Anticipation for M&M Children’s Museum grows during town hall meeting

MENOMINEE, MICH. – The M&M Children’s Museum opened their doors to interested community members on Wednesday, June 25, for a town hall meeting. Floor plans were rolled across tables, boards with future exhibit plans were propped up and a surprise time capsule was on display while President and Founder Pam Lee took attendees on the journey of the past, present and future of the museum.

Lee kicked off the meeting with a brief recap of how the dream for this children’s museum began. Heavily influenced by the Discovery Depot, which she would visit with her grandchildren, in Galesburg, Ill., she worked with their director and a non-profit specialist to learn about launching a museum in Menominee, Mich.

“Our museum can be sustainable with memberships, corporate sponsorships, rentals and grants, similar to our model of Discovery Depot,” Lee said she learned.

As a 501(c)(3) institution not funded by tax dollars, donations will be integral to the M&M Children’s Museum. To date, they have received $825,000 in donations and grant commitments to bring Lee’s dream to life.

An additional $860,000 has been pledged in displays, like a helicopter exhibit that is being donated by Enstrom.

While funding is an integral part of any business, what sets apart this growing museum is the time dedication community members have put forward.

The board of directors is filled by members with wide-ranging backgrounds, such as Treasurer Gary Gustafson, retired director of finance at Northland Lutheran Retirement Community; Secretary Sue Proft, supervisor of imaging services at Aurora Medical Center-Bay Area; and member John Krueger, chief of shipyard operations at Fincantieri Marinette Marine.

City of Menominee Mayor Casey Hoffman has also shown his support by joining the advisory board.

In total, 4,361 volunteer hours were completed in 2024 for the museum.

One trait that all board members and volunteers share is a strong belief in Lee’s dream.

During the presentation Lee shared reasons why the area needs a children’s museum, which include: revitalizing the downtown community, supplementing education, fostering leadership and promoting screen-free fun.

These goals will be acted upon within the different programs and exhibits at M&M Children’s Museum.

Currently, the museum is slated to have a banking exhibit from Integra Credit Union, a broadcasting station sponsored by Jim Callow and an art room, which is sponsored by Bruce Peters in memory of his wife and ran by the GFWC Women’s Club.

Children will also be able to play in a Veriha Trucking sleeper cab or on the front of a littoral combat ship (LCS).

Currently, the team behind the museum is discussing membership opportunities, like yearly memberships and birthday parties.

“Discovery Depot, my model, had like 70,000 people come in a year and they’re a little town. So, even though there are museums in Green Bay, children’s museums don’t compete with each other. It’s like we all have something different and we all help each other. So, we’re definitely hoping for maybe 30- 35,000 [visitors] for our first year,” she said.

There are many ways that community members can get involved. Currently, Lee is looking for two to four additional volunteers to join the board of directors “to get us through the next year-and-a-half.”
Another way is participating in their upcoming events.

The M&M Children’s Museum team will host “Meat and Mulligans,” a meat raffle and golf outing, at Riverside Country Club on Thursday, July 24. The four-person scramble is $80 per golfer and includes 18 holes, hole events, dinner and the meat raffle. Tickets for the dinner and meat raffle will be available for $20. Sign-up is available through the Riverside Country Club.

While no opening date is currently set, Lee is already planning for when the museum is busy with children and families.

“We are starting to buy programs to track our volunteers. So, we should have this in place in a couple months. Right now, we’re trying to write a grant for a museum organizer that would help us with volunteers. When you get a grant, there’s a lot of work to do. So, we do need that, and then in a couple of years we will hire somebody like an executive to run the museum.”

But right now, what Lee is looking forward to most is, “[Seeing] the kids come play. I’m like a kid at heart.”

To follow along with Pam Lee and the museum’s journey, visit www.mmchildrensmuseum.com or follow the M&M Children’s Museum on Facebook.