During a Tuesday (Aug. 5) meeting in Fort Smith with volunteer leaders of the Fort Kids Children’s Museum, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, committed to helping make the museum a reality.
The museum is a registered 501(c)(3) company and has a board of directors. That board has hired the museum planning company Haizlip Studio, the firm that designed the River Valley Nature Center at Chaffee Crossing and the Amazeum in Northwest Arkansas, to help with the master plan. MAHG Architecture of Fort Smith is designing the future building.
Sarah Strom, president of the Fort Kids Museum board of directors, has said the museum will focus on three pillars: Education, focusing on literacy and STEM-based activities; development with a focus on the whole child; and mental health. Planned exhibits will include a Playful Town that will feature a full-size food truck, a doctor’s office, a garage and auto body shop, a bank, an airplane and more. There also will be a “river” water play/climbing area, a two-story climber, an art studio, a STEM space, and hands-on open-concept areas for children over 5.
Kellie Black, an employee with Fort Smith-based ArcBest and chair of the museum’s development committee, told Womack that the museum has raised more than $2 million in just under two years. The fundraising campaign goal is $16.4 million to build the 20,000-square-foot museum along the Arkansas River in downtown Fort Smith. The Westphal Family has donated land for the museum.
Black said there is around $25 million “in the pipeline of donor requests,” but they are in a “tough fundraising environment” because of economic uncertainty. She said individuals, businesses, foundations and other entities do not completely reject donation requests, but “it’s just a matter of the levels” of donation with which they are willing to agree.
She also told Womack that the museum could quickly be shovel-ready when donations cover the cost of construction. She also said the museum has a goal of hiring a professional director within the next 12 months.
Womack said he has seen the benefits and impact of the Scott Family Amazeum, a children’s museum in Bentonville, and is confident Fort Kids will have the same impact in the Fort Smith region.
“This is a huge, huge thing for Fort Smith,” Womack said during the meeting held at The Bakery District in downtown Fort Smith. “This is going to be a game-changer for a lot of kids.”
Womack also said the museum, which would be part of a growing list of amenities in downtown Fort Smith, would have a positive economic impact for the region because it would likely draw children and families from a wide area. Black said the museum would also be a recruitment tool for area businesses as they seek to hire top executives, physicians, and other key employees.
Womack said he will work with the museum to connect them to potential donors to “help get this (museum) out of the ground” as soon as possible.
Mandy Chilton, exhibits director, and Britney Watson, director of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, joined Black to represent the museum during the meeting with Womack.