Members of the Board of Trustees joined children to break ground on an $8-million dollar early-learning center Tuesday morning.
BRADENTON — The Mosaic Foundation approached South Florida Museum's Board of Trustees five years ago and said they'd like to do a little bit more for the museum's children's area.
At a groundbreaking Tuesday, the museum's Chief Operating Officer Jeff Rodgers said the rest of the conversation went something like this:
"How about we do a little bit of paint to brighten up the children's area?" the museum's board asked in response.
"Think bigger," Mosaic replied.
"How about we bust down this wall," the museum said.
"Think bigger," Mosaic replied.
Mosaic wasn't offering to renovate the decades old museum, they were offering to chip in more than $1 million to kick off an expansion that would increase the size of the museum by 20 percent. The Mosaic Backyard Universe and North Education Center, a learning center for kids ages 2 to 8, will cost an estimated $8 million to construct.
Construction for the new facility is already underway on the site of the museum's north parking lot at 10th Street West and Barcarrota Avenue.
"That conversation snowballed along with excitement," said Mosaic spokeswoman Jackie Barron recalling her meeting with the museum's Board of Trustees. "My supervisors said, 'Lets see what we can do here.' It wasn't something we took on lightly, but given how much respect we have had for staff and leadership in place, that's what made it a no-brainer. It really is a cornerstone of the community."
The original plans for the new learning center called for construction on a platform above the parking area, but by a stroke of luck, the city said they were planning to build a new parking garage across the street.
With the museum no longer needing on-site parking, they used Mosaic's gift to rip out the lot for the Mosaic Backyard Universe and North Education Center.
"Sometimes when a community is developing and building this way, everything falls into place," Rodgers said. "This was one of those times."
The project will give children an opportunity to explore and understand the world around them — a typical backyard. The North Education Center will contain a lobby area, multi-purpose learning spaces — two new classrooms and two renovated classrooms — and an outdoor programming and event area.
The North Education Center will feature 12,600-square-feet of classrooms and 15,300-square-feet of event space. The Mosaic Backyard Universe features a 5,000-square-foot exhibition area that can be changed often.
Exhibits scheduled for the backyard universe include: a porch in a typical Florida backyard, a freshwater ecosystem (a pond) with fish and amphibians, a mini-planetarium and look back in time, a 30-foot-tall oak tree, a tree fort and canopy, a shed to use tools and materials, a butterfly house and several other activities.
The "Space and Time Machine" virtual activities were created by Ringling College students.
"Weekends we’ll have family programs, afternoons we’ll have mommy-and-me hours," Rodgers said.
The new space will also be home to the Ballard Elementary School satellite voluntary pre-kindergarten class.
"It’s one of those keystone projects," Rodgers said. "It helps to connect the Riverwalk into downtown with a family setting right here."
The expansion will be connected to the rest of the museum, and required the board to create a new campus plan that plots the museum's course for the next 15 years. It was a plan that wasn't being considered five years ago, Rodgers said.
"It all started with Mosaic pushing us to think bigger," he said.
The last major renovation at the museum was completed in 2005 — four years after an electrical fire destroyed the Bishop Planetarium and damaged a newly-completed education wing. Part of the wing re-opened in 2002, and a new planetarium and theater opened in 2005.
"The museum is brand new for a new generation now," Rodgers said.
The museum raised over $14 million for the project that covers incidentals, infrastructure, a cooling system and a new roof. It also paid the cost of the planetarium upgrade and purchase of the Hernando DeSoto Historical Society building, which makes the South Florida Museum the owners of a full block of downtown Bradenton.