Play’s only limit is that of the imagination. For the Children’s Museum of Richmond (CMoR), it wants guests of all ages to dream bigger.
Last month, CMoR reopened sections of its Downtown location to reveal a suite of exhibit upgrades that will change how guests engage with the space for years to come. These new exhibits represent the end of the first phase of “Dream Big,” a $10 million capital campaign and the museum’s first major exhibit transformation in more than 25 years.
The exhibits receiving upgrades, enhancements and makeovers are:
- RVA Waterway
- Magic Meadow
- Seymour Studio
- Grand Cavern
- Nature Lab
- Itty Bitty River City
- Skybox Climber
While the reopening marks a major milestone, it is only the beginning of a larger vision for the museum. “Dream Big” will continue through additional phases of construction and exhibit development, culminating in a fully transformed Downtown Museum experience designed to serve generations of Richmond families.
To learn more about this endeavor, we sat down to talk with CMoR Executive Director Danielle Ripperton to learn more about “Dream Big” and its impacts on the museum community.
Danielle, last time we talked you were just shy of two years in your role and just helped the museum navigate a global pandemic. Five years later, how are things going at CMoR?
They’re great. We’re very busy. Coming out of the pandemic, we knew there was something big we wanted to do, but we needed to put the right pieces in place in order to do that. We went out to find an exhibit firm who could help us reimagine the guest experience. We engaged Roto, out of Columbus, Ohio, who is well regarded, and they worked at the science museum next door. We did a feasibility study to see what we needed to raise, and we worked through that together to come up with a reasonable project plan that we could divide into two phases. Phase One is open now and Phase Two is planned for 2027.
Let’s talk about “Dream Big.” This is the capital campaign helping transform the Downtown, Broad Street location of CMoR. What fueled the launch of this effort?
Kids are hard on things. They push the buttons a lot. Their strength is unbelievable – wear and tear is something we need to update. CMoR moved here in 2000, and there hasn’t been a major renovation since. From a facilities standpoint, there was a need.
We did a feasibility study, and we knew we’d launch a campaign. When it came to naming the campaign, we often put things in the words of childhood. Those big dreams we forget about as an adult – task, task, task, next step…we forget to stop, pause and dream. It came into mind during this process. What do kids want to see? They have big dreams and we at CMoR want to see those dreams realized. As an organization, we wanted to show we were aspirational and we had big dreams, too.
The new exhibits are officially open! What can guests expect to discover in the renovated space?
Exhibits have changed to be more accessible. The cave (Grand Cavern) is something we can’t have mobility devices go through – but with a revamp, we can make an accessible part that gives you the experience with a wheelchair or walker. Same with the water table (RVA Waterway), there are cut outs you can pull a wheelchair up to (make lower and higher), all while keeping it safe. There are also age modifications. For example, on the water table, one side is for babies. They can sit in the table (but not in the water), while on the other end, bigger kids can build structures out of blocks in the water table. It’s totally immersive.
Itty Bitty River City, three and under, you literally go from the county into the city. There is a small climbing structure and slide, we have Main Street Station and you slide and car horns honk. It’s really engaging for the littlest of our visitors.
On another exhibit (Magic Meadow), there is a smell scavenger hunt. We picked out some real gross smells (but some great smelling ones, too).
“Dream Big” is only the beginning. What’s next for your capital campaign work, and what can guests look forward to in the months to come?
Our team is working hard to make huge strides in the campaign so we can keep going with the next phase of upgrades. There are things exhibit technology can do now that are just amazing. One room will go from day to night. There will be a light structure in the room, with murals on the wall, and things will come to life that you couldn’t see before.
We live, work and play in a really special community. Richmond has literally everything anyone could want. What a gift to be here and why not reflect that back and show others we’re so special.
