Local Children's Museum Celebrates First Year with a Bang

Zing Zumm Children's Museum of Jacksonville threw a big Birthday Bash to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of when they first opened their doors on November 30th 2018. The museum all started with 2 passionate local teachers wanting our community to have access to a Children's Museum without having to make the drive all the way to Wilmington. The process took many years but the outcome could not have been better!

If you would like to learn more about the history of Zing Zumm Children's Museum of Jacksonville, click HERE 

I was able to ask the staff of the museum a few questions about the Birthday Bash, their past, and their future:

Macaroni Kid Jacksonville (Lisa Hamilton): What goals does the Museum have for this year? (certain type of event you want to offer, new exhibit or activity at the museum, more school field trips, etc...)

Museum: In 2020 we hope to add at least one new exhibit that has been in the works for a few
years (super secret!), and that would be a spring release. We are offering memberships
in 2020 to begin January 1, 2020, details will be released to the public on December 3
(Giving Tuesday).
A major goal for us is to be working with community partners to increase access to
the museum. What I mean by that is putting together a scholarship program where
families who may not be able to afford our admission will be sponsored by a community
partner or scholarship for either a membership or individual admission passes. This idea
comes from Museums for All which is a national program: “Museums for All is a

cooperative initiative between the Association of Children's Museums (ACM) and the
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to offer a signature access program
that encourages families of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong
museum habits.”
We want Zing Zumm to be a place that all members of our community feel welcome at

Macaroni Kid Jacksonville (Lisa Hamilton): Was the event turnout what you expected?
Museum: The weather definitely gave us a scare early on last week. I do think because we had to
move everything indoors we probably didn’t see as many people as we would have, had
the weather been nicer. However, we did see over 400 people on Saturday and I’m not
upset about that at all.

Macaroni Kid Jacksonville (Lisa Hamilton): How does it feel to hit the 1-year milestone?
Museum: One year seems to have gone by so fast, and so slow! It took over a decade to get this
place going, but it seems like once we got the doors open, the sky has been the limit.
The overwhelming amount of support and visitors that we have seen is just amazing.
One year down, and million to go as far as I’m concerned!

Macaroni Kid Jacksonville (Lisa Hamilton): What was the most memorable moment from the Museum's first year?
Museum: I think the entire board would say the most memorable moments were when staff were
hired and they no longer had to work all time! Haha
-If someone would like to volunteer at the Museum what do they and not sall active duty will have to consent to and pass a background check

Macaroni Kid Jacksonville (Lisa Hamilton): If someone would like to volunteer at the Museum what do they need to do & who do
they contact?
Museum: To volunteer, visit www.zingzumm.org and click the “get Involved” tab, then “volunteer”.
Fill out the form and we will contact you right away. We accept volunteers 14 years and
older. Any one over 18 and not active duty will have to consent to and pass a
background check.

Macaroni Kid Jacksonville (Lisa Hamilton): What are other ways the community can get involved to help the Museum besides volunteering?
Museum: Besides volunteering, we are currently building our Board of Directors. If anyone is
interested, has time to work, and feels they have something they can contribute please
contact Samantha at info@zingzumm.org. Also, donations are always needed. We are
a nonprofit and rely on generous donors to help keep our doors open – admissions
don’t cover it all! Again, we are rolling out our new membership program which allows
families to not only purchase a membership but become a part of the Zing Zumm Family.

Anna & Elsa were a hit! As soon as they came out a swarm of mini Princesses all ran into the room to see them. I was in another part of the museum when this happened, it wasn't till I realized the little prince to little princess ratio significantly changed around me that Anna & Elsa arrived. The Disney Characters picked the perfect time to stop by our local museum considering Frozen II was set to be released in theatres the week following Zing Zumm's Birthday Bash on November 22nd.

For a  to find showtimes for Frozen II check AMCTheatres.com

Parked right outside of the Museum there were big trucks for both kids & adults to check out. They had a blast seeing these vehicles up close and being able to sit in the driver's seat pretending to drive made this just a little extra special for the kiddos. 

 The evening before the big Birthday Bash was the Adults Only! Night at the Museum event which looks like it was a lot of fun! 

See for yourself, check out these funny pictures!

Did you know Zing Zumm offers a Birthday Party Package to host your little one's birthday party? If you would like more information on hosting a birthday party at Zing Zumm click HERE!

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Are you a local business with a targeted audience of families & kids? I’d love to connect with you and know more about your business! Please reach out to me, I’d love to buy you a cup of coffee and chat!  LisaHamilton@MacaroniKid.com