The Southeast Missouri Children's Museum board of directors is close to realizing its dream for a museum in downtown Cape Girardeau, but just how close depends on money.

Board president Martha Brown said the organization has raised about $220,000 in donations for the Discovery Playhouse. Another $70,000, she said, is needed to finish renovating the first floor of the old Walther's building at 502 Broadway.

That building will replace the children's museum that was once in West Park Mall.

Brown said the museum could open within two months of the money being raised. The Discovery Playhouse previously was set to open in late spring.

Costs have been kept down by buying renovation materials at salvage value, and museum board of directors vice president Kevin Priester has led volunteers in carrying out much of the grunt work.

Southeast Missouri Children's Museum board of directors president Martha Brown, left, and vice president Kevin Priester talk about funding for the museum. Brown said $70,000 more is needed to finish renovating the first floor of the 23,000-square-foot building at 502 Broadway (Elizabeth Dodd)

"Just clearing it out and gutting it, you know, was a huge undertaking," Priester said.

But professionals are required for jobs such as plumbing and electrical wiring, which account for much of the museum's funding needs. The museum board has been working with the Community Development Corp., an organization of local banks, to get those funds. The Community Development Corp. has discussed extending the museum a line of credit equal to commitments from donors in the community.

Businesses that donate are eligible for a 50 percent state tax credit, and up to 30 percent of donations from individuals is typically tax-deductible because the museum is a not-for-profit organization.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau has already recommended that the city match up to $68,000 in community donations to pay for operating costs once the museum opens. The city matching grant would come from unused Convention and Visitors Bureau funds designated for tourism-related expenditures and financed by the hotel, motel and restaurant tax. The city council will vote whether to approve that funding at its Aug. 3 meeting.

"We feel very strongly that this is an attraction that will bring people into the community, and so that's why we're getting behind it," Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Chuck Martin said.

He cited the Bootheel Youth Museum in Malden, Mo., as an example of what a children's museum can bring to a community. The Malden museum attracts about 30,000 visitors each year.

"It brings in a ton of revenue" to Malden, Bootheel Youth Museum facilities manager Denton Kooyman said.

The museum's hands-on exhibits are what draw visitors from as far away as St. Louis and Farmington, Mo., he said, adding that a museum in Cape Girardeau would be more convenient for people from those areas.

Brown said the Discovery Playhouse will be a hands-on museum designed to inspire children to learn. She said it will also be a place where parents can explore with their children.

"Parents don't drop kids off here. They stay with them and play," Brown said.

The first floor will have a play area for toddlers and a refurbished 1952 firetruck. Children will be able to pretend in the "kids village" with an ATM, grocery store, hospital, pizza parlor and fitness stations. Water, art and science exhibits are also planned for the first floor.

Brown and Priester said the future possibilities for the Discovery Playhouse are limitless. They will open new exhibits on the second floor after the museum is up and running. Long-term plans include a rooftop conservatory with astronomy exhibits.

Brown said there will be an admission fee of about $4, and there will be annual membership plans. The board of directors is working with donors to provide low- and middle-income families with reduced rates.

"We want to make sure those families and kids get in here," Brown said.

She said she also expects schools to use the museum frequently for field trips.

"When we were out at the mall we had a lot of interest from schools, but that place was just too small," Brown said. "We won't have that problem here."

Donations to the Discovery Playhouse can be sent to Southeast Missouri Children's Museum, P.O. Box 1251, Cape Girardeau MO 63702.

astephens@semissourian.com

388-3654

Pertinent address:

502 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO