Children's Museum Provides Experiences that Inspire Curiosity, Creativity, Discovery, & Connection

For Amy Peters, the desire to develop Quincy Children’s Museum was not only to provide a space for her own five children to grow, but to support fun and learning for all the children in our community. 
“Acknowledging all children deserve the opportunity to play is extremely important. When children are playing, they are learning. We need to bring those experiences to our community.” 
Amy’s favorite space in the museum right now is the Discovery Loft because it keeps families coming back to play. Currently, the area has a stage with different backdrops, costume pieces and an elevated area to perform. Families get their own space in the audience so they can watch their children put on a show. There are also tables to sit together and craft puzzles or read books together, allowing interaction and lots of opportunities to be creative.  

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“I love the discovery loft. I get to really develop those exhibits in-house. What we put up there is very unique to our museum, you won’t find it anywhere else.”
Speaking of other places, not only is our local community experiencing the children’s museum, but people traveling from as far away as California, Texas, and Georgia are making a point to stop in and have fun. The museum collects zip codes as people enter the museum, allowing them to see just how far their reach is. And while she admits people do not come from far away just to go to our museum, it is special to know that while they are here, families are adding QCM to their to-do list.  
Amy wants people to be excited about what the future holds when their larger space inside the former Paper Box Building at 4th and Hampshire, while also recognizing the museum is here now and ready for families to come and play. The staff and board are committed to follow through with their mission and make the current space a terrific experience.
To that end, museum staff recently came back from a conference in Madison, WI. 
“It is fun to see big, beautiful, completed museums and what is possible.” 
Amy has been attending the International Children’s Museum conferences since spring 2017, when her and her husband first embarked on her journey to build a Quincy Children’s Museum. These conferences bring people together from all over the globe, to connect, brainstorm ideas and network in a way that brings about expansion. 
One piece of advice Amy shares is to find your community. 
“Don’t go after something by yourself, we are not meant to do life alone. Have people by your side to encourage you, support you, volunteer for you.”  She is thankful the museum has a great team of incredible people to work alongside and accomplish each incremental goal as they bring the museum to life. 
If you’d like to get involved at QCM, volunteers are always welcome. Volunteers allow QCM to build out capacity including participating in summer events like Arts Quincy’s Summer of Rhythm events at Jackson Lincoln Pool, as well as build out programing like camps and clubs. For information on how you can get involved, fill out the contact form on quincychildrensmuseum.org/contact.