Ann Arbor has one. So does Flint, Saginaw, and Grand Rapids, and more cities in between. Children's Hands-On Museums.
Organizers behind what could be metro Detroit's next children's museum, this time in Macomb County, are traveling the state, learning how they work, what makes each one special and what they mean to the community as a whole.
They are also holding public meetings, seeking funding and embarking on a feasibility study that will take the project from planning and vision to reality. The project has the backing of local education officials, the Mount Clemens DDA, the Macomb County Chamber of Commerce, and others.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2014. The organizing committee for the regional children's hands-on museum has hired Informal Learning Experiences Inc. of Washington, D.C. to complete the study, which will be the blueprint for the museum.
"We've been working on it awhile," says Monika Rittner, an organizer, who visited the Flint museum earlier this week. "It's really past the idea stage. We've got a lot of the foundation work put together and getting the right people in place. The best part is as more people hear about it they are very excited."
When the organizers first met the impetus was to broaden Macomb County's cultural offerings and to provide local children with enriching places to visit close-by. As talk turned to planning it became clear that interest was spread across the region and the potential for economic runoff was high.
"The first priority was to provide resources for Macomb County children, but there are other by-products that come with it," Rittner says. "First, there's increasing travel and tourism. When you're in town to visit a museum you usually walk down the street, look through the shops and have dinner."
"It will help some of the businesses around the museum itself as far as foot traffic. I think in particular it's going to help with the image of Macomb County itself. Enough like this hasn't been done and there's no excuse for it. We're lacking on cultural activities in our community. We're trying to improve that," says Rittner, who is working to figure out a theme and character for the Mount Clemens museum and how it will connect to its Macomb County surroundings.
The actual location of the museum is still to be decided. An informational meeting for donors will be held at noon on June 14,
2011 at the Anton Art Center.
"Every museum is different and their focuses are different -- their idea of how children should be interacting with their environment and how they're going to get the most out of it," Rittner says. "What's been great is how everyone I've called and met with really want to help us. They don't see us as competition. They see having another good museum as being good for everyone."
Source: Monika Rittner, organizer, Macomb Hands-On Children's Museum
Writer: Kim North Shine
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