Exciting Changes are Coming to the Akron Children's Museum!
The Akron Children’s Museum is ready to expand with your help! The support of the community thus far has been instrumental in getting ACM’s doors open, but completion of this campaign will further our goal of creating the most welcoming and educationally rich environment for all patrons.
Christine Yuhasz, retired Director of Strategic Engagement at Akron Metropolitan Housing is leading the Museum’s Power of Play Capital Campaign as the Chairperson of the project. Dave Lieberth, President at The Lieberth Consulting Group and former Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff, is serving as the honorary Co-Chair of the campaign.
What's Coming: New Exhibits & Areas
A Multi-Purpose Room
This room will serve multiple purposes, such as for parties, programs, workshops, and meetings. There will be a retractable wall that will allow the space to be divided into 2 rooms when needed.
Sensory Room
This exhibit space will be specifically designed for children that need some time away from the busy museum atmosphere. Acoustic panels will help with noise and there will be a calming color palette. Tactile items will be on the walls for children to play with and books to read, as well as, different colored lights that can be turned on so they can sit down and relax for a moment.
And More! Stay tuned for more details soon.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the capital campaign's goal?
These improvements will be funded through the Power of Play Capital Campaign, in which the Akron Children's Museum is looking to raise $650,000 to fund renovations.
What will construction of new exhibits and features mean for visitors and members?
We plan to keep Akron Children's Museum open throughout construction. Most of the new exhibits and areas can be constructed in the new space, so that the museum can stay open to our guests and members during our renovations. Some operations may be limited during construction.
What is the timeline for construction?
We hope to begin construction in late 2019/early 2020, and is expected to last for approximately four months. As with any building project, plans evolve - and, we will keep you updated throughout this project.
How did you develop the concepts and designs for new exhibits and areas?
Along with our exhibit designer, we solicited feedback from staff, board members, community members, visitors, and external advisors. We mapped these ideas against Akron Children's Museum's own knowledge of what works every day already. We learned that our visitors understand and appreciate the value of learning through play and we began to see just how broad and deep the notion of imaginative, purposeful, learner-driven play could become.
Through imaginative play, children become more creative and develop a problem-solving approach to learning.
Watch children at play in video below.
