By Jim Bloch
By spring, the city of Port Huron could have a new children’s museum.
The city council voted unanimously at its regular meeting Nov. 13 to lease the Knowlton Ice Museum in downtown Port Huron from the Community Foundation of St. Clair County and turn the 8,000 square foot space into the Discovery City Children’s Museum of Port Huron.
The Knowlton family donated the ice museum at 317 Grand River to the foundation in 2020. The city will lease the museum from the foundation for $16,000 per year for three years, plus $1 per admission ticket sold to the new museum.
The city council gave the nod to the $750,000 project at its regular meeting, Nov. 13, following a presentation by Recreation Director Nancy Winzer and Cynthia Broomfield, the chief of staff for City Manager James Freed. The city committed $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to the project.
The city will seek a contribution to the museum of $200,000 from the county, also in ARPA funds. The James C. Acheson foundation will kick in $75,000. A private donation of $5,000 is already on the books.
The council voted unanimously to purchase for the museum a refurbished Thoughts Flow water table by Tom Egan, Inc., of Manhattan, Kansas, for $29,980. The table is 10 feet long and 40 inches wide. The company describes the table as “water art.” If purchased new, it could cost three times that amount. The table is interactive and will allow kids to explore the flow and power of water while constructing dams, channels and other features.
Winzer called a children’s museum “a concept that works” and pointed to the success of similar efforts in the city.
“Since opening in 2018 in Palmer Park, Sprout City sees hundreds of visitors per week,” said Winzer. “In September 2021, the city of Port Huron in conjunction with the Port Huron Museums, launched Discovery City at the Museums’ Carnegie Center. It had 17,000 visitors in 18 months. The recreation department is always looking for additional creative, imaginative play options for area children.”
There is a lack of year-round indoor play spaces for children in the Blue Water Area, Winzer said. The nearest children’s museums are 40 mile to the south and 70 miles to the west. In Michigan, there are 26 children’s museums or discovery centers.
The economic impacts of children’s museums are sizeable, Winzer said. The average museum visitor spends $23 per person beyond the cost of admission at local businesses. If the museum-goer is a tourist, that figure jumps to $38 per person.
Sixty-seven percent of U.S. leisure travelers visit museums and they tend to spend 60 percent more per day than general leisure travelers who skip museums. More than 14 percent of tourists who visit museums stay overnight.
Children’s museums tend to strengthen communities by encouraging partnerships with schools, colleges, corporations and youth organizations, said Winzer.
Winzer and some of her staff have visited other children’s museums and met with museum directors to learn about their operations. The rec department joined the Association of Children’s Museums to take advantage of webinars and to stay abreast of trends in the sector. They held an engagement session with local moms for ideas and feedback.
The museum should benefit children, families and local businesses and organization, Winzer said. For kids in particular, expect increased opportunities for hands-on exploration, problem-solving, imaginative play, the development of small and large motor skills, social skills and sensory skills.
Winzer said the estimated $750,000 price tag for the museum included $120,000 to retrofit the building with new carpeting, an ADA lift, false walls, lighting improvements and exhibit infrastructure; $60,000 in museum start-up costs, such as seating, lockers, coat racks, cubbies, reception area, tables, a computer, storage and a phone line; $500,000 in exhibit costs, including purchase, shipping and installation; soft costs of $50,000 for marketing, window wraps, banners, IT and a point of sale system; and a contingency fund of $20,000.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
