Photography by Victoria Gomez
Avery Meginnis was about three months postpartum with her second child when her longtime neighbor Patty Hussey, a mother of two herself, came to her with an idea. Hussey had been in Dallas her whole life, and she had yet to find a dedicated children’s museum. What if they started one? The question intrigued Meginnis enough to have her brainstorming about the possibilities. With a new vision for Dallas children in mind, the East Dallas moms began to make their now shared dream a reality.
The duo has since grown into a group of four, acting as the board of directors for the Dallas Children’s Museum. With Hussey acting as the Chair of the Board and Meginnis in her role as Vice President, the group has officially established the museum as a nonprofit organization.
The museum will be following a science, technology, engineering, arts and mechanics (STEAM) approach, with the museum’s exhibits, programs and partnerships being geared toward developing children into capable citizens.
“Most children’s museums are STEM museums, but the arts part is very important to me, and so we’re going to make this a STEAM museum and include the arts part so that you have all of that for the kids,” Hussey says.
The team is aiming to have the museum located in Southeast Dallas, a place they feel would be more accessible to several different groups within the larger community. While they acknowledge the existence of other similarly situated institutions in the City, they look at them as a possibility for connection.
“There are things like the DMA, the Perot and places like that — and we really hope to be an extension and partner with them to work towards just having a better place for children,” Hussey says.
As they have continued through the process, they have gained momentum in the community. Their friends’ friends, word of mouth and happy accidents have resulted in a network of people looking to get involved.
“We’ve just had really great people say ‘We’re going to do this,’ and it’s amazing, because we haven’t really pushed it out too far without having a location to announce yet,” Hussey says.
The preliminary plans for the museum are centered around accessibility for all children. The organization strives to include programming for children with sensory processing sensitivities, neurodivergent learners and children with disabilities of all kinds.
“We want to build the spaces and be thoughtful about how people move throughout the spaces as easily as they can,” Meginnis says. “(Asking) how do we work with local foundations or companies that are doing really cool stuff to help people that have different abilities and disabilities?”
“Most children’s museums are STEM museums, but the arts part is very important to me, and so we’re going to make this a STEAM museum and include the arts part so that you have all of that for the kids.”
The team is now looking for the perfect place to begin to build and create the venue, alongside taking donations and developing a fundraising strategy.
Hussey and Meginnis express gratitude for the journey so far and how much detail goes into such a massive undertaking.
“It’s been a real learning experience going along the way,” Hussey says. “But there are no real boundaries, because it needs to be something for everybody. It needs to be something for all of Dallas, and it’s going to take all of Dallas to get this built.”
