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Senate committee hears request to raise legacy funding for Minnesota Children’s Museum
Summary
Sen. Pappas and Minnesota Children’s Museum president Diane Krizan asked the Legacy Finance Committee to increase annual Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund support from $500,000 to $650,000 for hands-on exhibits, outreach and free family nights.
Senator Erin Pappas presented Senate File 18 o 9 to the Senate Legacy Finance Committee, asking for an annual appropriation of $650,000 from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund for the Minnesota Children’s Museum.
The request, Senator Pappas said, would support new hands‑on exhibits, expanded family‑night outreach and free after‑hours events for partner organizations serving families with limited resources. “The bill would provide an annual $650,000 from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund to the Minnesota Children’s Museum to continue the important work they do in serving Minnesota children,” Pappas said.
Diane Krizan, president of the Minnesota Children’s Museum, told the committee the current appropriation is $500,000 and described how prior legacy funds were used to create new exhibits and broaden outreach. She said past support helped the museum host 11 family‑night events serving more than 3,400 children and adults and that the museum welcomes more than 400,000 visitors annually from every Minnesota county. “One in four of those visitors enter through a reduced price program, or free program, in some cases for income‑qualified families,” Krizan said.
Krizan outlined recent exhibit projects funded by legacy dollars, including a veterinary clinic pretend‑play area, a makerspace redesign that increased visitor engagement and an interactive fire‑fighter confidence course adapted for children. She said the requested increase would allow the museum to focus on STEM‑oriented exhibits, social‑emotional learning and deeper community engagement with Head Start and other service organizations.
No committee vote was taken. Committee staff recorded that Senate File 18 o 9 will be laid over for possible inclusion in omnibus legacy legislation.
The presentation made clear the museum’s goals are exhibit development, expanded outreach and subsidized access; Krizan did not present specific performance metrics tied to reduced recidivism or longitudinal academic outcomes. Senator Pappas and Krizan both urged committee consideration of the increased appropriation to sustain statewide programming.
