The Childrens' Museum of St. Tammany held its grand opening ribbon cutting ceremonies Tuesday in its new location in Mandeville. About 50 people attended the event, along with a couple dozen children who tried out the many new exhibits in the museum.
Click on the images to make them larger.
Confetti accompanied the event
Christy Myers, executive director of the museum, welcomed those present and gave information about the museum, how it started, and how it recently moved into a new location at 813 Florida St., Suite A, Mandeville, just west of Pelican Park.
A number of public officials were on hand for the occasion, including Frank Jabbia, Superintendent of Schools; Mayor Clay Madden of Mandeville, Mayor Mark Johnson of Covington, and former Superintendent of Schools Trey Folse.
Christy Myers speaks to the gathering. Ann Habisreitinger Barre , who
is the President of the Board of Trustees and owner of Huntington Learning Center in Mandeville, also made a few remarks.
Mayor Madden welcomes the museum to his city.
In her remarks before the Ribbon Cutting Myers said, "We are excited to welcome you to our official ribbon cutting and 7th birthday party of the Reimagined Children's Museum of St. Tammany.
"Someone recently asked me what are we calling this day since it is now our second grand opening, and he used the word reimagined. I thought it was very appropriate as we took everything from our former museum location and placed it in this new space...just a little different concept.
"We have gone from galleries that have walls to now an open concept museum....but with 1,000 more square feet, inside bathrooms and a private party room," Myers went on to say.
She introduced Mandeville Mayor Clay Madden and he was pleased to welcome the museum within his city limits.
The Move
Christy Myers commented that "We all know that this move was unexpected but certainly a blessing in disguise. It did take a village to get us to this point, and I would be remiss not to mention those individuals and companies that shared the vision of opening a children's museum in a new location within six months of an unanticipated move."
She thanked the school board and Past President of the Museum's Board of Trustees, Leslie Martin, for their assistance during that time, which allowed the museum to successfully conduct its popular summer camp program. The Summer Camps were relocated to Marigny Elementary and were up and running on May 28th. "We are excited as we will continue to run our summer camp program at Marigny Elementary and will be able for the first time in three summers to keep the museum open all summer, instead of shutting down during the week to make space for camp."
Myers then thanked a number of individuals and companies who made the move into the new quarters possible. She mentioned Babette Bonura of the firm QHP (a generous supporter of the museum since version 1) "Even though her company is a painting company, I asked if she might be able to uninstall and reinstall the exhibits too, and she said -- I have a guy," Myers explained. Mike Tabony turned out to be the mastermind behind taking all of the exhibits down and reinstalling every single exhibit in the museum, along with Barry James.
"The 'trees' were placed, then replaced, limbs were hung, exhibits were rebuilt, walls were painted, and every sign was placed. Barry and Mike navigated some crazy questions from the CMST Staff. We could not have done it without them," Myers said.
In June, they moved the museum in two loads, including the big earth globe. Synergy Glass took down the front windows and moved the globe in, Northlake Moving Company moved the entire museum on June 30. Brent Cordell, their realtor, and Joey Champagne , the owner of the building, were recognized, as well as relocation team members Paul Myers, Ryan Myers, Ty Talamo. Members of the Design Team also included Mary Leigh Cassidy and Leslie Martin.
Myers extended a special thank you to Nat Parks, their architect, who on any given day was also their Project Manager and Superintendent on site. "Our Attorney, Greg Akers, continues to guide us on a regular basis in the right direction," she went on to say. The uninstall and reinstallation of all of the museum's techical equipment was accomplished by Safe and Sound Alarms and Al Electrical was credited for not only doing that work but also helped with answering Fire Marshal questions. Others who were thanked for their part in the move included Penske Trucking, Bart's Office and Sandy Sanders for their generous donations.
"CMST Staff Members Julie Mendes, Alliyah Brooks, Mario Christensen, Jackie Smith, Crystal Fulda and others did whatever it took to get us to our opening," Myers explained. "We became experts in whatever we needed."
The staff at Pelican Park, particularly Suzy Reeder and her team, were thanked for helping host two major events last year at that facility. There will be three more events at Pelican Park this year. Special thanks were offered to their friends at 30 by Ninety and Visit the Northshore, along with the St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce and Sign Gypsies for all their help with the ribbon cutting event.
The list of people and companies that helped with the move ranged from individual family members to large corporations, Myers said. Cleco, Chevron, and Adventure Pets were especially mentioned."We are so grateful to each and every one of you."
A Look To The Future
She concluded by saying that she had the opportunity to reflect on notes written at their first grand opening by Lisa Barnett, their Founding Board President, and those words still ring true today "as we are in our now reimagined museum," she said.
Barnett had said, "You are here because your handprint is on this project in some way. You believed in us, but most importantly, you believe in our children, their future and what a children's museum can bring to a community, to a family, to a child."
"We are not done yet," Myers then said. "We believe that we are a valuable part of the community and do enhance the quality of life in this region for our children and families. We want this museum to be a place where all children can see themselves when they walk in our doors.
"We have embarked on our strategic plan and intend to be a part of this community for years to come. Our impact in 2024, even with being closed for six months, was far and wide. We have 199 member families with 682 named individuals on the memberships.
"Our summer camp, even with a move to an alternate location, sold out at a 99% rate. We saw over 1,800 children through nine weeks of summer camp. We hosted 103 birthday parties and welcomed 3,648 individuals to these celebrations!
"Through outreach opportunities throughout our region, we brought the museum to 5,885 children and families. We welcomed 910 children to the museum for field trips, 123 teachers and 480 chaperons last year. Through special events, free admission days and regular admission days, we welcomed 10,646 to the museum.
"Our future is bright. We hope you will continue to put your handprint in the museum so that we can provide a safe, structured playful place for children and families to experience the power of play for years to come. Our children are worth the investment.
"So whether that is through visiting the museum, sponsoring an exhibit, hosting a birthday party or renting the museum for your next corporate family day, playing in our upcoming golf tournament or just coming to volunteer one Saturday, we invite you to share your time, talent and treasure to further the mission of the museum.
In closing, Myers said, "Thank you so much for being a part of this historic day in the life of the museum."
She was joined in the ribbon cutting picture by the museum Board of Directors, members of the Advisory Board and Mayors Madden and Johnson.
