Seven years ago, Danny Seim moved from Portland, Oregon to the Portland area of Louisville.
For the past few years, Seim, a father of two children under the age of 10, has driven across the area to visit traditional children’s museums in other cities, such as St. Louis, Missouri. Art, culture and history with elements of play.
“The more I drove around the area to get to these children’s museums, the more I realized that they were so much better a few blocks away instead of hundreds of miles away,” said Creative Director, 2019. served as portland museum, A museum of culture and heritage at the western end.
The Portland Museum is currently working on creating Adventure House of You Children’s Museum AHOYfeaturing dangerous play, indoor and outdoor spaces, and a tribute to Louisville’s West End heritage. , said it will be completed in four stages with an expected opening date of 2024.
Here’s what you need to know about AHOY’s opening on the west end of Louisville.
Find a space at Adventure House of You Children’s Museum AHOY
While working to restore the façade of the Portland Museum, Seim noticed that an abandoned Victorian house six feet away from the museum “looks even more humble by comparison.” .
Rather than let the building’s architectural beauty continue to be hidden behind 30 years of abandonment, Seim decided to paint the house to revive it.
“So I bought the paint without asking for permission, hoping one day to ask for forgiveness,” Seim said.
Eventually, Portland residents, including home owners, began noticing Sejm climbing the 40-foot ladder.
Mr. Seim asked by the owner, “Do you want to buy if you paint?”
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In short, the answer was yes. Seim and the owner worked to transfer ownership of the house to the museum. After talking with 8-year-old Fritz and her 4-year-old Goldie, Same said it became “very easy” to use the building to house a children’s museum as part of the Portland Museum. .
“This isn’t the first time someone’s thought about a children’s museum[in Louisville]… but there’s no children’s museum or art-related children’s museum here,” Delahanty said.
Proud of Louisville Kentucky Science Center, Fraser Historical Museum, Louisville Slugger Museum When Kentucky Derby Museumeach has exhibits devoted to children’s education, but the town does not have a museum devoted solely to the richness of children.
Both Delahanty and Saym believe the museum has the potential to “draw people across the western divide.”
By creating a go-to destination for parents across cities, states, and even regions, AHOY proves what people believe about historically underfunded and underserved neighborhoods like West Louisville. You have the opportunity to open your mind and reset.
“Being in Portland on the West End will continue to expand the world’s view of what Louisville is all about,” said Will Oldham, a member of the museum’s advisory board.
A children’s museum run by children
Delahanty and Seim worked with other families in the area to develop the AHOY concept.
Both want AHOY to be a museum for children, by children. To achieve this, Seim’s son Fritz helped lead a steering committee of neighborhood kids to advise on the project.
“This was to make sure we got a children’s steering committee that informed us rather than guessing what kids are into these days,” Seim said. “We had no problem drawing ideas from them.”
In a deliberate effort to give children ownership and pride in the museum, AHOY held several meetings with children’s advisors to gather ideas and discuss potential uses of the space. Did.
“There’s a kind of ownership of this place …[it]gives kids from areas other than the West End a kind of pride to show off when they visit,” Seim said.
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The museum’s name pays tribute to Portland’s nautical origins, as well as a bit of history between Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, former Louisville residents. Both Bell and Edison tried to create a telephone greeting. Bell wanted his phone greeting to begin with “Ahoy,” but Edison won out with the classic “Hello,” which is used today.
The children’s museum will be built in four stages and will cost $4 million. The museum also plans to raise a $4 million fund. To date, we have raised $1.3 million for Phase 1 of the project from sources such as: James Graham Brown Foundation, Contributed $500,000 to the project, with an initial $50,000 contribution from the museum. the gins foundation, A Louisville organization that supports urban education and the arts.
The first phase of the museum project will fully transform an approximately 3,000 square foot Victorian home into AHOY and install a glass atrium to connect AHOY to the existing Portland Museum at 2308 Portland Avenue. The piece is due for his 2024 release and will cost about $2.5 million.
Phase 2 focuses on outdoor play yards and small event centers. Phase 3 will expand AHOY over time by incorporating children’s exhibits into the existing Portland Museum. The final stage will consist of the Education Center. Scaris puppeteer We offer a variety of programs for children.
Mason Rummel, President and CEO of JGBF, said: “The museum’s new leadership has come up with an ambitious yet thoughtful plan for expanding the museum.”
AHOY is modeled after the St. Louis City Museum.
AHOY is City Museum An interactive museum in St. Louis, Missouri that turns art into a giant playground for children.
“The City Museum has a very grand scale, but it has similarities to our community and the West End, and some similarities to the nuances of historical objects and things like that,” Delahanty said. .
AHOY features exhibits based on the 1937 Flood, artistic renderings of local cultural artifacts, Ohio Falls and Fossils, Mary Millicent Miller, America’s first female steamboat captain, and more.
“The AHOY project uses Portland-specific content to frame a wider range of ideas and concepts. The central themes are recognizing possibilities, transmuting energies, understanding context, and most of all, having fun. ”
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Unlike other museums in Louisville, AHOY encourages risky play throughout the museum and its outdoor playgrounds. dangerous play Encourages children to climb, jump and test boundaries to overcome fear and support healthy, independent growth.
“Children are encouraged to take risks with natural objects such as trees and driftwood…not like a steel swing set structure that dictates how you play,” Seim said. I got
Why does West Louisville need a children’s museum?
Seim thinks it’s important that the museum is on the western edge of Louisville.
“It was really important[for the kids]to see positive, heartfelt, artistic, quirky, funky, creative things come to life in their community.
Having the museum in Portland’s neighborhood means less travel from potentially low-income families.
“It’s essential that children in West Louisville have the opportunity to easily access creative spaces where they can dream and explore,” said Casey Chase, director of the Portland Museum. I’m thrilled to have something so unique and exciting in our neighborhood.”
Board member Oldham also believes AHOY will provide the city with an opportunity to get out of strip mall trampoline parks and provide a new resource for local children.
“The events of 2020 are particularly alarming, as we look to the West End with a new understanding of possibilities and responsibilities,” Oldham said.
AHOY not only brings joy to the community, but also gives a glimpse of what possibilities exist when the people of the community develop and grow the community from within.
Portland parent Chase admits that there is a lack of “resources, facilities, entertainment and space for our children to have creative experiences.”
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“The children of the West End should never have had to go through a lack of resources in the first place, so now is the perfect time,” Chase said. “Try to invest in this community for future generations.” I am proud to be part of the people’s movement.”
AHOY is developing at full speed and the City of Louisville is preparing to welcome its first state-of-the-art children’s museum.
“It’s time Louisville has a children’s museum. The AHOY project has the amazing ability to not only fit the bill, but to blow our ideas of what a children’s museum could look like and open it wide.” I have,” said Oldham.
Contact reporter Olivia Evans (oevans@courier-journal.com) or Twitter (@oliviamevans_).