Wenatchee Valley Museum outlines plan to convert former Valley Academy into expanded museum; groundbreaking planned for 2026

Mariah Thornock, executive director of the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, presented a multiphase capital plan to the Wenatchee School District board that includes leasing the former Valley Academy facility, building a new plaza and a new front entrance toward Centennial Park, and constructing immersive, bilingual exhibits.

Thornock said the museum serves roughly 60,000 people annually, about 40% of them students, and that the existing building has accessibility and capacity limitations. The proposed design would shift the primary entrance to Wenatchee Avenue and Centennial Park, add an accessible ramp and plaza for school buses and events, and create a new lobby connecting two historic post‑office buildings.

Planned features include a re‑sited children’s area called Coyote’s Corner close to the entrance, an interactive “coming down the river” hydropower exhibit, an ice‑age immersive theater, a valley gallery with local history, bilingual exhibits co‑curated with the Colville Confederated Tribes, classrooms and maker space for after‑school STEM and robotics programs, an art gallery and a workforce‑training café in partnership with the Wenatchee Valley Technical Skills Center. Thornock said the museum has more than 100,000 items in its collection and needs additional storage and climate‑controlled spaces to protect artifacts.

Thornock said the project is dependent on funding and planning approvals; the museum is targeting a 2026 groundbreaking. “Groundbreaking will happen in 2026,” she said, adding the schedule “depends on funding and all of the things that come into facility planning.”

Board members welcomed the partnership and noted the district’s role in making Valley Academy space available for the museum’s needs. No board vote on the lease or on funding occurred during the presentation.