Board’s Eye View

Posted on: Nov 19th, 2013

A Board Member’s perspective of CMFDL:

The Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac is changing just like our Wisconsin seasons.  With a new building, new exhibits, both indoor and outdoor spaces, and a diverse group of visitors our Museum is as colorful as the fall leaves.  I feel lucky to have observed the bustling activity on such a recent Saturday.  For my youngest daughter, Madelyn’s “very first play-date ever”, as she would say, with a friend from school, the Museum was our destination.

I found the Museum to be a place that both young and old enjoy.  It is also a welcoming place for everyone.  It was delightful to watch a mother in her wheelchair scoot close to her small child so they could “fish” together.  Seeing the happiness radiate from the young child’s face and her mother’s ability to join her, brought me joy.  While enjoying some “pizza”, I spoke with grandparents from West Bend.  They brought their grandchildren, ages 3, 5, and 8 years old to the Museum.  The grandma remarked how wonderful it is to have a place to go that can entertain all the kids.  She said, “Not many places do that anymore because of their ages”.  They are frequent visitors to a museum in Milwaukee but much preferred the short drive to Fond du Lac and plan on returning often.  Another local grandparent was spending a “special day” with her five-year old granddaughter and they were seen laughing while dressing the stick figures in the WinnePLAYgo outdoor area.  The Museum offers great opportunities to practice cooperative play like taking turns and deciding who should go first on the tricycle bike path outside.  I even got in a mini-workout pedaling a big bike to make the stop lights work!  However, I especially liked seeing a Dad and his two boys trying to “out-do” each other’s engineering plans in the ball drop area.

That Saturday at the Museum, I had a great sense of community.  A variety of ages were exploring new things, reaching out to others, and joining in play.  The Museum is certainly a fun place to visit.  After 3½ hours, we left the Museum to bring Madelyn’s friend home.  Earnestly, her friend remarked, “Thank you, Mrs. Reilley, for bringing me to the Museum.  I could have stayed all day.”  You know…I could have, too.  Thank you, Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac, indeed.

– Heather Reilley, CMFDL Board Member