Kidzu Children's Museum seeks support for move to Chapel Hill park

Kidzu Children's Museum is seeking support - via petition signatures - for plans to build a new children's museum in Southern Community Park. The museum, which opened on Franklin Street a dozen years ago and now is inside University Place, hopes its petition will reach 1,000 signatures by Sunday.

"Kidzu’s goal is to build a right-sized museum reflective of the needs of our community – a museum providing robust and captivating indoor and outdoor learning environments for infants to teens and plenty of spaces for all kinds of community gatherings," an email to supporters on Friday says. "Kidzu has petitioned the Town of Chapel Hill to enter into a public/private partnership for a 3-acre piece of land in Southern Community Park."

'Right-sized children's museum' for Chapel Hill

In March, museum officials went before Chapel Hill's town council meeting to ask for support. According to a letter to town officials from the museum, Kidzu leaders wrote that they had been working with elected officials and town staff for the past 18 months to identify and secure an appropriate site to create a "right-sized children's museum" to meet Chapel Hill's reputation for educational excellence and its demographic and geographic diversity.

"In 2017, Kidzu served 90,000 children - from infants to tweens --with developmentally appropriate exhibits, programs and activities addressing four broad themes: arts education, STEM, health and wellness and emerging literacy," the letter to town officials said. "The new museum is projected to serve upwards of 200,000 visitors annually, and bring thousands to Chapel Hill from across our region, state and points beyond. A children's museum of this caliber will significantly enrich our local economy and become a destination for generations to come."

During the meeting, Kidzu leaders told town council members that they hoped to build a new museum with both indoor and outdoor exhibit space. The 72-acre Southern Community Park is at 100 Sumac Rd. near the Southern Village neighborhood.

"This is a big task, but the time is right and the time is now," Kidzu board chairwoman Melissa Cain told the town council in March. "... Kidzu's potential to be an influential force, a premiere destination for kids and parents and grandparents is tremendous."

Listening sessions to be scheduled

The town council unanimously approved moving forward the petition to the town's mayor and town manager for a closer look.

"I’m really excited that there’s the potential to have a really, really amazing children’s museum here that can supports other things we’re trying to do in town around economic development and serving families," said Mayor Pro Tem Jessica Anderson during the March meeting.

The museum has hoped for a permanent space for several years as it hopped between one place on Franklin Street to another on Franklin Street and then from one space inside University Place to another. Plans to build atop a parking deck in downtown Chapel Hill and, later, in another location in Carrboro, fell through.

The email sent Friday to Kidzu supporters says that upcoming listening sessions about the latest plans will be scheduled soon.

"Sign the petition TODAY and demonstrate to the Town of Chapel Hill the need for an inclusive family and community destination in the southern gateway into Chapel Hill," it says.

There's a bit more information, including a rendering of the proposed museum, on Kidzu's online petition.