Leadership

Marian King, CEO
Rosemary Kenerly, Board Chair

 

Mission

To engage all children and families in hands-on, fun learning experiences which contribute to their growth and development through play, creation, outdoor exploration and STEM experiences.

 

Building

The 37,000-square-foot facility in downtown Greensboro includes more than 20 permanent exhibitions exploring an “Our Town” theme. Placed along “Main Street,” the interrelated environments include a market, doctor’s office, theater and a pizza parlor. While visiting these exhibits, children explore a parallel world of real-life activities, tasks, jobs, travel and creativity. The “Our Town” theme was developed as part of the Museum’s opening. Over the years, GCM’s exhibits have expanded to include outdoor exploration and STEM activities.

 

Programming

GCM offers an active schedule of programs designed to provide enriching educational experiences for children of all ages. All programs are themed around science, technology, art, music, dance, food, and gardening. Pop-up programs are free with admission and give visiting families an opportunity to engage in a short-term structured activity. Paid programs offer in-depth exploration of a topic and is led by experienced educators.

 

The Edible Schoolyard

In September 2009, Food Activist and Chef Alice Waters came to Greensboro to open The Edible Schoolyard at the Greensboro Children’s Museum, a hands-on, half-acre organic teaching garden and kitchen classroom. Since its grand opening in May 2010, The Edible Schoolyard has been a destination for children, families and teaching to learn about growing, cooking and sharing fresh, delicious food. With an ecosystem of plants and animals, the garden features vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers, trees and shrubs, as well as chickens, worms and insects.

 

Location

The Greensboro Children’s Museum is located in the cultural district of downtown Greensboro, directly across the street from the Greensboro Public Library and a block from the Greensboro Historical Museum.

  • Early 1990s Businessman and retired builder Jerry Hyman notices a brochure for Exploratorium, a science museum, during a layover at San Francisco International Airport. It sparks the idea to create in Greensboro a museum geared toward children. Hyman spends the next several years visiting other children’s museums and asking friends & relatives to bring him children’s museum brochures from their own travels.
  • 1994 Hyman approaches civic leader Cynthia Doyle about putting together a team to study the feasibility of a children’s museum and spearhead fundraising. Hyman himself donates a building, the old Montgomery Ward store at 232 S. Elm St. (now Triad Stage), for the project.
  • 1996 Cynthia Doyle drew from her extensive volunteer experience and organizational skills to pull together a group of alumni from the Leadership Greensboro Program and form a steering committee. This group, led by Doyle, launched a 3-year capital campaign committees and solicited contributions from more than 650 individuals and businesses.
  • March 1998 GCM gets new quarters when P. David Brown, president of Gate City Motor Co., offers a 50,000-square-foot building on a 3.17-acre lot on Church Street across from the Greensboro Public Library. According to a 1998 News & Record article, the property sold for $1.5 million — $1.2 million of it covered by the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, the rest by Gate City Motor Co.
  • May 15, 1999 The Greensboro Children’s Museum opens. The total price tag: about $4.6 million. The original exhibit galleries included Transportation, Manufacturing, Bubbles, Our World, Early Childhood, and a gallery for traveling exhibits.
  • May 2000 GCM celebrates its first birthday. In its first year, the institution saw 130,000 visitors, 517 groups and 698 birthday parties.
  • July 2006 GCM welcomes its millionth visitor, 3-year-old Alex Henson of High Point.
  • May 2010 The Edible Schoolyard opens. The Greensboro Children’s Museum is the first children’s museum in the country to have an officially licensed Edible Schoolyard, based on chef and author Alice Waters’ original program in Berkeley, Calif.
  • August 2015 – The Reaching Greater Heights Campaign was launched with a $3 million goal to add new areas and refurbish several existing. New areas included an outdoor Play Plaza with state-of-the-art climbers, outdoor patio classroom, installation of public art, new family snack area, nursing room,  interactive interior water feature and technology stations featuring coding, robotics, AR & VR. Renovated areas included the main entrance and lobby, refurbished restrooms and gift shop area, and new Neptune Lobby,  Madeleine Dassow and Rosemary Kenerly, Board Members, served as Campaign Co-Chairs. Jackie and Steve Bell served as Honorary Chairs.
  • May 2017 – The Grand Opening for Phase 1 of Reaching Greater Heights was held. The Play Plaza, renovated entrance and main lobby, new Neptune Lobby and refurbished areas were opened to the public
  • October 2018 – Phase 2 of Reaching Greater Heights is completed with the grand opening of Water Wonders, a captivating sensory experience of playing and controlling water with interactive learning stations.

Media Contact:

Joe Rieke
office: 336.574.2898 ext.313
mobile: 206.351.6811
[email protected]

 

Address:

Greensboro Children’s Museum
220 N Church St
Greensboro, NC 27401