Marbles considering sweeping changes to its second floor exhibits
As it puts together plans to remake part of its second floor exhibits, Marbles Kids Museum will hold a second brainstorm session for the public this week.
The downtown Raleigh museum is seeking ideas to refresh the space from the museum's Art Loft space, through IdeaWorks, to the Think Tank room.
"Our goal is to create a fresh, vibrant space that fosters culturally relevant Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math learning and exploration for all museum visitors, particularly the growing Hispanic, dual language learner population in Wake County, NC – but we can’t do it without you," according to the description of the session.
The event, which is free and open to all, is 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 10. Because it's on Thursday evening, admission to the museum will be $2 - as it is just about every Thursday evening. Register for Thursday's session through Eventbrite.
Federal grant makes work possible
A $345,000 grant from The Institute of Museum and Library Services is making the work possible. Marbles announced it won the grant in September as it celebrated its 10th anniversary. The money is earmarked for an exhibit that will encourage so-called STEAM learning and, in particular, engage kids who speak both English and Spanish. The institute is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s approximately 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums.
The museum is working with the school system, STEM partners, the local arts community and Hispanic community organizations to develop the exhibit.
Taylor Rankin, Marbles' senior marketing and communications specialist, said the museum is seeking suggestions from a variety of sources, including kids. At the sessions, kids can answer questions such as, "How do you like to play?" and, "Do you think Marbles is a place for me?" There's also open play activities for kids.
"We gave kids materials and ask them to use their imagination to figure out what the exhibit would eventually look like and how they would play in it," said Rankin of the first community session, which happened a couple of weeks ago. "We're hoping for the same feedback and turnout for Thursday."
Updates planned for big section of second floor
There's no exact timeline for when museum visitors could see changes and what those changes might be. Rankin said nothing will happen until the fall, and it's more likely work will begin in the winter.
Those changes could eventually impact a broad swath of the second floor, which include play areas that, unlike the rest of the museum, haven't seen a major update in recent years.
They include the Art Loft, which offers rotating art projects; the giant LEGO brick building area; the Studio Style section, where kids can create fashion designs; the Go Zone, where they make their own cars to race; and the building area, where kids can use hammer, nails and saws to make their own creations. Power2Play, Kid Grid, Stemosphere and Moneypalooza, all second floor exhibits, are not included in this project.
"The plan always is evolving depending on the budget and the idea and design direction," Rankin said. "As of right now, we're looking at that footprint. Things could change as we hear from our community and figure out how the money is going to get spent the most effectively and efficiently."
It's worth noting that this is just one of several projects that Marbles has in the works. It's also building a new outdoor plaza, which is scheduled to open very soon as it prepares to host the Association of Children's Museums annual conference next week. And officials are making more big plans about how to use the building next door that it purchased last year.
