Fort Kids Museum uses Bakery District area for temporary exhibits, to raise awareness

Future patrons and supporters of the Fort Kids Museum can get a taste of what the future children’s museum will have to offer at the Fort Kids concourse at The Bakery District in downtown Fort Smith.

Recently opened in the empty space between Fort Smith Coffee Co. and Mad Ox Bar & Tap that was once the Bookish store, before it moved to another location in the Bakery District, a small concourse of children’s hands-on activities gives an idea of some of the exhibits that will go into the Fort Kids Museum once it opens along the Arkansas River in Fort Smith, said Sarah Strom, president of the Fort Kids Board.

Strom, a Fort Smith native and daughter of Mark and Vicki Rumsey, said she had an idea that Fort Smith needed a hands-on children’s museum a few years ago. She made a post on Facebook asking if anyone else felt it was something that would benefit the city and was quickly overwhelmed with the responses.

Organizers of the museum announced in June 2023 that the Robbie Westphal family donated 5.6 acres along the river, just south of the U.S. Marshals Museum, as the site of the future Fort Kids Children’s Museum.

The Fort Kids Children’s Museum is a registered 501(c)(3) company and has a board of directors. That board has hired the museum planning company Haizlip Studio, the firm that designed the River Valley Nature Center at Chaffee Crossing and the Amazeum in Northwest Arkansas, to help with the master plan. MAHG Architecture, Inc. of Fort Smith is designing the future building.

Strom said the museum will focus on three pillars: Education, focusing on literacy and STEM-based activities; development with a focus on the whole child; and mental health. Planned exhibits will include a Playful Town that will feature a full-size food truck, a doctor’s office, a garage and auto body shop, a bank, an airplane and more. There also will be a “river” water play/climbing area, a two-story climber, an art studio, a STEM space, and hands-on open-concept areas for children over 5.

“The renderings for the exhibit areas are well underway,” she said.

But even with the progression being made, it is going to take time for the museum to be designed, built and opened. In the meantime, Strom and other members of the Fort Kids board wanted hands-on experience available to children in Fort Smith.

“I was talking to Sam Hanna about what they had planned for the area where Bookish had been (at the Bakery District,” Strom said.

Hanna said he and his family had ideas for the space, but nothing had been decided. Bill Hanna of Hanna Oil and Gas owns the Bakery District. After Strom’s inquiry, it was agreed that Fort Kids could use the area as a place to showcase some of what the museum would offer.

The space is now being transformed. There is now a miniature version of a food truck, an art station, an area with Legos and other areas for educational play. While the area is open for children to visit and explore, more exhibits are coming, Strom said. She expects it will be complete by the middle of August. Harbor House has agreed to donate exhibits and Strom’s parents are going to donate some pieces as well, she said.

“Harbor House said that this is really prevention and good for mental health because it’s all about connections – children and their connection with parents and caregivers. It helps in development,” Strom said.

And because the space is being offered free of rent and board members have donated other items for the space, none of the capital raised for the museum are being spent on the area, Strom said.

“We really see a need and we want to fill that need now. The Hannas have been really generous, and we’re able to do something,” Strom said, noting that she has had great feedback from people who are using the space.

She also said the space will help raise awareness of the future children’s museum, which could help with the fundraising. Fort Kids has raised about $1.8 million in its capital campaign. They have an overall goal of $16.5 million. In-kind donations raise their total revenue to $3.3 million, Strom said.

The museum will be about 20,000 square feet, with the total cost, including construction, exhibits and start-up costs are expected to be around $16.3 million. The vision of Fort Kids Children’s Museum is to “provide a safe and inviting space for all children and grown-ups to learn through play, sparking curiosity, joy, and confidence. Through hands-on exhibits, exploration, and education, we envision empowering children to connect to themselves, others, and the world to build a brighter future.”

Fort Kids is partnering with the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education’s Physical Therapy and
Occupational Therapy programs to ensure that the children’s museum will have a universal design. All the museum exhibits will be interactive and completely hands-on, she said.

According to the group’s brochure, children’s museums are a community-wide investment in children and families. The museums also serve as attractions and positively impact a city’s economy, it said. Research indicates that the average children’s museum visitor will spend $23 and an average tourist about $38 beyond the cost of admission in nearby restaurants and shops.