How we get there
We are raising the funds to give the Children’s Museum and Family Hub a lasting home in downtown Ames. It comes together with four milestones.
Purchases the building and formally launches the project.
Nearly all of the first two million goes to buying the historic Tribune Building and the cost of closing and making it safe. Because the purchase uses almost all of it, the work to open the doors runs alongside it from the start.
- Purchase of the building
- Due diligence, legal, and closing
- Immediate stabilization and preliminary design
Completes the core renovation and opens our doors with the basics.
Enough to renovate the heart of the building and open with a strong first version, while the fuller experience is still being built. The more elaborate features come as we raise more.
- The main children's discovery area and a space for toddlers
- A coffee shop with a first menu
- A parent lounge and coworking space
- Family restrooms, showers, lactation and quiet rooms
- Classrooms and birthday-party rooms
- A welcome and admissions area
Builds out an expanded museum experience and the complete café.
This is where a strong opening becomes a rich, hands-on museum. We are able to provide higher-quality exhibits and equipment, and finish the café and commercial kitchen.
- Higher-quality exhibits and equipment throughout the museum
- A complete café and commercial kitchen
- More classrooms, sensory, and family-support rooms
- Room for programs, classes, and camps
Completes the initial vision, with parent wellness spaces and a reserve to stay open for good.
The final milestone completes the initial vision and secures the future, with wellness and recovery spaces for parents, deeper family-support partnerships, and a healthy reserve.
- Parent wellness and recovery spaces
- Family-support and therapy partnerships
- Expanded and rotating exhibits
- An operating and exhibit-replacement reserve
What families will find inside
The plan is far more than a play space. It is a hands-on museum and a true home base for the whole family, all under one roof.
Hands-on exhibits and play
Interactive, hands-on exhibits and open play that invite children of every age to explore, build, imagine, and move.
A family café
A place to sit down with a good cup of coffee and relax while the kids play within view.
Room for parents
Comfortable places to sit, work, and connect while the kids play, because supporting parents is one of the best ways to support children.
Programs and gatherings
Space for classes, camps, birthday parties, and community events throughout the year.
Family-support services, over time
As we grow, room to bring trusted family services under one roof through local partnerships.
Help us secure the first two million, and build a permanent home for Ames families.
The building is only the beginning. From there, we create a place where children play and learn, and parents feel supported rather than alone.