12/09/2025
This morning was bittersweet.
I spent three hours at Ravalli Head Start disassembling our Healthy Me: Farm to Table exhibit and moving it back into one of our overflowing storage unitsāalongside so many others.
Iām grateful for our partners who host our pop-ups, but it breaks my heart that thereās still no permanent home for a childrenās museum in our valley.
Most people donāt know thisā¦ but our museum is READY. Not theoretical. Not āin progress.ā READY.
We have 10 full exhibit areas complete: Farm to Table ā¢ Pet Care Place ā¢ The SmART Room ā¢ LEGO Room ā¢ Transportation Station ā¢ Water Ways ā¢ Construction ā¢ Eye Wiz Immersive Video Floor ā¢ The Open Book Intergenerational Library ā¢ Everyone Has Emotions.
Our pop-ups and storage overflow with hands-on learning magic: light table, weaving loom, symmetry station, chalk spinner, thousands of LEGO/DUPLO (including giant LEGO!), gear wall, racetrack, train table, puppet theater, kid-sized piano, wildlife exploration, ball & track walls, 800+ books, community helpers table, kidsā picnic area, synthetic ice rink, farmers market stands, pizza kitchen, beekeeping exhibit, microscopes, giant fabric insects, vet clinic, earthquake tableā¦ and so much more.
Hereās the truth: our small but mighty board has done everything possible with our passion and resources. But now, we need more than a building. To open, we need:
ā¢ A space at little to no cost during an upstart period,
ā¢ Financial partners to help cover rent, or
ā¢ A community member or business willing to sponsor, donate, or share a building.
This is the only barrier between a museum in storage and a museum serving the public. We have everything except the space, and thatās where our community can change everything.
Weāre not asking for a handout. Weāre asking for partnership, collaboration, and a chance to invest in something that will benefit families, businesses, and the entire Bitterroot Valley.
If you know a property owner, business leader, landlord, or developerāor can help sponsor rentāplease reach out. And if you share this post, youāre helping too.
Our kids deserve a place to explore, learn, create, wonder, and play. Letās bring this museum home, together.
