BRANDON BARKLE, IMAGINATION FACTORY design artist, works on putting together a suit of armor for one of the exhibits at the new children’s museum opening in the former Iron Mountain Middle School at 217 W. Hughitt St. Organizers for the Imagination Factory say the museum will open to the public May 30. (Barb Reisner photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — The new Imagination Factory Children’s Museum will officially open to the public May 30, organizers said.

“The challenge of opening the doors of the Imagination Factory in less than one year is almost a reality, thanks to many contributors and gifted community leaders who strongly believe that our Dickinson and Iron counties and surrounding Wisconsin communities are great places to raise a family and make a difference in the lives of others. I have never doubted the mindset, capacity and the amazing generosity of this special place in the U.P.,” said Barb Reisner, museum co-director along with Jonathan Ringel and Jeff Gurchinoff.

The opening in the former Iron Mountain Middle School at 217 W. Hughitt St. will come one week before the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament set for June 5 through 7.

“On May 30, we will be showcasing where we are in the children’s museum build process,” Gurchinoff said. “The placement of exhibits will be ongoing, but one thing we know for sure — we will be very proud to open our doors to children and their families.”

Construction has continued this winter on those exhibits. Organizers earlier had revealed the museum intends to have environment-, industry- and health-themed rooms connected by large, open walk-throughs that will display between 25 to 30 interactive exhibits.

They also plan to construct a Tiny Town in the hallway along the wall through the center of the museum; the skywalk will become the Way To Grow Garden.

The Imagination Factory will have an Empowerment Room as well, a place where children, youth and adults can participate in creative activities that include drawing, painting, photography, video production, music and more.

The Community Center Room will be a multi-purpose space for parents and family members, where young children can read and leaders can meet.

More than 20 community partners either are sponsoring buildings, designing exhibits or purchasing a display for the museum exhibit rooms, organizers said.

A drive to raise $25,000 to qualify for a matching $25,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Patronicity initiative topped that goal with almost $29,000 donated by mid-September.

“The Imagination Factory is a wonderful collaborative effort with many local individuals and business partners engaged,” Gurchinoff said. “One thing we can promise everyone who enters through the exciting imagination staircase, the Imagination Factory is a gift to the community because it is being built with love for children and with the hope that children will leave smiling, learning new information, wanting to return and knowing the Imagination Factory is a place where they belong.”

The former school also houses the Our Place Community Center.

Those interested in volunteering at the Our Place Community Center or the Imagination Factory Children’s Museum can send an email to Reisner at barb@ourplacecc.org.