The staff at the DuPage Children’s Museum is trying to figure out how to maintain a presence in a storefront at an Aurora mall when the Naperville location reopens this summer.
The Naperville facility at 301 N. Washington St. was forced to close in January when a burst pipe flooded the museum and damaged the building and displays. In the meantime, the staff worked with the Westfield Fox Valley mall in Aurora to open a temporary 3,000-square-foot space called DCM@TheMall to give families a place to visit while repair work is completed.
Sarah Orleans, president and CEO of the museum, said the partnership with the mall has expanded the museum’s outreach, and now the museum is looking for grants and other funding sources to keep the museum open at the mall through the year, and beyond if possible.
“For some it’s their first introduction to a children’s museum,” Orleans said.
The mall location also has opened doors for families who do not visit children’s museums because of the cost. Orleans said through fund-raising efforts this spring, the museum was able to raise enough money to fund 1,000 memberships for families who only have to pay $10.
Beyond reaching a new audience, Orleans said the mini museum at the mall offers a chance for staff to interact with children.
For a group of people dedicated to student learning and exploration, Orleans said it is a challenge for herself and the staff right now to work, plan and design in an environment where there are no children. So at least once a week, Orleans said she’ll stop by the mall to watch the children interacting with the exhibits to help her focus on the reason for the months of hard work.
If the children’s museum is able to secure more funding to operate at the mall, the museum would have to figure out what exhibits to offer there since all the exhibits are planned to return to the permanent site.
Damage to the Naperville facility was extensive, and Orleans said it has taken months of getting bid estimates and negotiating with the insurance company.
“They don’t just walk in and give you a check,” she said. “Most everything is custom-made.”
In the past weeks, contractors have been dismantling and emptying the main level of the museum. Orleans said nearly every wall on the main floor needs drywall to be replaced.
Also among the projects is removing the layers of old flooring.
According to museum staff, a small section of the museum’s old flooring was affixed using an asbestos-containing mastic material. As a precautionary measure, abatement experts were hired to remove the tiling as per Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Illinois Department of Public Health, and Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
It’s all a part of what has become the museum staff’s mantra: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Instead of just updating portions of the Naperville building damaged by the flood, the museum staff decided to push up the timetable on improvements scheduled for the upcoming year.
Orleans said a new math playground is in the works and upgrades to the Creativity Connections exhibits are planned. She said the challenge of what normally takes two years to design must be performed in months.
Much of the spring was spent by museum staff, board members, adjusters, architects, contractors and exhibit designers working behind the scenes planning.
The museum will continue to incorporate the “Neighborhoods” feature into the overall design. Each neighborhood is a cluster of exhibits with the same theme to allow children to explore art, math and science.
Chicago area companies were hired to revamp the “Neighborhoods.”
Chicago Scenic Studios was retained to replace exhibits in “Make It Move” and “Build It.” The company has done work for the Children’s Museum of Illinois in Decatur and the Museum of Science and Industry and the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
Superior Exhibits is building many of the “Creativity Connections” exhibits for the DuPage Children’s Museum. The Elk Grove Village company created displays for the Kenosha Civil War Museum in Wisconsin, the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum in Inaction, Colorado, and the Kohl Children’s Museum’s Story Bus that brings the museum to Chicago area kids.
In addition, Architecture is Fun is designing the physical structure and space. The Chicago company’s portfolio includes the Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; the Young at Art Museum in Davie, Florida; Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum in Saginaw; and the Ronald McDonald House in Oak Lawn.
The museum staff estimates the cost to recover and reopen the museum will be at least $3 million. While insurance covers the damaged portions of the building and exhibits, the enhancements are not covered.
A fundraiser is planned from 7 to 9 p.m. May 30 at the Two-Nine Martini Lounge located above Potter’s Place Mexican Kitchen and Cantina at 29 W. Jefferson Ave., in Naperville. Tickets cost $75 and can be purchased online or at the door.
In addition, online donations will be matched through the Public Good $20K Matching Funds Challenge. During May, a private foundation will match the first $100 of every donation the museum raises with publicgood.com, up to $20,000.
subaker@tribpub.com
