Bettendorf – On Friday, October 12, 2012, from 5:30-7:00 pm, the Family Museum will host a grand opening of the River and Bridges gallery for Family Museum members and VIP guests. This invitation-only event celebrates the completion of Phase I of a $1.2 million renovation. Media outlets are welcome to attend.
Phase I (of three) includes a 28 foot indoor waterplay table which resembles an actual stretch of the Mississippi River and allows guests to add obstacles and raise or lower water levels as they watch their boat make the journey down the river. Visitors will play on three new bridge structures designed to look and feel like the I-74 Bridge, the Arsenal Bridge, and the Centennial Bridge. The gallery brings the bridges of the Quad Cities into the Family Museum and puts children and families into, onto, and over these magnificent structures. Through sounds, games, and hands-on building materials, these bridges become accessible to people of all ages. Various stations throughout the gallery include a bridge art table, a bridge building area, a wooden train track, and an interactive crane. Clouds, geese flying in the sky, and hand-painted river murals spanning two walls surround guests and make the experience truly breathtaking.
This Family Museum renovation has been made possible through the generosity of the following organizations: City of Bettendorf, Scott County Board of Supervisors, State of Iowa - Vision Iowa CAT Grant, Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, Alcoa Foundation, Scott County Regional Authority, Riverboat Development Authority, Modern Woodmen of America, Dorothea LeClair Bequest, Family Museum Foundation, Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, 3M Foundation, Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, and Grainger.
Phase II is scheduled to begin January 2, 2013.
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