Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
Downtown Makes Way for New Museum
By Elise McKeownYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Developing a news broadcast, writing a story, bouncing a ball down stairs and playing games with words. These activities are about more than having fun. They are creative ways for kids -- and parents -- to learn. "Museums began as places to display things most people would never in their lives be able to see," says Dr. David G. Ruffer, "so museums focused on the things they displayed."Children's museums take a different approach. "Little kids learn by playing," Ruffer points out. So the Children's Museum of the Valley, when it opens in August, will feature hands-on, interactive exhibits, with parents and grandparents as the main instructors. "We won't have many staff because at its best the guy who brought you should help you do that exhibit, explain it to you," said Ruffer, executive director of the museum. "Then he learns as well, and he has fun as well." Another advantage to this approach is that kids see older people learning. "That's an incredibly powerful message for kids," Ruffer says. The children's museum, which is slated to open Aug. 25, was an idea conceived by the Junior League of Youngstown. A feasibility study indicated the project would work in this area, and the not-for-profit Children's Museum of the Valley was born. Plans called for $605,000 in capital to get the venture under way and operate through 2005. Focusing on less-complicated types of museum exhibits -- the arts center consists of tables for working on projects -- has helped keep costs down. A public campaign is under way to raise the remaining $155,000 needed.A committee -- working with an exhibit programming consultant who ensured ideas would perform as envisioned -- made the exhibit plans. Projects have been developed by local talent, such as the science center which is the work of science education experts at Youngstown State University.Determined to locate the museum in downtown Youngstown, the group found an 11,000-square-foot space on Boardman Street that didn't need much work to be usable. Junior League members felt "they ought to be part of the development of downtown," Ruffer explained. "Many children's museums, maybe most children's museums, are part of downtown development."The museum is needed not only for the families of the region, but to help the downtown area as well, agreed Sherry Weinblatt, a board of trustees member who has been involved in the museum project from the start. "We hope it'll be a place people will come to regularly," she said, and those people will then frequent other places in downtown, such as restaurants."Children's museums are part of the educational landscape of a community. Indeed, all museums are," Ruffer said. "The more places you have that families can learn, the better the community is."The children's museum will also encourage families to go to the Butler Institute of American Art, the Arms Family Museum of Local History and other similar attractions, Ruffer added. The museum is expected to attract 30,000 visitors annually, Ruffer indicated. "If people attend this museum at the rate they attend children's museums in other parts of the country we could expect 90,000 visitors a year, but we're not planning on that." Revenue from admissions, membership sales, gift shop sales and gifts will keep the museum going after 2005, Ruffer predicted."That number (30,000 visitors) permits us to operate the place on a comfortable level," he said, "and it's well within the expectations of what might happen.""We're a small group with a big idea, but it's not a gigantic idea," Weinblatt said. "This is a hands-on, Youngstown-sized museum. It'll be innovative, it'll be creative, but it won't have all the bells and whistles of larger cities." It's not just for Youngstown residents, she added. Those from other Mahoning Valley areas as well as the Shenango Valley will benefit from it.The children's museum will charge admission per visit, or memberships at different price levels can be purchased. One day a month it will be open free of charge. "We want to make it where everyone can come," Weinblatt said.Contact Elise McKeown at [email protected]"