THE LITTLE MUSEUM THAT COULD!

THE BEGINNING - A TRAVELING MUSEUM
In January 2002, Lisa and Brian Shull assembled a focus group of local community members to determine the feasibility of starting a hands-on children’s museum in the Harrisonburg area. By summer 2002, this grassroots effort became a reality with the launch of a “mobile museum” created to introduce the children’s museum concept to the community. For eight weeks, volunteers worked tirelessly to create exhibits and activities and then invited children and their families to hopscotch around the community to eight different locations.

This highly successful summer exhibit series was appropriately titled “Where in the World is the Harrisonburg Children’s Museum?” As a Museum without walls, this initiative enabled the museum to form valuable partnerships and serve thousands of children through educational outreach. Looking back, there was no social media to spread the word. The volunteers used homemade paper flyers and a few ads donated by the Daily News-Record to share upcoming events. The Massanutten Regional Library also helped us spread the word. With a great deal of time and energy, the budding organization attracted thousands of attendees and planted the seed for what was to come.

PUTTING DOWN ROOTS: A MUSEUM WITH WALLS!
The following year (June 2003), a temporary home was secured at 30 N. Main Street where The Harrisonburg Children’s Museum hosted Metamorphosis: Explore the World of Change, a seven-week summer program that served over 7,000 participants! The Arts Council of the Valley generously offered support as fiscal agent until the Museum could establish as its own 501(C)(3) organization. In October 2003, the Museum opened as a permanent museum at 30 N. Main Street with Lisa Shull as the founding executive director, along with two part-time staff members, and hundreds of volunteers. Attendance and staff grew tremendously during the seven years of operation in that space. Highest annual attendance was recorded at 38,000 visitors.

A PERMANENT HOME
Thanks to a lead gift from the City of Harrisonburg, Explore More was able to secure its permanent location. Museum leadership worked in partnership with the entire community and a professional master planning team to raise $1.2 million in funding to transform the former Leggett/A&N building into a first-class museum that is now a true destination for families throughout the region. The Museum moved to its 150 S. Main St. location in November 2010 and operated on a single floor of the 3-story building. With this move, the name changed to Explore More Discovery Museum, better reflecting the expanded region and offering opportunities to reach a wider age range.
Our 10th Anniversary took place in October 2013. Read more about the first decade in Martha Graham’s Op Ed HERE.

GROWING UP
In 2017, the Museum worked with Lantz Construction to complete the infrastructure build-out of the second floor. Several new exhibits were opened, including the Discovery Treehouse, the Aviation exhibit, and Wonderwoods, a second early childhood area. Maker City, a workshop studio for ages 8+, was also launched.

3-STORY SHELL RENOVATION COMPLETED
At the end of 2019, a major milestone was achieved – a beautifully renovated third floor, which completes buildout of the 3-story, 33,000 square foot Museum. The team at Sustainable Solutions oversaw construction and provided a great deal of in-kind support to stretch the budget. The third floor offers a large multipurpose space and the opportunity to host more special programs, field trips, summer camps and community-wide events. It also features a teaching kitchen where the Museum can host a variety of culinary adventures. To date, the Museum has raised nearly $5 million under the leadership of long-time capital campaign chairs, Pat and Glenda Rooney. Their perseverance has been a great inspiration and true gift to our community’s children.

A GLOBAL PANDEMIC…THE TOUGHEST CHALLENGE TO DATE!
In March 2020, we received news that a very dangerous virus was in our midst. The Governor ordered mandatory shutdowns and the Museum quickly closed its doors. At the time, we had no real understanding of how the virus was spreading, how to treat it, and how long it would last. Our staff spent the first few weeks working remotely, communicating as much as possible and trying to figure out how a hands-on, interactive museum could survive. After focusing on all of the things that we couldn’t do, we decided to focus on what we COULD do. Our children and families needed us, and we jumped in to find ways to support.

April 2020 - June 2020: We developed Explore More at Home, with over 30 different thematic units and activities that could engage children while quarantined for safety. We took that a step further, curating complete learning kits that families could drive by and pick up from the safety of their vehicles.

July 2020 - September 2020: In the summer, we opted to offer summer camps when others were unable to do so. Our staff took a risk because we knew that dual working families needed high quality offerings to engage their children. Taking extraordinary measures to mask, distance, and sanitize, the Museum staff managed to hold more than two dozen camps without a single health-related issue. The parents were our partners as we all worked together!

September 2020 - June 2021: After a successful camp season, and then realizing that schools would not be returning in fall, families asked if we’d continue to support them. We started an Explorers Academy that enrolled 16 children. The kids were dropped off at 8:30 and picked up at 4:00. Our staff assisted with their online school and provided enrichment experiences, including daily activity time where they explored downtown Harrisonburg and made the Elks Club grounds their place for outdoor play!

October 2020 - The Museum opened its doors for limited exhibit play sessions. Our staff worked to implement a new online registration system so that we could limit the number of visitors and swap out every manipulative and thoroughly disinfect the Museum between two-hour sessions. Our staff did this three times per day and it was exhausting work. Masks were worn by all as we took painstaking efforts to ensure the safest experience possible.
Operating income was greatly impacted as capacity was reduced, memberships were extended to account for earlier closures, and more staff members were needed to serve far fewer guests. There were no field trips, no birthday parties, and annual fundraisers (Night at the Museum and Run the Runway) had to shift to virtual events.

November 2020 - October 2021 While the Museum was open for limited visits, we took the opportunity to design two new second floor exhibits. The Pet Vet station teaches children how to care for their animals and Cash Flow is a fun way to explore financial literacy.

LOOKING AHEAD (2023 and beyond):
We’ve launched many exciting initiatives in 2023. In May, we commissioned Earth Surprise Murals to paint a vibrant new mural on the Newman Avenue side of our building. In August, the It’s Electric exhibit opened. with sponsorship from Harrisonburg Electric Commission. In October, we completed the Downtown Duckling project, with grant funding from Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance. Families are challenged family to play beyond the Museum walls as they search for a bronze mother duck and her 8 ducklings scatter throughout the downtown area.

Explore More has one major exhibit gallery to complete as part of its original Master Plan exhibit blueprint. The campaign to raise funds for the Construction Zone will begin in 2023, allowing us to finish ‘building the dream’ for our kids! As a Museum that constantly adapts and changes to meet the needs of the community, there will be plenty of other exciting milestones ahead. Look for more programs and outreach initiatives designed to serve all of our children!

Reflections on 20 years as a community-inspired museum

It’s hard to believe that nearly 20 years have passed since the grassroots effort was launched to open a children’s museum in downtown Harrisonburg. This project was an example of a Big Dream that required a Big Team to bring to fruition. So much physical labor, so many late nights, and so much dedication from community volunteers with the heartfelt desire to create something special for our children!

When I reflect on the museum’s journey to date, I liken it to the beloved children’s book, The Little Engine that Could. Much like the experience of the little blue steam engine, there have been times when the mountains appeared too steep to climb. There have been times when bigger, faster steam engines made us feel pale in comparison. There have been times when the weight just seemed too much to bear. But, have no fear... in every circumstance along the way, this community has stepped up and pushed and pulled and provided whatever was needed to reach the next destination.

As one of our longtime volunteers would always say when we’d grow a little weary, “The train is leaving the station... better get on board.” Thanks to all who have supported and believed in this Little Engine, we’re still chugging along and making a big impact in our community!

With sincere gratitude!

Lisa Shull, Founding Executive Director