Article by Eli Holm. Photos by Eli Holm.
Senators Erin Murphy and Aric Putnam attended a tour of the nearly complete Great River Children’s Museum in downtown St. Cloud, as part of a St. Cloud check-in on Tuesday.
The Senators were invited to tour the Museum because Sen. Putnam voted to get state funding for St. Cloud development projects in 2023. Through the bonding bill, he helped secure $7 million in grant funding for the construction.
Putnam has been excited about the museum as a part of the city’s focus on bringing more development in the downtown area, and his campaign commitment to education on the house floor.
“I think the earlier you can get kids being curious in an intentional space, the better off they’re going to be,” Putnam said. “I think there’s gonna be all kinds of connections between the school district and the museum, I can see this having all kinds of field trips”
The museum is themed around Minnesota’s nature, with exhibits displaying weather, water, and forests. There are play spaces too, with climbing walls, water tables, and a fenced outdoor playground.
The Senators were joined by CEO Cassie Miles, who told the two about the museum’s design bringing “the outside indoors”.
“We know how much we value nature as the natural playscape for all of our children,” CEO Miles said. “We tried to build that into all our exhibits.”
But the museum won’t just be for children, Miles told the Senators about all the community spaces throughout, including temporary gallerys for local artists, and community rooms for local group meetings.
Miles also pointed about the museums environmentally concious design. The museum’s renovation rehomed all the material removed during the demolition and features sustainable elements throughout.
The museum currently does not have a set opening day, but annual memberships are already available to purchase, and Miles says they’re looking to open sometime later this spring.
You can learn more about the museum here.
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