I wondered if we’d ever persuade our 2-year-old granddaughter to quit pushing a packed grocery cart around a vegetable stand, put down orange and yellow musical tubes, and stop flying colorful scarves through the air so we could leave the Discover! Children’s Museum.
But we had to go, along with everyone else, as the long-delayed successful pilot project finally closed its doors late Sunday afternoon.
My stepdaughter, who is definitely in the sandwich generation dealing with aging parents and young children, spent much of the holidays at a Portland hospital where her mother-in-law remains on life support.
To help, we agreed to take their youngest, Brooke, a bouncy, towering 2-year-old who kept this grandma running, despite my frequent attempts to persuade her that “we” needed a nap.
“No, you not tired!” she shouted, laughing as she pulled down my bedspread. “Get up!”
When an email reminded me of the upcoming children’s museum closure, I knew exactly where we’d spend time Sunday after church. As I walked into the children’s museum with my 12-year-old daughter and her friend, Samantha, and my 18-year-old son, I wondered what they’d think of their first visit to the children’s museum.
“Whoa, they have a green screen?” my son said, watching children on an overhead monitor as they bounced on a moonscape.
The two tweeners turned up their noses initially, knowing they were “way too old” for this place. But they let down their hair at the Power of Air exhibit and helped Brooke feed colorful scarves through clear plastic tubes, where she giggled every time one drifted down from an overhead bubble. Before long, Nora and Sam were plugging palm-sized pegs into a giant Lite-Brite, doodling on a large chalkboard, and playing piano in the music room.
As I watched dozens of children scrambling among exhibits, I realized how easily this might never have happened.
When preschool teacher Kelly Vanasse arranged for a field trip to the children’s museum in Olympia six years ago, a parent picking up her son said, “It’s too bad we don’t have a children’s museum around here.”
Vanasse agreed, and the conversation might have ended there.
But Renell Norquist, an operating room nurse at Providence Centralia Hospital, and Vanasse researched the idea and stumbled upon the Association of Children’s Museums, which published “Collective Vision: Starting and Sustaining a Children’s Museum.” Buying the nearly $100 book required a commitment from both working moms, but they split the cost and pored over the volume when it arrived.
After Norquist called Dr. Isaac Pope, who started Pope’s Kids Place, he met with the women, sharing insights and ideas. Then Norquist sought advice from her sister-in-law, Caryn Foley, administrative assistant with the city of Chehalis. She connected them with Joanne Schwartz, the city’s economic development director.
Before long, the children’s museum dream landed on the list of possible Chehalis Community Renaissance Team projects, where Chehalis Airport manager Allyn Roe spotted it. Before long, he and CCRT Chairman Larry McGee embraced the idea.
Five years later, Discover! Children’s Museum opened its pilot project in the Twin City Town Center last February. Now the museum is shutting its doors — but only temporarily.
Organizers hope to build a permanent children’s museum, possibly between Walmart and Home Depot, with both indoor and outdoor exhibits. It’s going to take time, talent and money, but given what’s already materialized, I have no doubt it’ll happen.
As we left the children’s museum, Brooke babbled excitedly, but soon after we fed her, she zonked. Now I know how grandmas and busy mothers can sneak naps.
And the tweeners? They’re eager to volunteer when the new museum opens.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian and former journalist who lives in Toledo, owns Chapters of Life, a company dedicated to preserving family stories. She may be reached at memorybooks@chaptersoflife.com.
