Museum outlines Young Explorer Center plans after $5.7 million endowment gift

The Virginia Museum of Natural History’s executive committee reviewed preliminary designs for a Young Explorer Center and discussed how a new $5,700,000 endowment will be used to launch the project.

Unidentified Director, in the committee’s director’s report, said the museum’s foundation received an endowment gift of $5,700,000 and that "most of that is unrestricted," allowing the foundation to use short-term earnings to fund priority projects. "Short-term parking in CDs should mature in January and give us about a 100 and estimated $20,000 to get started," the director said, and added the foundation plans to spend revenues for impact projects during the first two years before moving to a ~5% spending rule beginning around 2027.

Why it matters: trustees said the endowment materially increases the museum’s capacity to invest in exhibits and education programming. Committee members framed the Young Explorer Center as both a mission and a potential membership-driving asset for families in Martinsville and Henry County, areas the committee noted lack other options for young children.

Design and program details: an unidentified presenter showed slide examples of a children’s gallery roughly 1,600–1,700 square feet designed for interactive, hands-on elements for ages roughly 2–3 up to third grade. Proposed components include low-tech mechanical play ($4,000 example), buildable foam “bones” for group play, rotating exhibit elements on rollers, and optional features such as a watercolor wall and limited water-play elements. Presenters emphasized mixing higher-end features with more affordable, adaptable pieces and rotating elements to keep the space fresh.

Budget and schedule: the committee said initial interior maintenance-reserve projects (flooring, doors, mechanical door hardware) will be paid from reserves before more substantial exhibit purchases. The director said the museum is "shooting for 2027 to have all the work done," and that the foundation intends to use early endowment earnings to make a visible impact (for example, naming the Young Explorer Center) before settling into a long-term spending policy.

Attribution and next steps: committee members urged staff to visit peer institutions and children's museums to evaluate durable, well-tested exhibit elements. The committee plans to introduce the new exhibit manager to the full board in February and expects more detailed cost estimates and phasing plans to appear at upcoming board and foundation meetings.