Children’s Museum of Eau Claire Eau Claire, Wisconsin
The loft-like two-story museum, supported by sprightly whole tree columns, acts as an armature for hands-on exhibits and technology to stimulate the imagination of young people.
Location
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Sector
Arts
Service
Architecture
Client
Children's Museum of Eau Claire
Status
Completed
Size
24,000 SF
The Children’s Museum of Eau Claire has come a long way from its humble beginnings in a repurposed storefront fourteen years ago. The museum’s new home, a distinctive 25,000-square-foot, carbon-neutral structure in this northern Wisconsin city of 70,000 residents, ignites the imagination of young people and inspires discovery in children of all ages. Since opening this new hub of engagement eighteen months ago,
family membership has soared by 400%, and the museum has welcomed over 150,000 visitors – a remarkable testament to the project’s success. The colorful, flexible interior space offers non-traditional learning opportunities that assist kids of all ages make their way through important developmental milestones. It inspires discovery and creativity, and as activities and opportunities for kids’ growth evolve in future decades, the installations within the museum can be reimagined without affecting the building structure. It joins other local and regional resources to provide an accessible but secure, fun, and educational space for all ages.
Its Barstow Street location signals entry to the reimagined heart of downtown Eau Claire. The new micro-sized structure’s prominent corner bay window marks this destination for Chippewa Valley families. Viewing ports provide vistas and an overlook to surrounding neighbors. The tactile precast concrete cladding with bark-like texture and a dozen other circular windows embrace the city while enlivening this sustainable carbon-neutral community resource.
Integrating it into the design and user experience was a key objective. This sustainable community resource integrates structural, mechanical, and electrical systems into the teaching environment, making them a visible part of the overall museum learning experience. Harvested from renewable sources following managed forest practices, 31 whole tree columns and 126 whole tree trusses and girders, used as structural round timber members, are readily visible to all visitors. For children and adults alike, the massive tree trunks provide a familiar, recognizable support system for the second floor and museum roof.
Awards
- Metropolis 2024 Planet Positive Award
- AIA Wisconsin, 2024 Special Recognition Design Award