JANESVILLE鈥 The buzz of welders echoed through the Children鈥檚 Museum of Rock County as construction crews pieced together a towering steel climbing structure, while blank white walls stood waiting for the colorful exhibits that will transform the downtown building before it opens this fall almost 20 years after the project was dreamt up.
For now, Executive Director Kent Anderson describes the nearly completed building as 鈥渏ust a shoebox,鈥 but over the next two months, exhibit installers will fill the space with interactive displays centered on the Rock River, manufacturing and agriculture.
The Children鈥檚 Museum of Rock County is entering its final stage of construction. Originally slated to open around September Anderson said that constructions will be finished in the next three weeks with exhibits beginning to fill the building ahead of an anticipated late October or early November opening.
鈥淓verything that鈥檚 going to happen from now through September is the graphics and all of the exhibits installed,鈥 Anderson said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when all the cool stuff starts to happen.鈥
The museum鈥檚 journey began in 2008 but stalled during the Great Recession. Community efforts regained momentum in the 2010s through a traveling 鈥淢useum on Wheels鈥 program before the COVID-19 pandemic slowed progress once again.
In 2022, organizers launched a capital campaign that ultimately raised about $14.5 million to construct the permanent museum.
Designed around Rock County
Rather than replicating exhibits found in larger children鈥檚 museums across the country, designers built the museum around experiences familiar to children growing up in Rock County.
Designers from Memphis, Tennessee, visited local farms, conducted community focus groups and developed exhibits centered on three themes: the Rock River, innovative manufacturing and precision agriculture.
Those themes appear throughout the museum, from a 20-by-25-foot interactive water table modeled after the Rock River 鈥 complete with miniature versions of the Centerway Dam, the Rock Aqua Jays and local farmland 鈥 to a farming exhibit featuring a real tractor cab donated by Johnson Tractor.
Children will be able to 鈥渉arvest鈥 corn and soybeans in a simulator before following the crops through grain processing and into a miniature Woodman鈥檚 Market, illustrating the journey of produce in Rock County from farm to grocery store.
The museum also includes a toddler nature-themed play area, a sensory room inside the former bank vault, STEM learning spaces, birthday party rooms, flexible exhibit space and a two-story climbing structure.
The museum expects graphics installation to begin in late July, with major exhibit installation starting in mid-August and continuing through September. Staff training will follow before the museum opens later this fall.
The organization currently has a five-person leadership team and expects to hire six to 10 part-time employees to help operate the facility.
鈥淲e want to start lean to be fiscally responsible,鈥 Anderson said. 鈥淪afety鈥檚 got to be the number one priority.鈥
The museum plans to begin preselling annual memberships in August. It also expects birthday parties, private rentals and adult fundraising events to become important revenue sources.
Anderson said that while the museum recently obtained a liquor license, alcohol will only be available during private events or adult-only fundraisers and will not be sold during regular hours when children are visiting.
Looking around the nearly finished building, Anderson said the museum鈥檚 opening is finally within reach after years of planning and fundraising.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long time in the making and I feel very fortunate that I鈥檓 able to help lead it through the finish line,鈥 Anderson said.