Explorations V Rebrands As Florida Children’s Museum
by James Coulter
In preparation for moving to its new location next year, Explorations V Children’s Museum in Lakeland rebranded itself with a new name and logo.
Explorations V officially announced its new name, Florida’s Children Museum, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted last Saturday at Munn Park, right across the street from its current location.
The 30-year-old children’s museum will be moving into its new location at Bonnet Springs Park in 2022. The 47,800 square-foot facility, which is currently under development, will allow for double the attendance and is expected to draw in an estimated 100,000 annual visitors, according to a press release.
“We are not building a bigger place. We are building a bigger purpose,” said Kerry Falwell, Museum CEO, in the release. “Almost 2 million people have given Explorations V the opportunity to serve their family over the last 29 years. Florida Children’s Museum will carry on the tradition with pride and well into the future.”
Founded in 1991, Explorations V, true to its original name, was created with the emphasis of teaching children about the five senses through its exhibits. The Florida Children’s Museum hopes to continue its three-decade-long legacy with a more modern feel.
“The purpose of the rebranding is to help more families find us and connect with our learning environments,” said Falwell via e-mail. “A new brand helps navigate these big changes. We will serve the modern family complete with emerging needs that just weren’t around when we started almost 30 years ago.”
With the upcoming new facility about to contain more than double the capacity of the original location, Falwell hopes that the museum will draw in more visitors and that more families will enjoy what it has to offer for children and parents alike.
If anything, the turnout during the rebranding ceremony on Saturday showed how much the local community has come to embrace the museum and how many people have been inspired by it since its humble beginnings, Falwell said.
“What a great way to start a Saturday,” she said. “This was an important step in helping connect the community with our bigger purpose when we move to Bonnet Springs Park…We hope to bring as much joy to families in the future as we have since 1991. We will serve all children through curating the world for them to explore. Ultimately, we want to inspire a community of curious explorers.”
The vision of the new facility at Bonnet Springs Park, according to its website, is:
· To open the doors of a children’s museum that re-defines informal learning beyond 21st Century teaching.
· To provide a community resource that strengthens families.
· To conduct research that advances our understanding of how children learn, how families achieve together, and what Central Florida needs as we raise the next generation.
· To engage a community of curious explorers.
Florida’s Children Museum is expected to open sometime next year. For more information, visit their website at: https://explorationsv.com/bonnetspringspark/
