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Amelia Park Children’s Museum

Celebrates 25 Years

Amelia Park Children’s Museum is one of Westfield’s treasures, a place where imagination is inspired and encouraged. This year marks its 25th anniversary – a fundraising celebration is planned for October 21, 2022. The museum was founded as Discover Westfield Children’s Museum on Elm St. in Westfield.

Through hard work and generosity, the museum moved to a brand-new, much larger building in 2008. The 12,000 square-foot building in Amelia Park houses 6,000 square feet of exhibits and program space.

Executive Director Ray Radigan shared, “How fortunate Westfield is to have a children’s museum. It’s really special because there are only about a dozen children’s museums in Massachusetts.”

The museum offers hands-on exhibits and events, daily activities and field trips. It also brings face painting, movie nights and free events into the community.

What better place to celebrate a child’s birthday than at the Amelia Park Children’s Museum? There are several themed party options such as Dinosaurs, Bubbles, and Polymers.

The latest project for the museum is the Literacy Learning Initiative. This library exhibit features shelves of new books donated by the Lisa Libraries. Additionally, the Davis Foundation, Westfield-based Shurtleff Children’s Services, and the Westfield Cultural Council funded the reading nooks and a free picture book exchange.

The museum offers regular weekly programming. Story time is on Mondays, Art Studio on Thursdays, and Science Lab on Fridays. Each activity happens twice a day - 11 a.m. and at 2 p.m.

“We try to make activities fun and educational at the same time. We want to encourage creativity, self-discovery and the uniqueness of each child,” he said. The museum also offers opportunities for parents and caregivers to assist the children.

Amelia Park Children’s Museum is a nonprofit. Much of its funding comes through contributions from the community and event sponsorships. The museum holds several events during the year. These include the Penguin Plunge, where participants plunge into the icy waters of Hampton Ponds, and the Tea Party in partnership with Westfield on Weekends. 

Mary Jane McMahon, lead founder of the museum said, “I am honored to be a part of the founding group of the children’s museum in Westfield. Over the past 25 years, the museum has experienced a generation of staff, board members, volunteers and members who have devotedly taken the museum by the hand and guided it along to the safe, creative space it is today for children and their families to experience and enjoy.”

Admission to the museum is $8. To make the museum accessible, Ray instituted $2 Thursdays where visitors pay only $2 from 1 to 3 p.m. He hopes to be able to offer $2 admission all day on Thursdays.

While much paperwork and planning go into running the museum, Ray said the most rewarding part of his job is the real impact it has on children and families.

“It reminds me how meaningful this is.”

AMELIA PARK CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

29 South Broad St.  413-572-4014

ameliaparkmuseum.org

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