StillWonder has $1 million, a downtown building and Maggie the cow. Now it needs $2 million more.
The 10,612-square-foot building is about the size of the WONDERtorium, and some of that museum's exhibits are coming with it.
StillWonder plans to open Stillwater's first children's museum since 2020 at 615 S. Main St. in summer 2027, after raising more than $1 million toward a $3 million campaign, the nonprofit announced Thursday.
StillWonder is finalizing a lease on the 10,612-square-foot downtown building, said Sara Brown, the organization's volunteer executive director and board chair. The nonprofit is asking the community to commit the remaining $2 million of its Build Wonder Campaign by Dec. 31, according to a news release from the organization.
The building is close in size to the WONDERtorium, which offered 10,000 square feet of interactive exhibits at 308 W. Franklin Lane and drew more than 325,000 visitors over nine years before closing Dec. 31, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic cut into attendance and fundraising. StillWonder formed in 2023 to fill that gap. Since then, it has run free pop-up learning events across town, including regular series at The Botanic Garden at OSU, to show there is demand for a permanent museum.
Brown said those pop-ups kept the effort alive during the hardest stretches of fundraising.
"Every time you have a hard day and you're thinking about giving up, and I almost gave up a few times, I'd go run a pop-up, and it was a renewed life seeing the excitement, seeing the joy," Brown said. "It's pure joy on these kids' faces."
Why this building
StillWonder has searched for a space to lease and Brown said the organization looked at many sites and had several close calls before settling on the South Main Street building. It had been searching for roughly 10,000 square feet, enough room to feel open while letting parents keep their children in sight.
"I love the urban feel of it. I love that it's very industrial, and the square footage makes sense," Brown said.
The building at 615 S. Main St., shown from the sidewalk at left and inside at right, is where StillWonder plans to open Stillwater's next children's museum in summer 2027. – Photos by Chris Peters
The building's existing layout also keeps costs down, Brown said. Renovations at other buildings StillWonder considered would have run more than $1 million, and close to $2 million in some cases. At 615 S. Main, the building's owners will remove the kitchen, and StillWonder's work will focus on making the space functional: creating a way to bring larger exhibits in through the back, upgrading the front and adding track lighting.
"This has been able to help us keep our upfront infrastructure costs low and focus more on our exhibits, which was our main goal," Brown said.
The building already has extensive water access, which Brown said opens the door to water-play exhibits, science experiments and sinks for birthday parties. Its layout also allows taller exhibits than some of the other buildings StillWonder considered.
ADERTISEMENT
Two things every home needs before the furnace kicks on: working smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher within easy reach. Test every alarm and replace any older than 10 years. Keep extinguishers in the kitchen, garage and workshop. Stillwater Building Center carries smoke alarms, fire extinguishers and carbon monoxide detectors.
What it could look like
A1 Architecture of Tulsa and Lambert Construction have worked with StillWonder through the site search. Renderings from A1 show the building's white brick front with a perforated blue canopy, a large StillWonder sign, and a planted rooftop deck under a shade structure.
"No joke, I give them what I see in my mind, and they execute it every time," Brown said. "It feels industrial, but it still has that really hip vibe."
Some features shown in the renderings, including the rooftop covering, will likely be phased in depending on how fundraising goes, Brown said.
Renderings by A1 Architecture show StillWonder's planned children's museum at 615 S. Main St. downtown Stillwater, Oklahoma. – Renderings courtesy of A1 Architecture
Brown said StillWonder is working with city organizations on parking downtown and believes it can address any issues.
Maggie the cow gets a new home
Several exhibits from the WONDERtorium will make the move. StillWonder acquired a number of the former museum's exhibits and has used some of them at pop-ups. Larger pieces will be refurbished for the new space, Brown said, including Maggie the cow, which is already waiting inside the Main Street building.
Maggie, a beloved feature at the WONDERtorium, is a life-size fiberglass milking cow with a working udder children can squeeze to get the feel of milking. Fiberstock, the company that makes her, sells the recirculating milking cow as "Maggie, The Real Milking Cow" for $6,000, according to its website. She stands 64 inches tall, measures 90 inches long and weighs about 250 pounds.
"To be able to get that for her to have a new space and a whole new batch of kiddos to play with is pretty cool," Brown said.
