Children's Museum of Oak Ridge facts for kids
Museum entrance
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| Established | March 11, 1973 |
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| Location | 461 West Outer Drive 37830 Oak Ridge, Tennessee United States |
| Type | Children's museum |
| Collections | Toys Educational programs Local Manhattan Project |
| Collection size | 20,000 |
| Architect | Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill |
| Owner | Oak Ridge Historic District |
The Children's Museum of Oak Ridge (also called CMOR) is a special place in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. It is a non-profit children's museum. This means it's a museum just for kids that doesn't aim to make money. It offers many fun exhibits and educational programs for young people.
Contents
The Museum's Story
How the Museum Started
The idea for the museum began as a Girl Scout project. It received a $500 grant (which is like a gift of money) from Reader's Digest. The museum first opened its doors on March 11, 1973. It was located in the library of the old Jefferson Junior High School.
In January 1974, the museum moved to its current home. This new location was the former Highland View Elementary School. It has a huge space, about 54,000 square feet, for exhibits and classrooms. In 1983, the museum bought the building and land from the city of Oak Ridge.
Selma Shapiro's Leadership
Selma Shapiro was the museum's director for a long time. She started in 1973 and worked until 2004. Even after she retired, she continued to help out as a volunteer. She was very dedicated to the museum until she passed away in 2011.
Selma Shapiro was recognized for her amazing work. In the early 1980s, she won an award called the Gordon Holl Arts Administrator Award. This award came from the Tennessee Arts Commission. In 2005, a group called the American Alliance of Museums honored her. They named her one of 100 "museum champions" in America. These champions helped museums grow and serve the public better over the past century.
"An Appalachian Experience" Project
From 1978 to 1982, the Children's Museum led a big education project. It was called "An Appalachian Experience." This project received a large grant of $376,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This project helped create teaching materials about the Appalachia region. It also led to a book published in 1982. The book was called An Encyclopedia of East Tennessee. It was edited by James R. Stokely III and Jeff D. Johnson.
The Highland View School Building
A Historic School Building
The building that houses the Children's Museum was once Highland View Elementary School. This school was built in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was a secret effort to build the first atomic bomb during World War II. Many schools were built to teach the children of the people working on this project.
Highland View Elementary School was finished in 1944. It cost $181,000 to build. It had 25 classrooms and could hold up to 765 students.
Recognized as a Historic Site
In 1993, the Oak Ridge Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a list of important historic places in the United States. The Highland View school building was included on this list. This means it is considered a significant part of the area's history.
