Humble beginnings …. a Museum Without Walls

aMuse’um, has been serving the children of Maury County, the greater Nashville area, and our seven surrounding counties since 2009.

The joyful mission of aMuse'um is to spark unbridled learning for young children from all backgrounds through play.

At that time, volunteers with small children organized a public meeting where they asked about the needs of children in our area. They heard that:

• Our children and families needed a safe place where all children are welcome to learn and play.

• Local schools and educators needed a supportive extracurricular learning environment.

• Our area needed a high profile family destination.

Armed with this information, they envisioned a downtown space that would serve as an educational museum just for children. They spread the word of a children’s museum with a “Museum without Walls” exhibit, which took a museum experience to local schools and festivals.

After a successful three-month summer program that served as a pilot museum, volunteers worked on a permanent location, and aMuse’um opened in its current space in 2011.

aMuse’um has been a great testament to our community’s commitment to our children, families, and to the revitalization of our downtown district. The museum has become a meeting place, an educational venue, a school-break destination, and a draw to our historic downtown area. aMuse’um has brought more than 80,000 visitors to downtown Columbia.

These families not only visit your downtown children’s museum, but they also dine in our restaurants, shop in our stores, purchase fuel for their vehicles, and significantly impact our local economy.  We are proud to contribute to the lives of children, their education, and to our local economy in such a tangible way.
 
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, aMuse’um is proud to give to the local community by distributing over 14,000 free day passes and providing free programming to nonprofit organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, free field trips for Kings Daughters Center for Autism and partners with Museums for All.