Kidzu to temporarily close its Launch Pad

In an email to Kidzu friends, Kidzu leaders write that University Mall representatives have asked the children's museum to move from its current spot to make way for the new Silverspot Cinema, which is expected to open in 2015. The Launch Pad will close at 5 p.m., July 26. If final negotiations go as expected, Kidzu will reopen in a new spot in the mall in mid-November.

The new Launch Pad will include elements such as The Makery, where kids can make and craft all sorts of things, and the popular Gravitron, along with new exhibits and programs, which will serve as prototypes for Kidzu's future permanent museum.

This closure is temporary and so is Kidzu's home at University Mall. Long-term plans call for the museum to eventually move to a space designed just for it atop the Wallace Plaza about a block off Franklin Street back in downtown Chapel Hill. Kidzu leaders hope to eventually move to that permanent home in 2017.

The email says that museum memberships valid during the closure will be adjusted so families enjoy a full 12 months at Kidzu. Kidzu also isn't completely gone until November. The museum will offer programs on the University Mall stage and at other local venues and community programs.

"We appreciate the opportunity to be part of your children's development," the email says. "We look forward to seeing you at the re-imagined Launch Pad later this fall!"