PEABODY — The city’s temporary children’s museum will be around a little longer.
Originally slated to close at the end of June, CuriousCity, the “pop up” museum for children at the George Peabody House & Leather Workers Museum, has been extended through August.
Launched in March, the 3,000-square-foot fun space which features exhibits designed for youngsters ages 2-10 has attracted more than 4,000 visitors from 99 communities in 13 states during its first 10 weeks, and netted $14,000 in ticket sales, according to organizers.
“Now that we’ve been up and running for three months, we’re in a groove, we’re self-sustaining, and we don’t want to lose the momentum,” said Camille Bartlett, president of the Peabody Cultural Collaborative. “We are lucky the city and Peabody Historical Society allowed us to stay, but we need a permanent space.”
One place under consideration has been the shuttered St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Washington Street, which the city purchased in 2016 for $650,000.
Mayor Edward Bettencourt Jr. said the city bought the 110-year-old, 11,000-square-foot brick building to prevent a developer from turning the property into housing. The location was not the right place for a residential project, he said.
While providing hours of play and learning, the pop-up was intended to test the idea of a museum as a way to entice families to Peabody by creating a destination.
“The project demonstrated it has the ability to attract visitors from outside the city and … restaurants experienced increased business from visitors of the museum,” said Deanne Healey, president of Peabody Main Streets, in a statement.
The mayor said the temporary museum was essential to test whether there was interest and if it would be worth the city’s investment.
“The last few months have been proof that it can work,” Bettencourt said. “Thousands of people from all over came through the doors.”
The next step, he said, it to explore the concept with the City Council and discuss the possibility of transforming the church into a museum. It will take an estimated $3.5 million to renovate the facility, he said.
It comes as the district cut nine teaching positions amid a school budget shortfall and a $36 million water and sewer project.
“It’s clear the museum will bring people to the city,” Bettencourt said.
Now, the next step is to see if his vision is shared.
The mayor likened the museum to “Field of Dreams,” the 1989 movie about an Iowa corn farmer who heard a voice telling him to build a baseball diamond in his fields, and if he did, the disgraced 1919 Chicago White Sox would come.
“The magnificent success of the CuriousCity Pop-Up Children’s Museum proves the old adage, ‘If you build it, they will come,'” he said.
The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment on Monday and Tuesday to groups. Admission is $5 per person. Many libraries have guest passes, entrance is free with CuriousCity library passes or WIC/EBT cards, and reserving tickets online is unnecessary. Tickets must be purchased in advance, online at curiouscitypeabody.org. For more information or to book a group visit, email [email protected].
