One More Grant Needed to Complete Project
by Alex Miller
MUNCIE, Ind.-Nails, glue, paint, wood and manual labor. These elements are coming together to create a new indoor playground for toddlers in the Muncie Children's Museum.
The project expected to draw more toddlers to the museum comes with a cost.
Professor Pam Harwood and her students from Ball State’s College of Architecture and Planning got some help from various sources to finish the job.
The estimated cost for the entire project is just shy of $65 thousand. The Boren and George and Francis Ball foundations each chipped in $25 thousand. But that leaves a $15 thousand hole to fill.
Although the final $15 thousand accounts for close to none of the construction elements, Harwood said the money they still need would cover what might be the most important element for the Tot Spot to be complete.
“We plan on buying toys, books, puppets and all sorts of other things like that with the next grant,” she said. “These elements will help bring stories to life for the kids.”
Anna Deripaska, materials expert for the team of students working on the tugboat, said the money is getting tight as the deadline to finish the project nears.
“We’re going to be like right on [the budget],” Deripaska said.
With a sneak-peak for the community to see the new area of the museum scheduled for Friday, the Tot Spot team said they hope the next grant will come in soon.
The grand opening for the completed Tot Spot is planned for the fall, and Harwood said she hopes one of their potential donors can come through sometime in the next few months.
“We will definitely get it," she said. "We just don’t know if we will get it by the summer.”
