Featured News | March 4, 2014
From CBS 5 in Cheyenne:
Children’s Museum of Cheyenne (CMC) is excited to announce the acquisition of “the hole” from Cheyenne Lodging, LLC. Formed as a not-for-profit in September 2013, CMC has a mission of “inspired learning for children.” The group plans to build a children’s museum on the former property in downtown Cheyenne along 16th Street that was the site of a fire in 2004.
CMC will feature exhibits of math, science, the arts, health, and literacy for children from birth through fourteen years, with opportunity for older adolescents in the areas of internships and volunteering. Additionally, CMC hopes to have mid-sized performance space and event space that can also serve as a potential gallery for local artists.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for both CMC and downtown Cheyenne,” said Amy Surdam, President of CMC’s Board of Directors. “For years ‘the hole’ has sat empty. Building a children’s museum on that spot, which is one of the oldest sections of downtown Cheyenne will help serve as a catalyst for other development and renovation in the downtown area. More importantly, though, it will serve as a springboard for life-long learning for children in Cheyenne and the surrounding area. As C.Everett Koop once said, ‘Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than raising the next generation.’ ”
Cheyenne Lodging, LLC had previously considered a variety of proposals for the use of the vacant hole, but felt that a children’s museum was the best alternative as a successor to the group’s ownership.
CMC plans to immediately begin an extensive fundraising campaign to construct the facility and raise an endowment for operations. “We’re already receiving a lot of calls of support from all over the community, including in-kind donors who are willing to help with the facility” said Surdam. “It really is exciting to be a part of a project that will rejuvenate downtown and fill an educational and socioeconomic need in the community. We think there are a lot of people and businesses in the community that will want to get on board.”
The Wyoming Arts Council believes that experiencing the arts should be accessible for all, including people with mental and/or physical disabilities, older adults, military/veterans, people living in institutions and those who lack access to the arts due to geographic isolation, cultural difference and economic hardship.
