The entrance will move from the Wall Street side to the Hoyt side.
A four-story addition will rise on the south end of the building.
From a look at the early plan, this is what the west side along Hoyt will look like. Click to enlarge.
The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust is investing $500,000 to help Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett, Wash. build an addition that will nearly double their space by 2022.
“Our benefactor, Jack Murdock, believed that true learning comes when the academics of a classroom merge with the hands-on experience of the real world. We are grateful for organizations like the Imagine Children’s Museum that help inspire individuals and families, particularly young children, through engaging, playful learning,” said Dr. Steve Moore, executive director, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.
The grant to Imagine Children’s Museum reflects Murdock Trust’s continued investment in the Pacific Northwest, having donated more than $1 billion to nonprofits that serve the Pacific Northwest since 1975.
The museum opened its doors in the current facility in 2004 expecting to serve 60,000 visitors per year. In 2018, the museum welcomed 258,000 guests. The four-story addition will expand the existing square footage from 45,000 to 85,000 square feet to meet the needs of guests and provide more educational opportunities.
The expansion will include exhibits about woodland habitats and animals, veterinary medicine, marine ecosystems, engineering, logistics and shipping, and more. It also includes a maker space, art studio, puppet theater, fishing pond, multi-use auditorium and grab-and-go eatery.
“The crowds in our current space mean adults often mill around the edges so that more children can play, inhibiting adults and children from interacting with the exhibits together. With this expansion, we can not only serve more people and bring more exhibits to visitors, but also allow space so that adults and children can play and learn together,” said Nancy L. Johnson, executive director of Imagine Children’s Museum.
Construction will begin in February 2021 and be complete by early 2022. The museum continues to fundraise for the final dollars needed to build the expansion. The museum facility is currently closed due to the pandemic but offers virtual programs such as camps and classes via their website, imaginecm.org.
This is not the first time Murdock Trust has invested in Imagine Children’s Museum. The Trust funded two prior capital campaigns, including the Museum’s initial project that helped renovate an old bank building into their current location, and a second project to convert an attached parking garage into museum space.
“We’re incredibly grateful to the Murdock Trust for their continued investment in our museum and in educational play for children,” said Dr. Clay Wertheimer, board president for Imagine Children’s Museum.
About M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust
The Murdock Trust, created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, provides grants to organizations in five states of the Pacific Northwest—Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington—that seek to strengthen the region’s educational, spiritual and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways. Since its inception in 1975, the Trust has awarded more than 6,700 grants totaling more than $1 billion. For more information, find the Murdock Trust on Twitter,Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and on our website.
August 18, 2020
Downtown Everett