User:TheChildrensMuseum/article

History
1995 - The City of Kitchener and private donors fund trip to conference on starting a new Children's Museum.

1995-1998 - Local artists and volunteers host a series of public events aimed at capturing the imagination of families.

1998 - The Children's Museum incorporates as a private not for profit corporation. A broad section of the community is reflected in the first Board of Directors including: educators, business leaders, a lawyer, an accountant, a management consultant and fund-raisers.

January 1999 - The first part-time, contract staff are hired.

December 1999 - The City of Kitchener agrees to a 50-year lease in the 50,000 square foot former Goudies Department Store at King Street & Queen Street. In addition they commitment $1,500,000.00 towards renovations.

February 2000 - A $1,000,000.00 "challenge donation" is announced by Michael Barnstijn and Louise MacCallum, former software engineers at Research in Motion.

March 2000 - $150,000 is awarded by the Trillium Foundation to provide staff and to ensure the successful completion of the project over a two-year period.

April 2000 - After a national architectural search competition the Governor General's award-winning architectural firm, Levitt Goodman of Toronto is awarded the contract to renovate the new Children's Museum.

October 2000 - An inaugural exhibit, Wave of the Future, is mounted at the soon-to-be new home of the Children's Museum featuring 15 exhibits designed to make optical waves audible and sound waves visible. More than 3,000 people attend and feedback is used to design permanent exhibits.

Manulife Financial and Clarica each donate $200,000.00

September 2001 - Architectural designs are unveiled.

December 2001 - Construction begins.

January 2002 - Doug Fregin, co-founder of Research in Motion donates $1,000,000.00 and a $300,000 grant from the Ontario Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology is announced.

January 2003 - Mr. Lyle S. Hallman, CEO of Hallman Construction and Property Management, and local philanthropist donates $1,000,000.00 towards the development of an early learning area in the Museum.

In total the community raises more than $17,000,000.00 in cash, pledges, goods and services.

September 2003 - The Children's Museum officially opens its doors to the public.

2008 - The 250,000th guest will visit The Children's Museum.