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Modesto Children's Museum to open today

The nonprofit museum has been four years in the making.

MODESTO, Calif. — Water is finally flowing through the mock dam system in the water lab and the check stands at the mini grocery store are almost ready to serve young visitors as officials put the finishing touches on Modesto's new Children's Museum.

After nearly four years of planning and construction, the two-story Modesto Children's Museum on 11th Street is set to open Thursday.

"This is a really exciting time for the Children's Museum," said Christina Mize, the museum's Director of Advancement. "We're excited for people to start walking through our doors. We will soon start having field trips, birthday parties and later in the year we'll have memberships, which is really exciting."

In 2019, three families took charge of the project launching a feasibility study and filing documents to start the nonprofit. At 11 a.m. Sept. 28, the project will finally come to fruition as a ribbon will be cut and the doors will be opened.

Once inside, kids will be greeted by 10 hands-on, bilingual exhibits meant to offer unique experiences and teach important lessons.

"It teaches (children) to ask 'why' and to ask more questions. It's not just about giving them information, it's allowing their brains to work in different ways that maybe they're not used to and a more hands-on experience," said Mize. "So it's an enrichment to the education that they see in their classrooms."

Outside of the traditional classroom lessons, the museum also aims to teach kids more about local geography and industries.

At one exhibit, visitors take on the role of a bee, traveling through a maze and pollinating crops. Another exhibit allows kids to play dam operator, sending "rainwater" down waterfalls, through mock mountains and past reservoirs into Lego-like fields and out to a simulated ocean.

Meanwhile, upstairs, kids can work the checkout line at a mock grocery store and learn more about what the valley's fields and farms produce.

With the museum itself being a fresh addition to downtown Modesto, organizers hope people will travel to see it.

Tickets to get into the museum, open daily, start at $15 for everyone over the age of 1.

"The goal of this museum is to bring opportunities that you would typically find in a large city to our Central Valley, to enrich educational opportunities, imagination and really let the kids have some fun while learning," said Mize. "We want people to know that this museum is for everyone. It's for every child. It's for the people of the Central Valley and the community."

Watch more from ABC10: Modesto Children's Museum announces opening date

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