Otter Cove Children's Museum 2021-2023
Thanks to the support of the Minnesota Humanities Center in 2019, Otter Cove Children's Museum was able to complete the design, building, and installation of a variety of exhibits and interactive art features prior to our grand opening. Despite a delayed opening and months of limited operations due to the pandemic, Otter Cove's first year has been nothing short of incredible, attracting 17,299 children and families from 289 unique zip codes (179 of them in MN), 27 states, and 4 countries! Our guests have been so impressed that we have such a a high-quality facility in a rural region. We are so proud of what we have accomplished in the past year, but we are committed to constantly improving and offering fresh, exciting exhibits to best serve our members, guests, and community. This project will allow us to enhance many of our existing exhibits to increase opportunities for rich play, as well as to offer new components and materials to introduce new and exciting learning experiences.
2022-2023 Children's Museum Competitive Legacy Grant
Exhibit enhancements
The exhibit enhancements will provide new play opportunities for members and regular visitors. This outcome will largely be tracked using by observing how children (and adults) interact with the exhibits and components, as well as by soliciting member and visitor feedback. Observations and feedback will be documented. Some of the outcomes we expect to see include:
* Deeper, more focused dramatic play in Service Food and Bimbo Bakery & Cafe using the new components
* Increased use of Lundeen's Bookstore exhibit by children and their caregivers
* Children using the interactive stage lighting to put on their own shows on the Swan Lake Stage
Full building interpretive plan
Upon completion of the interpretive plan, museum staff and the Board of Directors will use the plan as the foundation for developing a comprehensive, phased expansion plan.
Rotating/traveling exhibits
We will bring one or more of the rotating/traveling exhibits to at least 10 community events or programs within the grant period. We also expect to see more engagement from older children using the new rotating exhibits due to the varying levels of complexity that may not be present in other areas of the museum.
Children's summer concert series
We will host a series of three children's concerts in summer 2022 and three concerts in summer 2023, with attendance totaling at least 2000 across all six concerts.
?
N/A - $3800 of the total project was not covered by this grant, so the remaining funds were taken from our exhibit fund.
Kelsey Evavold - Vice President
Greg Wagner - Treasurer
Arriana Velasco - Secretary
Tasha Rohlfs - Director
Sarah Duffy - Director
Karla Connelly - Director
Shelley Schoeneck - Director; Amy Baldwin, Kelsey Evavold, Arriana Velasco, Greg Wagner, Sarah Duffy, Karla Connelly, Tasha Rohlfs, Shelley Schoeneck