Children’s Museum gets $2M in federal cash, move to new location looms

The London Children’s Museum is getting a $2-million funding boost from the federal government, officials announced Thursday.

The museum, aiming for a late 2024 opening at 100 Kellogg Lane, now has $18 million raised toward its $23-million goal. It received $2 million from city hall in 2019.

“This investment from the government of Canada just demonstrates the value and importance of arts and culture in our communities,” said museum director Kate Ledgley. “It’s an investment in children and spaces designed for them.”

The funding will double the exhibit space for the museum to 3,300 square meters (36,000 square feet.) It anticipates about 145,000 visitors a year.

“Learning belongs to everyone, in particular kids,” said London North Center Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos, who made the announcement. “We gave (the funding) to make sure we have institutions available so they can learn.”

The federal government earlier gave an additional $500,000 from FedDev Ontario and $400,000 from cultural offices, meaning total support comes in at $2.9 million, Ledgley said.

The Ontario government has given $150,000.

“This entire Kellogg development is the perfect home, there is so much happening here. It is an incredible space,” she said.

London Mayor Josh Morgan brought his two-year-old son Archer to the announcement.

“When we supported the Children’s Museum we knew we were supporting the expansion and enhancement of the space that is loved by many in our city and region,” Morgan said. “They will have a bigger space, a modern space, where they can do more. It’s a phenomenal opportunity for our city. We have to enhance the quality of life.”

100 Kellogg Lane is among the city’s most successful redevelopments. A longtime cereal factory that closed in 2014, it has been rebuilt into an entertainment hub featuring children’s play areas, a restaurant, retail stores and soon a hotel.

It was 2018 when the Children’s Museum announced plans to leave its longtime home at a former school on Wharncliffe Road for the new location. Founded in 1975, the Children’s Museum, the first of its kind in Canada, has been a rite of childhood for generations of Londoners.

At the time of the announced eventual move, the museum’s founder, Carol Johnston, praised it. “This (current) building has been a very good start for us but there are many things we will be able to do in the new space that we can’t here.”

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