Columbia Play Project is inviting the community to share a vision for a future children’s museum in Clark County.
The Vancouver nonprofit has aspired to build a local children’s museum since it formed in 2020.
In July, the organization officially launched its “Dream the Museum” campaign to gather responses from community members about their ideas for the space. Columbia Play Project has begun collecting feedback through a series of online surveys, which will continue until October, Executive Director Jeanne Bennett said.
“The community engagement piece is to hear from as many people as we can possibly hear from who can tell us what their hopes and dreams are for a children’s museum,” Bennett said. “We want to take as much as we can, try to figure out what the consensus might be, and then build from there.”
Although Columbia Play Project has not identified a building for the proposed museum, Bennett has already decided on important factors for the space. The museum should be centrally located within Clark County, close to public transportation and include accessible parking, she said.
Bennett said the children’s museum will cost between $10 million and $30 million in a remodeled, existing space. Building something from scratch, however, would be closer to $40 million. Her hope would be to see a full-scale museum by 2027.
Columbia Play Project partnered with John Falk, co-director of Institute of Learning Innovation at Oregon State University, whose research focuses on the study of learning in free-choice settings and museums.
The two worked together to refine the survey questions, ensuring they were open-ended so community members would be invited to share their ideas, Bennett said.
“We want to design a space that is inclusive from the very beginning,” Bennett said.
After Columbia Play Project finishes collecting responses in October, the next step is to develop a plan for public engagement, business, strategic planning and design. The nonprofit secured $515,000 in April 2023 from the state to kick-start the project.
In the meantime, fall marks the continuation of more play opportunities.
Bennett said the organization is still operating its mobile children’s museum, a van that travels around the county to provide educational and exploratory play experiences.
The organization also developed at-home play kits designed for kids ages 3-7 that focus on animal habitats and ecosystems.
In partnership with Vancouver nonprofit Fourth Plain Forward, Columbia Play Project is gearing up for a second year of hosting free, interactive play sessions at Fourth Plain Community Commons, 3101 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Suite 101, starting in October.
“The thing that we loved about it was the diversity that we had in the space. There were some days when we had four or five different languages being spoken all at once in the location,” Bennett said. “So being able to come to the same place and see some of the same things to play with was really beneficial for kids.”
To fill out the survey, visit columbiaplayproject.org/dream.
