MODESTO, Calif. — What started as an idea to bring a children’s museum to Modesto is now a brick and mortar reality, albeit one that’s still just a couple of years from opening.
Back in 2019, three families started spearheading the project by rolling out a feasibility study. By 2020, they’d made the down payment on a brick and mortar building to call home.
“In Stanislaus County, they don’t have an experience like this,” said Ryan Foy, one of the parents spearheading the project. “There’s nothing like this here.”
The vision for the Modesto Children's Museum is to make an interactive experience where children can learn through play and through doing things that they wouldn’t normally be able to do at home or at school. While there are museums like this in Lodi and Stockton, Foy is looking to bring one closer to home.
It’ll be centrally located in downtown Modesto on 928 11th Street, the former home of the Fat Cat nightclub and Heart and Soul coffee shop. In that 11,500 square feet of space, the museum is considering possibilities for a two-story climbing structure, general store for educational toys, music and theater programming, water-play area, storytime area, art studio and even some food service.
“My goal is to get it open… before my six-year-old ages out of the experience we’re building into it,” Foy said.
“There is that selfish part. I’m building this for my kids too, first and foremost of course,” he continued.
Current plans have the museum opening its doors in 2023 and becoming fully solvent by 2027.
Based on the group's feasibility survey, they’ve seen interest from up to 53 zip codes, spanning from Manteca to Merced. The data is letting them approach the project with confidence that people want this feature in their community.
Their survey indicated that, when it comes to pay for play entertainment, families favor the movie theater, trampoline parks and the restaurant-arcade businesses like Dave & Buster’s. The Modesto Children’s Museum intends to offer entertainment at a lower price and with all-day access.
“We’re really aiming to make a top-level experience. We want to be the best children’s museum in the Central Valley. We want to provide an experience you can’t get elsewhere.”
To that end, plans are in motion and pen was to paper for the building just last week. However, there’s still some fundraising to do along the way. The museum raised $1.8 million in just four months, but they’re looking to get another $2 million in cash by the end of 2022 to open their doors in 2023.
