The Black Earth Children’s Museum is located in the historic Patrons’ Mercantile Co-op building in Black Earth.
Something special is on the horizon for families with young children in Black Earth and the surrounding area. On June 12, the town will open its first-ever children’s museum and provide a much-needed educational space in the community.
Karen and Aaron Carlock, who reside nearby in the town of Vermont, bought the historic building that’s home to the museum in 2014, hoping to create a business there that would bolster the community. Originally the Patrons’ Mercantile Co-op, in operation from 1894-1994 (and the oldest cooperative in the United States), the building is also one of the largest in Black Earth at 12,000 square feet. It was more recently headquarters to Trails Media Group and, after that, a small software company.
Shortly after the Carlocks purchased the property, they visited the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum in Marquette, Michigan.
“The thing that stood out was how it was built with community input,” says Karen Carlock. “I wanted ours to feel like that too, and have the community invested in this space.”
Area residents were eager to support the venture, putting in volunteer time to help bring the museum to completion. Corporate donors like Electronic Theater Controls and Quality West Construction have helped with exhibits.
The Carlocks and their small crew are busy painting and arranging exhibits on the day I visit. There’s a thrill in the air and, even though there’s a lot of work to be done before the grand opening, but the space is already looking vibrant and fun.
Kids can now play store, gather eggs from a pretend chicken coop or act on a real stage.
The front exhibit is a toddler area, aptly named “Bambino Barn,” that houses a chicken coop filled with stuffed animal chickens with names like Henny and Penny. The “Black Earth Market” can function as a farmers’ market, restaurant and grocery store, with a working conveyor belt and cash register.
The “Driftless Den” houses a wigwam built in the style of the Ho-Chunk people who lived in the region; it will have a running trout stream filled with carved trout that kids can “catch” magnetically. A Night Sky exhibit is also in the works, with hand-painted constellations adorning the walls. At the center of the space is a wooden treehouse and rope bridge, surrounded by nine real trees (minus the foliage) that were dying on the Carlock’s property. They were quick to repurpose them as part of the museum.
Right now, the museum is most appropriate for kids 10 and under, but Carlock foresees opening up the space to a wider range of ages in the future, potentially adding courses on topics like photojournalism and robotics for teens and after-school homework help for middle school kids. “I want this to become an intergenerational space, over time,” says Carlock. “I think the possibilities are endless.”
The museum has several special events planned throughout the summer, listed on its Facebook page. The grand opening on June 12, from 4 to 7 p.m., kicks off with a ribbon-cutting event. There will also be a bubble artist, craft activities and a performance by child-renowned musician Ken Lonnquist.
Carlock can’t wait: “It’s going to be loud and giggly in here.”
Black Earth Children’s Museum
1131 Mills St., Black Earth, 608-888-2017, blackearthchildrensmuseum.org, Summer Hours: noon-4 pm Sun.-Mon., 9 am-4 pm Tues.-Sat., Admission: $6, children under 1 are free
