted
to aim high and expand on our dreams to be a space for children and families to innovate, create, and play. When the opportunity came to be a part of what Lake Walk is building – a destination for innovation – we jumped at the chance to align with them, and the corporations who will call Lake Walk home.
Our temporary space at Lake Walk will open March 1, and is intended to take us through the next 5 years. At the same time, we will use those 5 years to plan, fundraise, and build a permanent location at Lake Walk. Our permanent space will be the premier science and discovery museum in the country – a place for families in the Brazos Valley and beyond to innovate, create, and play.
What will be some of the features of the new location?
- Our new space will be divided into three exhibit areas – spaces focused on innovation, creativity, and play. We are also excited to be able to use the outdoor spaces at Lake Walk – for programs, exhibits, and events – which is a feature we have never had before.
Are there any exciting new exhibits you would like to let the community know about?
- Most of the exhibits in our new space will be new, and of course, exciting! When you walk through our front doors, you will see our Innovation Station, anchored by our Rocket Ship exhibit, this leads into our Spark Lab! Arts & science space – a spot for making & creating, and then around the corner you enter our Little Town area – a child-sized mini-town.
How will the Children’s Museum continue to engage the community through the COVID-19 pandemic?
- Since March, we have moved much of our programming to an online or virtual format in order to continue to reach the community. Moving forward, we will continue to offer both in-person and virtual events and programs. We will be making changes to our visitor experience in order to allow for more social distancing, and a safer experience for our guests – these include the elimination of shared exhibit components in order to focus on more individualized play.
Who will be working on the design of the new location? Do you guys have partners in the community that will be helping with different aspects of this project?
- The design of the new location brought together a team from Lake Walk, KDS Interiors, Bluestone Partners Construction, and the Children’s Museum – with guidance from several museum fabrication companies. We are relying on many local companies to furnish and build out the space, and our corporate sponsors to help us to fund the project – including Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, St. Joseph Health, American Momentum Bank, and many more.