Children's Museum seeks input after closure

In its 30^th year, thousands of youngsters from around Western Nevada have visited the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada.

The museum is asking for input from the public on a community needs assessment survey. Survey responses will help the museum better serve the community and move forward after recent events led to its subsequent closure.

Last month, the museum made the news when a Carson City couple was found living inside with their two children and a weapons in a closet.

“We believe the first step is to involve the community in the refresh and rebrand opportunity we have today,” Nathan Tobey, president of the museum’s board of directors, said. “It would be such a shame to let something as wonderful as a children’s museum fail due to lack of participation in our time of need.”

The survey can be accessed at https://s.surveyplanet.com/whlwar89.

The Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization governed by a board of directors. The museum depends on visitor admission fees and community donations to operate. The museum receives no funding from the state or the city other than renting its current location on Carson Street for $1 per year from Carson City. CMNN has occupied its current building for 30 years

Founded in 1992, the museum features a play-based learning environment with hands-on learning adventures in the arts, sciences, and humanities.

Tobey said the board is seeking survey responses from business owners, museum visitors and nonvisitors, parents, grandparents and community leaders alike.

“We want to spread out the community needs assessment as far and wide as we can in the business community as well as community members and our out-of-town visitors to help us prepare our small nonprofit organization for future generations of museum-goers,” Tobey said.

As a local attraction, Tobey said the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada draws roughly 50 percent of its visitors from outside the area. Those visitors shop in local stores and eat at local restaurants, among the many other activities they enjoy in Carson City.

“With community support, sustained corporate sponsorship and more oversight with an active, fundraising board, the museum could once again become a jewel in the crown of the capital city,” Tobey said.