Jared Mills, a teacher and coach at Olentangy Liberty schools, told the Delaware County Board of Commissioners on June 12 that a local group is exploring development of a children's museum to serve children ages 3 to 10.

"Delaware County does not have a children's museum," Mills said, and he described the project's mission as "providing a safe environment for children to develop as learners through the action of play." He said the group has discussed potential partnerships with Delaware City Council and Ohio Wesleyan University and has studied models in other Ohio cities, including Mansfield.

The board asked about next steps and staff engagement. Commissioner Gary Merrill noted the county had assigned a staff member to follow up after a May 2024 meeting and said that staff reported little returned communication; Merrill encouraged clearer outreach and recommended visiting Mansfield's museum to see a model of incremental growth. Mills said Ohio Wesleyan had expressed interest but had competing projects and that the group's conversations with the university are currently "on hold." Administrator Tracy Davies said staff had met with Mills and a student volunteer and recommended the group also speak with established nonprofits such as Boardman Arts Park to learn how they secured initial funding.

Mills presented data from the Association of Children's Museums showing statewide and national economic and educational impacts and noted Delaware County's demographic that about 24% of the population is age 18 or younger, which he said supports the potential volunteer and audience pool. Commissioners expressed interest in learning more but did not take formal action.

Mills asked, "what are our next steps?" and commissioners volunteered to help identify comparator sites and to coordinate a possible county vehicle visit to Mansfield; no date or formal county commitment was made during the meeting.