Children's Museum of Findlay offers 'child-directed' play

FINDLAY — There are very few places where a kid can pretend to be a veterinarian, dress up like a firefighter, learn about recycling, perform on stage, play ice hockey and drive a sheriff's car. But it's all in a day's work at the Children's Museum of Findlay, located in the Findlay Village Mall. Executive director Linnea DiBerardino said the museum is a place where the focus is hands-on learning for children from birth through age 10, with plenty of room to play and explore in roughly 10,000 square feet of space. "Everything we have in here is somehow learning focused," she said. "The kids just don't realize they're learning, but they comprehending, they're matching something, they're interacting with their peers. And all these are skills they're going to need when they go on to school." The museum was started by Nikki and Jim Bonomo, a couple who moved to Findlay from Detroit in 2011 and felt that there wasn't enough for kids to do. Two and a half years later, a small-scale children's museum known as Little Main Street opened at the east end of the mall near what was then Sears. Stations were modeled after places children see every day such as a bank, grocery store and firehouse. "It shows kids what adults do in their daily life," DiBernardino said. "Mostly it is child-directed play. The kids kind of self-direct. They know what to do. They know how to play." Little Main Street When the museum opened, the mall location was supposed to be temporary. But after becoming established in the space for about 18 months, member families were surveyed and said the mall was the ideal location. "Parking is convenient. It's safe and easy getting kids in and out of the museum. They decided to stay," DiBernardino said. Many of the businesses on Little Main Street are sponsored by local companies who support the museum. The sponsors pay an annual fee which helps support upkeep and rotation of exhibits, replenishing supplies and daily operations of the museum. DiBernardino said each exhibit is evaluated annually. "We are always trying to gauge where the kids are playing. If they're not, we need to add something new to make sure that nothing gets stale and that the sponsors are getting their money out of investing in this service for kids," she explained. "We have a bank here, a veterinarian, a grocery store, a hospital — so a lot of the things that kids are going to see in daily life they're going to see in Little Main Street. But then they get to be the caretaker or they get to be the grocery shopper and do all of the things," she said. The hospital has a nursery with baby dolls to care for and even part of a decommissioned Hanco ambulance to explore. The veterinarian clinic filled with stuffed animals is a favorite with children as well, DiBernardino said. "So you'll often see an animal where they've pretended to be the doctor, but then they're bringing the animal into the house and playing with it." Playing in the dentist's office — with giant toothbrushes and teeth — may put some children at ease when they visit the dentist for a real appointment. "The dentist can be scary for kids. But this is a good way for especially really young kids playing here, they think it's fun. And then when they go to the real dentist, it's not so scary," DiBernardino said. Children can pretend to be a teacher at the schoolhouse; shovel loads of stone with tractors and trucks at the quarry; and deliver mail from the post office to the various businesses. The firehouse at the museum was built as a project of a local Eagle Scout, DiBerardino said. There is an area where children can also play interactive games, try their hand at a climbing wall and build constellations in a glow room. Keeping its spot in the mall A few years ago, the museum expanded another 5,000 square feet through one of the existing walls. The newer area adds more gross motor activities, a stage with costumes for performing, musical instruments to play, books to read, and a campfire area and clubhouse. An area added last March provides a place to mimic ice skating and playing ice hockey using soft foam pucks and sticks. "It just kind of extends our age range. We're always trying to make sure we're not aging out kids too fast," DiBernardino said. "So when you have a 3-year-old and then an 8- or 9-year-old, you want to make sure that there's things that those older kids can do, too, that they like." One of the newest exhibits features half of a retired sheriff's car that has been outfitted for the museum. "Kids can get into it. They can turn the lights on. I'm sure there are going to be some games of cops and robbers with the bank right over there," she said with a laugh. There are large, connected tunnels for climbing, and big foam blocks for building. Due to the pandemic, a popular foam pit has been closed temporarily. The pit will return when COVID has passed, she said. In the meantime, staff members use an electrostatic sprayer and physically clean and sanitize surfaces daily. The museum will be keeping its spot in the mall, DiBernardino said, noting that the Hancock County Board of Commissioners recently announced plans to buy part of the complex to house juvenile and probate courts and other county offices. "We talked to the commissioners and they said they have no intention of kicking anybody out," she said. "I'm excited about it. It will be very good for us to have a locally owned space. I hope that it increases traffic and it increases confidence that we're going to be here and also that everybody else is going to be here and just that the mall will become something more than it is." Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $7 per person for anyone over age 2. Memberships are also available, and the museum has an area that can be rented for birthday parties. Wolf: 419-427-8419