Children’s museum to put area’s generosity on exhibit

LOVELAND — When the $6.7 million Children’s Museum of Northern Colorado finally opens — projected to be this fall — in Loveland Yards, activities for youngsters won’t be all that’s on display.

“The philanthropic community has really stepped up,” said Ryan Howard, the former Thompson School District educator who founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit museum project and has been its executive director since 2021. “The high majority of this is privately supported.”

The contributions have been more than just for general startup costs. For instance, Loveland-based Nutrien Ag Solutions Inc. gave the museum $100,000 to help create a role-playing exhibit about growing crops along with Pulliam Family Farm to Table.

Howard said no opening date has yet been determined; the focus now is getting into the 19,000-square-foot space at 5833 McWhinney Blvd. that had been home to Polo, Nike and UnderArmour stores in the old Outlets at Loveland shopping center.

The opportunity to purchase the building came in late 2023 with the support of the museum’s primary benefactor, the 40-year-old Loveland-based Erion Family Foundation. 

“Since the space was obtained in 2024, design has flowed quite seamlessly,” Howard said. “Our next milestone will be occupancy of the interior space in early July,” he said. “The project is progressing and we look forward to welcoming the public soon.”

Partners in assembling the site include Cambridge Seven Architecture, Clark & Enersen Architecture, PCL Construction and G.H. Phipps Construction.

“Since the project was conceived in 2015, we’ve gone through some iterations. If people have seen previous versions of the plan, it will look very familiar,” Howard said. “But we still have some work ahead of us. The exhibits are mostly designed; it’ll just be a process of getting them installed and building the systems and procedures that will allow us to welcome visitors.”

One very visible part of the work will be a fenced 2,500-square-foot outdoor extension, he said.

“We’re actually going to be excavating a significant part of the parking lot to add it. We’re moving the drive line so it curves away from the front of the building.”

However, Howard said the “most immediate task is to finish hiring the rest of the full-time staff. We hope to announce that team in the early part of July.”

The museum’s website currently lists openings for a guest services manager, an exhibits manager and an administrative and bookkeeping specialist.

In all, Howard said, he expects to have a staff of seven full-time employees, “and later this year, we’ll begin onboarding some part-time people.”

What visitors will encounter will be immersive, hands-on exhibits that are designed to reflect Northern Colorado and sourced from local artisans and craftspeople. They can milk a lifesized Fiberglas cow that was named Milkshake by students at Garfield Elementary School, check out a science gallery and a functioning mini-house, or send the youngest visitors to a play area for babies and toddlers.

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District committed $100,000 a year for five years to sponsor a water-education exhibit to teach children and their families the role of water in the West, and the challenges the region faces with differing demands on the supply. A key component of the Northern Water exhibit will be a water table that shows visitors the challenges this region faces in water, with demands of sharing water across urban, agricultural, environmental and recreational uses.

A snack and gift shop also will be included, as well as two classrooms.

The museum’s directors estimate that it will attract more than 150,000 visitors annually, but its target demographic is children ages 10 and younger, along with their families.

The Children’s Museum of Northern Colorado will join several other interactive and educational venues for children in Northern Colorado and the Boulder Valley:

• The Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, 408 Mason Court in Fort Collins, features a hands-on science hall, an immersive digital dome theater and an interactive music gallery.
• The WOW! Children’s Museum at 110 N. Harrison Ave, in Lafayette has hands-on exhibits, a maker space and sensory-friendly programming designed for children ages 1 to 11. The museum was founded in Louisville in 1996 by Lisa and Dario Atallah, then relocated in 2024 into an old Lafayette fire station.
• The Playzeum at the Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway in Boulder, is a dedicated permanent children’s exhibit that boasts self-guided exploration and imaginative play that connects local history and professional skills to kid-friendly activities.

“Research on child development could not be clearer: Play is the primary mechanism for young children to learn about themselves and their world,” Howard wrote on the Children’s Museum of Northern Colorado website. “With 80% of brain development occurring in childhood, it’s concerning that opportunities for play have decreased in recent times, but we hope to address the shortfall by providing a dedicated space for it.

“A children’s museum is an essential component of the cultural and educational opportunities available to families,” he wrote. “Northern Colorado is ready for a children’s museum of its own.”

He said it was important to find a space that would be conducive to both indoor and outdoor learning experiences for children and their families.

“This location is the right opportunity at the right time,” Howard wrote. “In order to be a truly regional museum, it was vital to identify a site centrally located to all of Northern Colorado’s communities. Now the path ahead is to complete our capital campaign and bring the vision to life.”

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