The Johnstown Children's Museum is a new project of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association. This museum is being constructed in unused space in the Heritage Discovery Center building, and is expected to open in summer 2008. JAHA is currently conducting a $8.05 million dollar capital campaign to fund the children's museum and other projects. Check this site often for details on the museum's development.

About the Johnstown Children's Museum
On November 13, 2006, JAHA held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction of the Johnstown Children's Museum. The museum will be the most visible element of Phase II of the Frank & Sylvia Pasquerilla Heritage Discovery Center's development. Phase I opened in 2001 with a permanent exhibit, "America: Through Immigrant Eyes," which focuses on the lives of immigrants and their families. That exhibit and a museum shop are located on the first floor of the building, and the second floor is a gallery used for temporary exhibits and rentals. However, the first and second floors only take up about 30,000 square feet of the 60,000 square feet available in the building. Phase I was a $6.1 million capital investment and included many physical improvements to the building, which means that the budget for architectural modifications and construction of the children's museum is substantially reduced.
The capital costs of the new museum, including architectural enhancements, exhibits and planning, total about $4.4 million, and the facility is expected to open in spring 2008. The project will result in a 7,500-square-foot children's museum themed on the Johnstown region. Additional improvements to the building include a multimedia theatre exhibit on Johnstown's steel history, classroom space, and rooftop terraces.
The Johnstown Children's Museum will help JAHA realize its overall mission of preserving and interpreting the nationally significant story of the Johnstown area, and developing cultural tourism as part of Johnstown's economic diversification plans. The facility will also enhance the quality of life in the Johnstown area by providing a resource for children and families.
The museum's lead donors are Sidney and Rae Goldblatt of Johnstown. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania matched their $1.5 million gift, which was announced in an April 2004 press conference held by Gov. Rendell at the Heritage Discovery Center. Since that time, project planning has been underway with professional consultants, local businesses and a community advisory committee. Several exhibits in the Johnstown Children's Museum have been developed in cooperation with regional industries.
For more information about how you can support the Johnstown Children's Museum, visit the JAHA Capital Campaign section of jaha.org.