At an event on Tuesday, the Amazeum announced the launch of a $25 million capital campaign and shared plans for a major expansion.

Amazeum CEO Sam Dean introduced phase one of the two-phase Exp&ing Futures initiative which includes plans for an Early Childhood Education Center, an outdoor science-based playscape, and additional space for programs and events.

The museum has raised $17.3 million of its $25 million goal through philanthropic support, including a $10.35 million gift from the Lee Scott family and a $1.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation, and is now accepting donations for the capital campaign online.

Holland Hayden, Amazeum’s senior manager of marketing and communications, said museum staff hope to have a groundbreaking on the project before summer.

During phase one, “The Hangout” and Early Childhood Education Center will be built adjacent to the current Amazeum building, adding 11,850 square feet of new indoor space.

The Hangout will feature space for meeting and party rooms, along with a cafe and outdoor patio space. 

“We want to work with teachers. We want to work with early learner educators. We want to work with scouts. We want to work with all of the community groups. And one of our biggest limitations is space,” Dean said. “So now we’ve got more purpose-built space wrapped around a community handshake that we’re excited to create with The Hangout.”

The Early Childhood Education Center will feature a variety of indoor and outdoor gallery spaces where preschool and primary-age children can explore. These areas will offer activities and structures designed to support early cognitive, physical, social and emotional development.

The space is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, an educational philosophy based on the idea that children are active participants in their learning, with the environment, teachers and parents all playing key roles in the process.

“The Backyard” will be an outdoor playscape designed to recreate the feel of a backyard, offering kids a space to learn and explore in nature.

Some of the potential features in The Backyard include a climbing wall, discovery towers, a nature area, an “urban underground” area, a mud pit, gravel pit, human-sized building blocks and a sound plaza.

The expansion will add 17,390 square feet of outdoor space for a porch and landscape area around the building, along with another 5,500 square feet for The Backyard, according to Hayden.

Phase Two of the campaign will be the construction of a new space called the Innovation Center, intended to support the Amazeum’s growing work with educators, teens and adults. The Innovation Center will include a learning studio, fabrication shop, design lab, creative shop and STEAM exhibit gallery. 

The Innovation Center, with more than 14,700 square feet of new space plus an additional 10,000 square feet of renovated space, will allow for expanding the Amazeum’s programming for all ages.

Once Phase One is complete and open to the public, Amazeum staff will start looking at a timeline for Phase Two.

The Amazeum, located at 1009 Museum Way, opened in July 2015. It is open Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Sundays from 1–5 p.m.