The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
KIDSPLAY IS GROWING
Museum director shares museum expansion plans with Rotarians Tuesday
TORRINGTON » KidsPlay Children’s Museum is expected to grow and expand in the years to come, with its caregivers hoping to spark the imaginations of young people from the Northwest Corner and beyond.
Executive Director Eileen Marriott discussed recent and future changes at the museum with the Torrington-Winsted Area Rotary Club Tuesday.
The museum is forecasting that attendance will increase from 33,000 visitors in 2016 to a baseline of 50,000 beginning in 2018 or 2019, Marriott said.
It has a new-found capacity to welcome them, she said.
The July opening of the North Gallery more than doubled the museum’s square footage, allowing space for new exhibitions suitable for older children, as well as programs and educational opportunities.
New exhibitions include a music room, a game of “Operation” crafted by Northwestern Regional High School students, and a maker space— a cross between a workshop and an artist’s studio — designed to give young people the chance to be creative and learn skills that will benefit them in the modern world, Marriott said.
“That is one of the exhibits that we are most focused on right now, and it really is an area where children will develop those 21st century skills — so we think problem-solving, reasoning, invention, and teamwork,” said Marriott. “We can’t forget about teamwork, and how important it is
for kids to have an opportunity to work with children who are not in their family, who they are not used to — because that’s what the real world is about.”
A version of the maker space was on display during Main Street Marketplace this summer, and young people came together to craft a city scape out of cardboard boxes in front of the museum.
A temporary version of the space is now open, with more work planned during the year, Marriott said.
Marriott said KidsPlay will also receive physical improvements to the original museum at 61 Main St., including a new welcome area, renovations, and, eventually, work on the facade.
“Downtown Torrington right now, it just looks incredible,” said Marriott. “If we could bring the beauty that’s inside our building out to the street front, we’d really love to have that project underway.”
The museum’s board and staff are also hoping to increase revenue, moving away from a donation focused model, Marriott said.
Marriott said the biggest area of growth this past summer has been memberships, allowing families and children to take unlimited trips to the museum for a fee. People, organizations and businesses can also purchase “Angel” memberships, allowing low-income children and families a chance to enjoy the museum.
KidsPlay’s mission is to “provide children with an environment that fosters imagination and creativity through interactive exhibits and play that will deepen their appreciation and understanding of the sciences, the arts and the world around them,” according to the museum’s recently-completed 2017-20 strategic plan.
Marriott said programming will expand between now and 2020, in an effort to serve the diverse community of Torrington.
More than 30 million people visited children’s museums in 2007, Marriott said. There are approximately 350 such organizations in the country, she said.
More information about KidsPlay can be found on its website — kidsplaymuseum.org — and its Facebook page — www.facebook.com/kidsplaychildrensmuseum.