'It's really a showpiece.' Step inside the renovated Experience Children's Museum

It's opening day — again — at Erie's Experience Children's Museum.

It was just a little over a year ago, on June 21, 2023, that the museum at the corner of French and East Fifth streets unveiled a new three-story, 19,000-square-foot building.

That same month, the museum's original building, located next door to the north, was closed for a top-to-bottom renovation.

On Friday morning, the museum cut the ribbon, opening the final stage of the $18 million project.

Ainslie Brosig, the museum's executive director, said she had hoped that the expansion would help boost attendance from 64,000 to 130,000 or even 140,000.

"We have blown that away already," she said.

With only one of two buildings open, she said, attendance over the last 12 months has topped 180,000.

She hopes the excitement over the renovated museum will help build on that success and add to the museum's 1,900 family memberships.

"We are really hopeful that the next couple of weeks will be crazy," she said.

What's new at the museum

Brosig said there's a lot to like at the museum's reinvented original building, which is home to three classrooms.

What's worth seeing inside the 14,500-square-foot building? Here are a few of Brosig's thoughts.

In the tank

"The second floor is the thing that stands out to me," she said. "It's my favorite part of the museum."

One of her favorite things on her favorite floor is called a tinker's tank.

"It's like the TV show 'Shark Tank,'" Brosig said. "We want kids to be able to create and invent things."

A series of displays will highlight things that have been invented in Erie, in Pennsylvania and in the region.

"We have these tinker stations that allow kids to come up with their invention and there is a pitch screen for them to pitch their idea."

A Rube Goldberg machine

The museum also features a display inspired by Rube Goldberg, the cartoonist known for his fanciful and complex machines that performed a simple task.

Brosig said the display gives the Rube Goldberg treatment to some local icons through devices that launch fireworks, propel a GE locomotive, sail the Flagship Niagara and a fasten a zipper, a nod to the Talon Zipper Co. that once produced zippers in Meadville and Erie.

Lessons in recycling

The largest display in either of the museum's two buildings is focused on recycling.

The display "features a huge garbage truck for kids to sit inside," and uses colored plastic balls to demonstrate how items are sorted, Brosig said.

The display, "talks about the whole process of recycling and how it starts at home," she said.

Family building activities

The renovated museum building also features a construction zone.

"Kids are going to use real tools," Brosig said. "It's very hands-on. We are encouraging families to spend time in this area to make things together. There is also an art studio on the first floor."

A new look for an old space

The portion of the museum that reopens Friday is designed to allow families with children of different ages to enjoy exhibits that are side-by-side.

In general, though, Brosig said the renovated space is geared for children through about fifth grade.

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"This side has an older-child vibe," she said.

The bottom line

There have been a few hiccups since the new museum building opened a year ago, Brosig said. There are plans, for instance, to update a chicken-themed exhibit that hasn't worked properly.

But she considers the museum to be an unqualified success.

Take a look inside:A new building opens soon at Erie's children's museum

"This is a museum you would expect to see in any big city," Brosig said. "I am so proud of the staff and the team that built this museum. It's really a showpiece and something Erie should be proud of"

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.