St. George Children's Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 2013 |
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| Location | 86 South Main Street, St. George Utah |
The St. George Children's Museum is a special place in St. George, Utah, USA. It's a children's museum that helps kids and families learn and have fun together. The museum's main goal is to offer exciting activities where children and their families can discover new things, use their imagination, and create. You might see "Rufus," a friendly green dragon, on the museum's logos!
Contents
How the Museum Started
The St. George Children's Museum officially opened in November 2013. It's located in the old Dixie Academy building, which has a lot of history. But the idea for the museum started much earlier!
- The Big Idea: For several years, four women named Paula Bell, Althea Southwick, Dawn Sandberg, and Kay Bowen dreamed of a place where kids could learn through play. They wanted children to interact with special objects and make their own discoveries.
- Finding a Home: The biggest challenge was finding a suitable building and enough money. Gail Bunker, who was on the St. George City Council, helped a lot. She worked with others to share the idea with the City Council.
- Getting Started: The St. George City Council liked the plan! They agreed to let the museum use the basement of the old county courthouse. This helped the museum get started and encouraged more people to get involved and donate money.
In 2010, a group of people formed a board of directors. Their job was to find a location, raise money, set up the museum, and get official "nonprofit" status. Being a nonprofit means the museum focuses on its mission, not on making money. In September 2012, the museum officially became a nonprofit organization.
Then, in 2013, good news came! The mayor, Dan McArthur, and Gail Bunker announced that the City of St. George would let the museum use the historic Leisure Arts Building (the Dixie Academy). This was a big step in making the downtown area more lively.
- Amazing Donations: The Discovery Children's Museum in Las Vegas also helped a lot. They were moving to a bigger place and gave the St. George Children's Museum over $1 million worth of items! They also sold some other items for a very low price.
- Opening Day: The museum welcomed its first visitors on November 21, 2013. Since then, it has continued to grow, update its exhibits, and welcome many families.
Explore the Exhibits
The museum is about 10,000 square feet and has ten different rooms spread across two levels. There's an elevator and an easy entrance at the back near the parking lot, making it easy for everyone to visit. The top floor of the building is used by the City for other events and is not part of the museum.
Here's a peek at some of the fun rooms you can explore:
Lower Level Adventures
- Prehistoric Discovery: Travel back in time and learn about dinosaurs and ancient life.
- Red Cliffs Desert Reserve Discovery: Explore the local desert environment and its unique animals.
- Sports Room: Get active and try out different sports activities.
- Science Exhibit: Discover how things work with hands-on science experiments.
- Music Exhibit: Make some noise and learn about different musical instruments.
- Art Exhibit: Get creative and make your own masterpieces.
- Castle Exhibit: Step into a magical castle and imagine you're a knight or a princess!
Main Floor Fun
- Boots Cox Dairy Farm: Learn where milk comes from and what happens on a farm.
- Skywest Airport and Stephen Wade Auto Shop: Pretend to fly a plane or fix a car.
- Tuachan Theater: Put on a show and be a star on stage.
- Government: Learn how local government works in a simple, fun way.
- State Farm of Southern Utah Bank: Practice handling money and learn about banking.
- Smith's Grocery Store: Go shopping and learn about healthy foods.
- Kids at Work: Try out different jobs and see what it's like to be a grown-up!
The main floor also has a cool hallway designed like a main street, a party room for celebrations, and restrooms.
Awards and Recognition
The St. George Children's Museum was voted "Best Place to Take Kids in Southern Utah in 2015"!
