Our Home at 308 West Franklin
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Our Mission: To inspire curiosity to learn through play… for a lifetime.
On April 29th, with 70% of the total $900,000 capital campaign goal committed in pledges and cash, the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma WONDERtorium approved signing a 5-year lease on 308 West Franklin in Stillwater. The inset Google map below shows the location.
This building provides 10,000 square feet of exhibit space, classrooms and party rooms, office space and a gift shop. Additionally, the lot offers storefront parking and a huge parking area in the back that will accommodate buses and provide outdoor space for special events. The location is also adjacent to the Kameoka Trail that goes north to Boomer Lake. One of our exhibits is Kameoka Kids so this unique coincidence offers families an opportunity to explore the outdoors in addition to exploring the museum.
It takes a village to build a children's museum and our community is providing so many knowledgeable and creative resources to make our facility first-class.
We're excited to announce that Lambert Construction Company of Stillwater won the construction contract to renovate the building. Working with Patrick Bumpas, Red Prairie Development Group, principle architect, and Kraemer Exhibit + Production, Inc., exhibit design company, the museum will include 14 interactive, hands-on exhibits and learning experiences. Additional partners contributing to the innovative and science-focused exhibits include:
- 2nd year OSU Architecture Students – as a class project in Spring 2011, these students designed "Physics Fairway" – read about it here.
- The Stillwater Sister Cities Program (SSCP) is providing artifacts for the Kameoka Kids area. Kameoka, Kyoto, Japan and Stillwater became sister cities in 1985 and the two communities have a rich history of connection and exchange.
- Volunteers are contributing their time and expertise to design and paint murals, develop "play" products that will line the Generation Station Store's shelves and other exhibits, install off-the-shelf exhibits, and provide advice and share their experiences on many diverse needs including security monitoring devices, point-of-purchase software and other operational details.
- Every exhibit in the museum is sponsored by individuals and businesses with a strong commitment to our community, education and children. We thank ALL of them for understanding and believing in our vision of a WONDERtorium for north-central Oklahoma. Detailed information on each exhibit and their respective sponsors can be found in the "Planting Seeds of WONDER" page and our series,"14 Exhibits in 14 Weeks."
