Kids will be climbing the walls after Oneida County gives Utica Children's Museum $500K

Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch
·2 min read

Most parents probably have at some point complained that their children were driving them up the wall.

Well, at the Utica Children’s Museum, opening later this year, turnabout will be fair play. It will be the kids climbing the walls.

The museum’s rotunda will include a 30-foot-long, 16-foot-high climbing areas thanks to $500,000 in funding from Oneida County and its American Rescue Plan Act funding, county Executive Anthony Picente Jr. announced Tuesday.

The Climber, seen in this artist's rendering, will provide a space for kids to climb and explore in the rotunda of the new Utica Children's Museum opening later this year. Oneida County has provided $500,000 in funding for the project.
The Climber, seen in this artist's rendering, will provide a space for kids to climb and explore in the rotunda of the new Utica Children's Museum opening later this year. Oneida County has provided $500,000 in funding for the project.

“The Climber exhibit will be the signature feature of the new Children’s Museum Rotunda,” he said. “It’s the first thing visitors will see when they enter, creating a wall of fun adjacent to the main staircase. And it will also be seen from the outside, signaling to passersby the spirit of adventure that awaits inside.”

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As fun as the Climber is expected to be, it’s about a whole lot more than just fun, officials said.

In the course of going up and down a series of ramps, platforms and curves, and climbing up to two lookout nests at the top, kids will overcome physical challenges and have the opportunity to take safe risks. They’ll develop gross motor skills, gain confidence in their physical capabilities and learn to share spaces and communicate with others, officials said. 

Oneida County has given the Utica Children's Museum $500,000 to build the Climber, seen here in an artist's rendering. The space in the new museum's rotunda will let kids climb and explore. The museum is expected to open later this year.
Oneida County has given the Utica Children's Museum $500,000 to build the Climber, seen here in an artist's rendering. The space in the new museum's rotunda will let kids climb and explore. The museum is expected to open later this year.

The new museum, located at Holland Avenue and the Memorial Parkway, will include exhibits that relate to the region with focuses on diverse areas including STEAM, the trades, the four seasons and the cultures that make up the area. The museum will be one feature in nonprofit ICAN’s Family Resource Center, which will also include ICAN programs and a community room that other organizations may use.

The former Utica Children’s Museum on Main Street closed in 2020.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Oneida County gives Utica Children's Museum ARPA money for climbing area

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