The connection to the WONDERtorium runs through The Botanic Garden at OSU as well. When the WONDERtorium closed, its board donated its remaining funds to the garden to support a Horticulture Education Center, the building where StillWonder now holds its monthly pop-ups. Brown credited Lou Anella, the garden's director, with giving the organization its first opportunity. Anella will retire in November after 12 years leading the garden.
"To see that come full circle has been pretty special," Brown said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Shop Stillwater Sundays — Spend $50 at Stillwater shops, restaurants, hotels or attractions the Sunday after an OSU home football game and you're entered to win a $100 gift card to a local business from Visit Stillwater.
A $2 million sprint to Dec. 31
StillWonder passed its first campaign milestone of $1 million by Sept. 30, about a month after it began seeking commitments, Brown said. The public phase of the campaign launched Thursday with the announcement.
StillWonder has relied mostly on grants up to this point, Brown said, and the campaign is the organization's first broad request for community support.
The $3 million is meant to prepare the building, create exhibits, launch programming, and build a financial foundation, according to StillWonder's campaign materials. Brown said that includes breathing room for the museum's first year and a long-term operating reserve, similar to an endowment, to carry it through lean years.
"Kids learning through play is adorable, but we still have to be able to execute and show that we are going to run a very, very functional and special children's museum," Brown said.
Displays inside 615 S. Main St. trace StillWonder's history since its start in April 2023, at left, and lay out the Build Wonder Campaign's naming opportunities and fundraising thermometer, at right. StillWonder is asking the community to commit the remaining $2 million of its $3 million goal by Dec. 31. – Photos by Chris Peters
Brown said donations have come from a spread of givers, including a number of Founders-level donors and several larger gifts, with more commitments pending.
Donors who commit $2,500 or more by Dec. 31 will be recognized as StillWonder Founders, with their names displayed on The Wonder Works, a moving art piece built from interconnected gears, according to the campaign materials.
Recognition levels run from Founders at $2,500 to Believers at $75,000. Gifts of $100,000 or more carry naming opportunities.
"We are asking the community to help in three ways: spread the word, invest in the mission, join the cause with your ideas," Kristine Waits, a member of StillWonder's fundraising committee, said in a statement released by the organization.
A Google-funded play area for little travelers
Before the museum opens, StillWonder's first permanent installation will be at Stillwater Regional Airport, where the organization is adding an interactive children's area to the new terminal with funding from Google.
Sara Brown, volunteer executive director and board chair of StillWonder, stands beside a sign announcing the organization's planned play space at the Stillwater Regional Airport terminal grand opening Aug. 19, at left. At right, a child rides a wooden rocking airplane in the gate area where the Draw Alive installation and reading nook will go. – Photos by Chris Peters
The area will feature Draw Alive, an interactive system made by Breeze Creative. Using one of two tablets, children can pick an airplane, hot air balloon or helicopter, color it, add their name and send it flying across a large screen, Brown said. The area will also include a reading nook.
Breeze Creative has installed Draw Alive at LaGuardia Airport in New York, where the largest version spans a 16-screen video wall. Stillwater's installation will be smaller, with a single screen and two tablets, and will be designed to match the terminal's colors and theme, Brown said.
Brown, who travels frequently for her job with Airbus, said she spent about two years talking with the airport about the idea.
"I always was really jealous of all the airports that have that capability and offering for the kids," Brown said. "I just was like, you know what, our town deserves it too."
Google's commitment covers the installation and the system's subscription, including software updates and new features, for 10 years, Brown said. Fabrication and installation, including custom cabinetry, are expected to take about four months.
Google has not contributed to the museum campaign, Brown said, though StillWonder hopes to pursue that support in 2027.
More than a museum
Brown said StillWonder's pop-ups are already at capacity, and a permanent museum would serve more than young learners. She said it would draw business downtown and give foster children a place for family visits.
"It's more than just children learning through play. This is a community space as well," Brown said.
The adults have been part of the draw all along. At the pop-ups, Brown said, she has watched parents and grandparents join in.
"Seeing the parents and grandparents getting into it and playing with slime too, getting excited about drawing again, it changes," Brown said. "It really does something to your soul."
Members Discussion