Press Release
Northeast Nebraska children are about to enter "the zone."
There, they will encounter replicas of extinct "herbivorous reptiles," they will be able to work in a child-size grocery store, practice their "American Idol" routines on the Johnny Carson Performing Arts Stage stage and poke their faces and hands into pin boards.
The Children's Discovery Zone, located in the Elkhorn Valley Museum & Research Center, will celebrate its grand opening with an open house on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 27 and 28.
The "zone" is located in a room of the museum that first was designated as a children's room when the museum was built 10 years ago.
The Children's Discovery Zone opening caps more than a year of behind-the-scenes work by a committee of volunteers who recognized the need for a children's museum here in Norfolk.
Committee members gathered ideas by visiting children's museums around the Midwest, said Jerad Faltys, a member of the Elkhorn Valley Museum & Research Center board of directors and Discovery Zone volunteer.
"We took the best of what we saw in other places," he added.
Once a plan was in place, committee members recruited artists and craftsmen--such as Karl Reeder, Dave and Deb Cerny and Tyson Fischer--who donated their time and talent to make the Discovery Zone a reality.
Other individuals and businesses, such as Lou's Thriftyway, donated merchandise and equipment.
Reeder, owner of Reeder Originals here in Norfolk, painted several murals on the walls and also created a dinosaur on the wall of the cave.
The Cernys made the pin board, which Jerad Faltys said, would have cost $18,000 if they had ordered it. Cerny, who works at Tyco Health Care Kendall, built a machine to cut the 120,000 pins needed for the pin board.
By having the pin board made locally, the committee saved $13,000, Faltys said.
The list of volunteers and donors is extensive. Faltys said it's important to note that the zone was designed and built using the expertise and talent of local citizens of all ages.
For instance, children at Sacred Heart School and seniors visiting the Senior Citizens Center helped put ends on the thousands of push pins used in the pin board.
Now that the zone is finished, the committee is working on a schedule of events for the museum's pint-sized patrons. Those activities will take place in the museum's auditorium or, when the weather cooperates, in Verges Park.
Next weekend's grand opening will include a variety of special activities for children, including face painting, crafts and a balloon artist. Refreshments will also be served, and door prizes will be awarded.
Plus, museum membership will be sold at a discount. Those memberships have an added bonus as they include free or reduced admission to children's museums in other cities that are members of the Association of Children's Museums, said Tammy Day, a committee member.
- Story Courtesy of the Norfolk Daily News
