by Dennis Dalman
The regional Great River Children’s Museum will be completed for sure by late 2024, thanks to $7 million of funding approved by the Minnesota State Legislature in its bonding bill.
The news was announced May 22 and brought joy to those who’ve long worked to see the dream of a museum become a reality in downtown St. Cloud.
Just last month, Lieutenant-Gov. Peggy Flanagan toured the site on which the museum will be created and voiced her strong support for it to be included in the state bonding bill.
Once completed, it will be the second largest children’s museum in the state, the largest being in St. Paul. The GRCM in St. Cloud will be available for use by 500,000 residents of central Minnesota from 12 counties and by students from 60 school districts.
“We couldn’t be more excited and grateful for this additional funding,” said Cassie Miles, GRCM’s executive director. “We’ve been working hard to raise the funds we need to build an incredible children’s museum. Even amidst rising costs and inflation, local families and organizations have stepped up to make their support known, pledging significant dollars to keep this project moving forward. The cash award from the State of Minnesota, combined with private donations, will allow us to get our doors open and serve the families of Central Minnesota.”
Great River Children’s Museum has been raising funds privately to develop a place where every child and their caring adults can create, explore, discover and be inspired together in play.
Miles said she is grateful for the strong support from members of the State Legislature, including Rep. Dan Wolgamott (D-District 14B) for authoring the funding request in the State House; Rep. Bernie Perryman (R-District 14A) for her passionate advocacy for the funding and for Sen. Aric Putnam (D-District 14), who mustered support for the funds in the State Senate.
“The generosity of our local community, in conjunction with state bond funds, allows us to work on getting the museum built,” Miles said. “We will concentrate our fundraising efforts going forward on increasing accessibility to the museum, enriching our play-filled experiences through programming, and the long-term stability of the organization.”
The GRCM organization has been working with three exhibit companies to finalize core museum exhibits. It’s also working with local architect GLT Architects and local contractor BCI Construction so the museum is shovel-ready now that funding is in place.
The idea for a children’s museum began in St. Cloud in 2012 during kitchen-table conversations between two people – Jane Ellison and Glen Palm. By 2017, a planning team was formed. In 2018, a building in downtown St. Cloud owned by Liberty Bank was donated for the museum. A museum board of directors was formed and extensive, detailed research and planning began. Designs for the facility were finalized. Two corporate gifts of $1 million each gave great impetus to go forward with plans.
Traveling exhibits were secured. Exhibit-based experiences were brought to cities outside of St. Cloud through the museum’s partnership with the Great River Regional Library.
The current plan is to convert into a museum three adjoining buildings on Seventh Avenue South in downtown St. Cloud, one of which (Liberty Bank) was donated. The resultant museum is expected to have 30,000 square feet of space.
