The Bronx Children’s Museum is opening its first venue on 3 December, offering interactive exhibits and experiences created for young visitors.
“Today marks a new chapter for all Bronx children,” said Carla Precht, the founding executive director of the Bronx Children’s Museum.
She added: “Using a framework of early childhood enrichment and social justice, the museum provides bridges to imagination, ladders to knowledge and safe places for children to have fun and just be children.”
The 13,800-square-foot space is home to interactive exhibits that encourage kids to play, learn and connect. It also features works by artists connected to the Bronx.
Precht described the upcoming facility as “a combination of a fine arts museum space and a children’s museum that emulates a natural landscape with all its beauty, twists and turns, surprises and diversity”.
“The space reflects the fluidity of water which is an overarching theme throughout the museum exhibits, space, experiences and programming,” she said.
The first children’s museum in the Bronx held a ribbon cutting ceremony on 16 November. Sonia Manzano, who starred as Maria in Sesame Street, hosted the event.
She said the project has been “a labor of love for so many of us for so long”, adding: “Visitors will immediately appreciate the encompassing physical beauty, interactive experiences, attention to detail and respect for all that is the Bronx.”
The museum has an area called ‘Sonia’s Corner’ providing children’s books and family-friendly resources. It is named after Manzano and US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Encouraging kids to play, learn and connect
“Many Bronx children lack access to affordable arts and multicultural programming in their community,” said the museum’s board president Arlene Lewis Bascom.
“It was true for me growing up here in the Bronx.”
“We’re changing that with this new building, and our programming as we continue to reach children in schools, shelters and the community,” she added.
“This museum shows Bronx children that they matter and their community matters.”
The Bronx Children’s Museum expects to welcome more than 23,000 children in its first year.
Elsewhere, the Bronx Museum of the Arts has launched a new identity and website, and unveiled the designs for a planned $26 million renovation by architecture firm Marvel.
Images: Bronx Children’s Museum
