ABOYNE – After almost 18 months, a children’s play space has officially opened at the Wellington County Museum and Archives.
County and museum officials hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Dec. 17 for the dedicated children’s area.
The design for the project was proposed to county council in January, but project talk first began June 2024.
Council allotted $600,000 from the county’s general capital reserve to construct the 544-square-foot area on the west side of the first floor.
“This children’s space brings together the natural beauty of Wellington County – our forests, rivers and wildlife,” Warden Chris White told the large gathering last week.
County officials bill the space as a “large, bright and immersive environment” and its main highlights include:
- floor-to-ceiling murals showcasing the county’s natural heritage;
- an oversized interactive book highlighting regional fish species;
- “bird sounds wall” allowing children to hear calls of local species;
- dress-up and performance area;
- tree house structure;
- campfire area;
- three-dimensional log tunnel; and
- “under the microscope” area allowing children to examine objects up close.
“As a retired history teacher I know that [museum staff] preserve our history, celebrate our heritage and connect us to the stories of those who came before us,” county councillor Diane Ballantyne said.
“But museums also need to be a place where children feel welcomed and engaged, where they can touch, explore and imagine.”
Perth-Wellington MP John Nater attended the opening with his daughter Ainsley and told the group how much his family loves going to the Aboyne museum.
The project was designed by Martin Simmons Sweers, renovations by Dakon Construction and fabrication by Performance Solutions.
Representatives from Sweers and Dakon attended the opening.
“This was a fun project to work on,” Dakon vice president Ryan Turk said.
“When we started here, that room was nasty [with] old, dirty carpet, bubbly walls and low ceiling.”
“The vision from the county’s team and [Sweers] was phenomenal.”
Turk also noted the newly renovated room used to be two separate spaces.
Memories
The new space brought up sentimental memories for county information, heritage and seniors committee chair Doug Breen.
“My dad was big on local museums … and the things that always excited me the most were those kinds of rooms,” Breen said referring to the children’s space.
He noted the museum and archives site always had a “great” First Nations and First World War display “but we really didn’t have a lot of area that was aimed specifically at children.”
“This was a logical next step,” Breen added.
The children’s space is open during regular museum hours and admission is included with general museum admission.
