by Emily Bessey - Museum Engagement Coordinator
There are so many exciting things happening at the Children’s Discovery Museum! A few weeks ago, the steeple on our building came down. This was a positive development as the steeple was leaking and creating problems for our roof. We are so thankful for the careful work of Sheridan Construction for safely removing the steeple and the 1500 lb Paul Revere Bell that was housed inside!
Building a new museum is a HUGE project! It takes many talented visionaries to create a new magical museum. We have been working with a fabulous designer, Rusty Lamer of Field Magnet Design, a talented architect, Margaret Innes of Studio E, and an innovative fabrication team from 42 Design Fab Studio to create several of the exhibits for our museum. Our team meets multiple times a week to discuss every aspect of the design. This team of people is responsible for figuring out every detail of our museum, including big considerations, like safety and ADA compliance, all the way down to small details, like color scheme, graphics, and artistic touches. This week we got to see images of the first exhibit piece to be completed, our Hollow Log. This is a truly tactile piece that the children will love exploring, climbing on, and climbing through.
In terms of construction on our building, now that the steeple is down, we are lining up plans to fix our ceilings and replace our flooring. Our museum staff and board members are playing the role of interior designers as we have selected carpet and tile that will help create the aesthetic of our museum. We are balancing the current programming and room rentals we have with timing the installation of our new floors. As with the design of the exhibit pieces, when we make changes to our building, we are being intentional about choosing items that will create a space for the community that is warm and inviting. We look forward to our museum being a place for everyone to play, learn, and grow!