JACKSONVILLE — Jacksonville’s planned children’s museum has its sights set on a location, but it will be more than a year before it can set up shop.
Zing Zumm, short for “amazing museum,” will occupy Fire Station No. 2 on Barn Street in the Northwoods area once firefighters move to their new station on Gum Branch Road — provided everything goes as planned.
While it may be more than a year before the museum has doors to open, its board of directors is ramping up for a major capital campaign, co-chair Lani Beuerman said.
They have a lot of work ahead of them. So far, the nonprofit organization has only raised $32,000 of the $2 million goal.
“Progress has been slow,” Beuerman said. “It has been a long, sometimes frustrating process, but we really believe in a children’s museum here in Jacksonville.”
A tourism grant from Onslow County for $50,000 really helps, Beuerman said.
County commissioners approved the grant to help the museum pay for architectural engineering and construction costs. The funds could possibly be used for rent as well, County Manager Jeff Hudson said.
The city has committed to giving the museum first option on the Northwoods firehouse, City Manager Richard Woodruff said. He said bids on the new fire station will go out around March, followed by a 12-month construction period.
Planning is already underway as how to refit the old firehouse for what organizers plan as a hands-on, interactive museum with exhibits related to the arts, health, science, literature and culture.
The idea of a children’s museum in Jacksonville began as a solution to area students having to take an hour-long bus ride to and from the children’s museum in Wilmington.
So in 2005, Beuerman and co-chair Liz Owens began work to make the vision of a local children’s museum a reality. Two years later, the organization received tax-exempt status and the year after that a board of directors was established.
In 2009, the museum received its official name from a kindergartener who won a contest with 300 submissions. Subsequent years saw a family performing arts series and an award-winning family expo.
The museum is a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation and anyone wishing to make a donation can do so by mailing checks to The Children’s Museum of Jacksonville; PO Box 12496; Jacksonville, NC 28546.
For more information, visit zingzumm.org.
Contact Daily News Senior Reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8455 or lindell.kay@jdnews.com.
