Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Children Museum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Children’s museum and library leaders ask Beaumont council to study moving museum into downtown library
Summary
Beaumont Children’s Museum leaders urged the City Council to explore repurposing the downtown library as a combined children’s museum and children’s library, citing strong visitor growth (about 60,000–63,000 annual visitors in 2024), capacity constraints, and potential downtown revitalization.
Beaumont Children’s Museum leaders asked the City Council on Nov. 5 to study whether the downtown library building could house a combined children’s museum and children’s library.
Amanda Yarbrough, representing the museum, said the organization has grown to “over 60,000 visitors” annually and proposed that a downtown relocation would expand educational programming and support downtown revitalization. “By transforming the downtown library into a collaborative space for a children's museum and children's library, we can create a successful, thriving environment tailored to the needs of families, schools, and our ongoing young community,” she said.
Taylor Blunt, events and marketing coordinator for the museum, told the council the museum has had “over 63,000 visitors so far in 2024” and asked the council to “initiate the research process into the downtown library facilities” to evaluate feasibility. Elizabeth Brown, the museum’s operations coordinator, said the museum currently faces capacity constraints—waiting lists for birthday parties and group visits—and described a proposed layout that would combine exhibits, a children’s librarian welcome desk and classroom space.
Seth Wells, president of the museum board, argued the move would be a fiscally prudent reuse of an underused city facility and said the building already has basic infrastructure that could support exhibits. Zach Stiles, speaking for the library board, said the groups have made public-records requests about the library and asked that city staff keep communication lines open while feasibility is assessed.
Councilmembers broadly expressed interest in further study. Councilman Neal publicly supported staff researching options “for both parties,” and Councilman Getz urged administration to seek collaborative opportunities. City staff said they will research costs, potential benefits and next steps; no formal action or transfer of property was taken at the meeting.
The council did not vote on the library’s use; members asked staff to return with feasibility information and options for how a combined facility might honor the library’s role while expanding children’s services.
