Community voices in Children's Museum future are key

Joanne Bamford

THE NEWS TRIBUNE - Community Voices
Tacoma, WA - Thursday, September 27, 2007

I am glad to see the topic of the Children's Museum of Tacoma's future home in our community's newspaper and in formal, online and informal conversations. I'd like to share a little about the museum, its site search process and its vision for a future home on Tacoma's Thea Foss Waterway.

The mission of the Children's Museum of Tacoma is to celebrate the power of play in the lifelong journey of learning. We know, from 20 years of experience and unlimited national and international research, that all of us – especially the youngest members of our community – learn through play. We embrace this and strive for children and their adults to have the opportunity to learn about emotional development, physical health and the world around them.

In this capacity, the museum's current 4,000-square-foot facility will see 40,000 people this year. Clearly, we need to expand. Our search process for a new home began several years ago. We've interviewed more than 75 stakeholders and considered 24 sites. We heard that parking, accessibility, safety and remaining a part of the dynamic downtown revitalization are important factors for our community.

We believe that we have found a wonderful location in 2130 E. D St. that celebrates our area's history and future and offers education and recreational opportunities for all in our community. The museum has been engaged in discussions regarding this site for about 18 months, and it continues to be the only site under serious consideration. This is a reflection on the commitment that the museum and its board have to the site, and reflects the encouragement we have received from leaders within our community.

Like most ideas, however, there are topics that need to be explored. This includes how to honor the intent of the Conservation Futures process, create open space in an urban context, and hopefully include a new Children's Museum, whose footprint would leave more than 85 percent of the Foss Waterway site open for other passive and recreational uses.

The Children's Museum respects the intended use of the site: to accommodate human-powered watercraft and provide a much-needed park for playing and learning. We believe that the Conservation Futures grant's picture of "walking paths, and grass areas where families may take children to run and play, for other activities including relaxation, kite flying, picnics and public gatherings," fit perfectly with the Children's Museum's vision of a park where children can see native plantings; watch the trains go by; ask questions about tides, boats, commerce, fish, architecture, the joggers going by... the list is endless. What the museum would bring to the site is an opportunity for our youngest, most open-minded, knowledge-seeking and impressionable citizens to experience the waterway, learn about our history, care about our environment, understand each other and envision our future – all in their own Children's Museum.

We know that the museum can bring continuous, much-needed activation and safety to the site and still allow for the park to honor the intent of the Conservation Futures grant language. We are thrilled that the float for human-powered craft has already been funded. In our minds, it's the first step toward a great, inclusive vision for a family-friendly destination in our
downtown.

What's been suggested for this site is an idea that was vetted during the Metro Parks planning process. Like any idea, it will only get better with input from others. We look forward to participating in the upcoming Foss Waterway Development Authority process, hearing other visions for the site, and working together to make the waterway a vibrant, safe, active destination for children and families.

Joanne Bamford is a board member and capital campaign co-chairwoman of the Children's Museum of Tacoma.

Learn more The Children's Museum of Tacoma will hold an open house from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 4 at its present location, 936 Broadway. Call 253-627-6031 for information.

© Copyright 2007 Tacoma News, Inc. A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company

The News Tribune
1950 South State Street, Tacoma, Washington 98405
253-597-8742

« Back to Headlines