Author Spotlight
Caroline Wood
The Regnier Family Wonderscope Children’s Museum of Kansas City, a non-profit interactive learning space for kids, moved to a new location in Kansas City, MO on Friday, Oct. 23.
Wonderscope’s first location was established on King St. in 1998. The new location was built on the lot of the old Red Bridge Shopping Center, off of Red Bridge Rd. The nonprofit funded its construction by launching a capital campaign where they received donations, raising $15 million to build “A New Place for Play.”
The new building has 30,000 square feet of indoor play space and an additional half acre of land for outdoor activities that kids can participate in year-round.
“The mission of Wonderscope is to spark a life-long love of learning through the power of play,” Executive Director Roxanne Hill said at the ground breaking ceremony. “Learn, play, grow, is what we are about, providing children and families with an environment to learn through play for almost 30 years.”
The exhibits in the building have different themes related to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math), but also tie in Kansas City’s culture and history. For instance, WaterWorks is a water exhibit where kids can manipulate the flow of water and also learn about Kansas City’s fountains and rivers. Other exhibits include Crossroads of Past and Future, WonderMart, Creation Station, Kansas City Café, On the Move!, Wonder Climber, Kid City and Nature Scape.
Due to COVID-19, Wonderscope has had to place restrictions on the museum. All visitors three and above must wear protective face coverings, families must socially distance and if someone is showing symptoms of COVID, they’ll be asked to leave.
Wonderscope was a childhood staple among many East students. According to an Instagram poll with 246 responses, 81% said that they went to Wonderscope when they were younger.
Junior Bre Ledbetter went to the old Wonderscope location when she was five and six years old. Wonderscope had a plethora of activities that kept Ledbetter happy and engaged — all while learning about STEAM.
With fond memories of Wonderscope, Ledbetter and her Junior Board team chose to represent the nonprofit for their presentation in eighth grade. They visited and talked to people from Wonderscope and created a presentation in an attempt to raise money for the organization.
“[In Junior Board] I got to learn a whole lot more about this place I went to as a kid and how nonprofits geared towards kids actually worked,” Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter’s group took second place in the competition and ended up raising about $2,300 for the Wonder Fund — which pays for memberships and field trips for families and schools who can’t afford to come to Wonderscope.
“Kids need a place to go and play, but also be educational at the same time,” Ledbetter said. “Nowadays, kids are more likely to sit in front of a screen and watch an educational TV show. But with Wonderscope, they not only get their energy out, but they’re also learning while doing that.”
*featured image courtesy of wonderscope.org
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