Out and about
As a teacher in Lake County, Alison Price tired of the long bus rides to Chicago or Milwaukee to take her students to a museum. When she became a parent, she realized there weren’t any great field trip options for her kids, either. So together with another Lake County parent, Kathy Goers, Price set out to build a field trip destination close to home.
The Grayslake mom of four has spent the past five years working with Goers and a board of directors to build a children’s museum in Lake County. The Busy Brains Children’s Museum is expected to open later this year, as the museum team finalizes a location, space plan and exhibit preparation. The museum will be designed for children, birth to age 10, Price says. Recently she talked about what this project has meant to her.
What has been the biggest challenge with creating a children’s museum from scratch?:"The fact that there is not one right way to create a children’s museum. Both (Goers) and I are linear thinkers; you do one thing, then the next. The most challenging part has been the multitasking, creating a mission statement at the same time we’re trying to figure out what makes a good board member—balancing community service with the need to make money.”
How do you balance being a full-time mom with your work on the museum?:"Both Kathy and I have said since day one, family first. We want to create good, educated, fun children, but we need to start at home first. It has been a balancing act, and I couldn’t have done it without my husband and his support.”
Tell us a little bit about the museum: It will feature nine interactive exhibit galleries."Busy Brains will really be a Lake County museum. It’ll reflect our life and the businesses and things in this area,” Price says."We’re going to incorporate things from Six Flags, our medical community, Lake Michigan and all the tiny lakes. So it’s really going to fit where it is.” For more information on the museum, visit www.busy
brains.org.
