More than 60 people attended an “Open Space” meeting on the topic of children, learning, and family fun last Saturday at Bull Run Elementary. Hosted by the Board of the Children’s Museum of Northern Virginia (CMNOVA), the event was an effort to address the question: “How can we create a successful children’s museum in Northern Virginia?”
“[We wanted] to begin a dialog with the community about establishing a children’s museum and to get broad input about development plans, and to build support,” says Anne Marie Kupferer, organization founder and president.
CMNOVA is a nonprofit organization formed to create an environment for quality leisure activities for Northern Virginia children and their families.
ACCORDING TO the Association of Children's Museums, the mission is to stimulate curiosity and motivate learning, "bring[ing] children and families together in a new kind of town square where play inspires lifelong learning."
Many metropolitan areas with populations much smaller than Northern Virginia — such as Indianapolis, Sacramento, Norfolk, Cincinnati, San Jose, Kansas City — already have their own children's museums.
The Capital Children’s Museum in Washington, D.C., closed permanently on Aug. 22, 2004, and is scheduled to reopen as the National Children’s Museum in June 2008.
And Fairfax County's population of 1,041,200 is larger than the states of Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming — which each have multiple children’s museums or interactive science centers, according to CMNOVA.
“It was really confirmed at the meeting that Northern Virginia is really lacking — we don’t have alternatives for families to spend time together [in a noncommercial indoor space] year round,” says Kupferer.
Be it lack of money, scarcity of time, or the logistics of navigating a car load of children through gridlock, more and more often Northern Virginia residents don’t — or can’t — consider going to the District when planning their family time.
THAT'S WHY Carolyn Faraday of Herndon is increasingly concerned about the dearth of quality leisure activities available locally.
“We find ourselves driving to Baltimore for the Maryland Science Museum — it’s the only thing that’s hands-on for kids [elementary and middle school] age,” says Faraday. “We can drive up to Baltimore in about the same time it takes to get to D.C.”
The meeting, dubbed an “Open Space” by its creators, took the form of 15 sessions where participants discussed topics relating to the theme.
The group consisted of teachers, daycare providers, Boy Scout and Girl Scout officials, members of the Junior League of Northern Virginia, representatives from Northern Virginia’s public and corporate sectors and parents.
Sessions included "Next Steps," "Fund-raising," "Marketing," "What is Unique About Northern Virginia?," "Site Location," "Exhibits," "Audience" and "Cafe."
The uniqueness of Northern Virginia was not only the topic of one such session, but also a running theme throughout the event. Participants were quick to point out that Northern Virginia wields great diversity — not just culturally — but across economic brackets as well.
The region has vast resources that can be tapped and integrated into a museum, including geology, history, an international airport, and a multitude of government agencies that might be willing to educate children about what they do, according to Faraday, who led the "What is Unique About Northern Virginia?" session.
Participants in the "Site Location" session discussed the criteria for choosing a site, including convenience in terms of travel time, other attractions in the area, availability of space, Metro access, the environment of the immediate neighborhood of the site and how that might impact the museum.
“We want to make sure that this children’s museum has a focus on diversity — in exhibits, its members [and] its participants,” says Heidi Kallett, president of the Junior League of Northern Virginia.
SHE QUESTIONS whether people from neighboring jurisdictions would drive long distances to attend the museum.
“The big question is if you do make the commitment to put it out there, can you motivate other communities to get involved as well?” she asks.
According to Kupferer, CMNOVA is currently constructing its business plan, enlarging its Board of Directors, looking for funding and developing an exhibit program plan.
"Next Steps" session participants discussed the creation of three committees: a concept committee to determine what the museum will be, a funding committee, and a communication committee to develop the best ways to communicate with the public.
"Fund-raising" session participants began planning for a fund-raising event in late June or early July to raise money for a feasibility study, including market research, and the collection of demographic and audience information, according to Kallett, convener of the session.