Curious Kids’ Museum considering expanding exhibits as renovations continue

St. Joseph, MI. (WNDU) - After most of its exhibits burnt down in a fire one month ago, Executive Director Lori Marciniak says the Curious Kids’ Museum will be getting a new look but maybe not as soon as expected.

“Nobody would go through a fire to get to this point. It’s horrendous. But we are at this point so why not turn this tragedy into something amazing. Lets make the museum just the best it could be and update some things. Maybe the layout for this building isn’t exactly perfect for a museum. Well, now is the time. It’s never going to be empty like this again,” Marciniak told 16 News Now Wednesday.

Marciniak says instead of repairing the museum within the original 60-day time frame, she filed to amend a lease agreement with the city to allow the museum more time to be renovated.

“The city is supposed to restore the facility as quickly as possible and as Curious Kids’ Museum indicated, they are not sure they want the building restored as quickly as possible. They may like it back in some other configuration and they don’t want work done that then might be undone that makes things better for the museum in the future,” John Hodgson, the City Manager of St. Joseph says.

And while most exhibits were burnt nearly to the studs, Marciniak says creating new ones will leave kids just as curious, if not more than before.

“We don’t want to be down any longer than we have to but we also don’t want to rush and just put it back the way it was if there is a better way. We are just exploring with architects, general contractors, and museum master planners how to make this the best children’s museum we can for St. Joe,” Marciniak says.

If everything goes as planned, officials say they expect to reopen a fully renovated Curious Kids’ Museum by the summer of 2023.

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