| CREATIVE
DISCOVERY MUSEUM
21ST CENTURY WATERFRONT
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Creative
Discovery Museum Project Scope: Two new exhibit expansions
and renovations/enhancements to six core exhibits
Cost:
$3 million
Opening:
In six phases beginning February 2003 and ending summer of
2005
Details:
Big Plans for Millions of Little Hands Since opening
in 1995, Creative Discovery Museum has consistently ranked
among the top 20 children’s museums in the nation. After
nine years and lots of love and affection from almost four
million little hands, the museum plans to enrich its experiences
by creating two new exhibits while renovating and redesigning
its core exhibits.
The museum building is recognized as an architectural city
landmark that serves as the scenic gateway to the waterfront
and downtown tourism districts. So the heart of its $3 million
renovation is the creation of two fun, colorful, new exhibits,
one at street level (RiverPlay) and the other high atop the
museum’s roof (Rooftop Fun Factory). Both will serve
as visual gateway markers for visitors driving into Chattanooga’s
waterfront district.
The
first phase completed is RiverPlay. Imagine
a place where a child can pilot a riverboat, perch high in
a crow's nest, create dams and channels for floating boats
and "fish" off a pier. With its waterfall, two-story
spiral slide and spraying jets of water located behind a 2-½
story window, RiverPlay conceptually "connects"
to the Tennessee River just three blocks away.
The
second phase completed is the Little Yellow House
for children ages 4 and younger. What could be more fun than
exploring a child-sized version of a cozy home, including
a little red sports car, a quaint yellow garage and an infant
garden?
Phases
three (Excavation Station) and four (Rooftop
Fun Factory) opened to the public in March of 2005. Phase
four is the new Rooftop Fun Factory, where
kids can explore the world of simple machines as they enjoy
sound, movement and fun high up on the rooftop. Here visitors
can blow soap bubbles and watch as they gently sail through
the air. Turn a wheel and make beautiful music. Use pulleys
to lift each other off the roof. Work a hand pump up and down
to launch balls into the air and make them bounce in and out
of baskets. The newly renovated and redesigned Inventors’
Clubhouse is scheduled to open in April 2005. Phase six, the
renovation and redesign of Arts Alley, is scheduled to open
summer of 2005.
The
Museum takes fun sky high in the Rooftop Fun Factory, opening
March 19, 2005. CDM then celebrates its 10th birthday on May
28, 2005. Call the Museum at (423) 756-2738 or check its web
site at www.cdmfun.org
for more information.
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