Museum Finds 'A Place To Start'

Although the Children's Museum of the East End has yet to find a permanent home, its first exhibit will nonetheless open to the public on Oct. 26.

"Time and Place/Light and Space," billed as "a hands-on exploration of the world of the East End," will run concurrently with Guild Hall's new exhibit, "The Moran Family Legacy," which includes art works by over a dozen members of East Hampton's Moran family.

The founding members of the Children's Museum met last spring with Henry Korn, Guild Hall's president, and the group decided at that time to run a pilot program this fall. The new exhibit is the result of that agreement.

A Place To Start

The Children's Museum has been seeking a suitable space to settle down in for the better part of a year. It had hoped to take over the Cedar Street space vacated earlier this year by the East Hampton Day Care Center. But the East Hampton School District, which owns the property, decided to reclaim that land for its own use.

Last spring, Jorie Latham, a museum committee member, told The Star that "Guild Hall is a place to start," but that there was no possibility of the museum's taking up permanent residence there, as Guild Hall does not have enough space.

Lucy Kazickas, another committee member, said on Tuesday that "Time and Place/Light and Space" will fill Guild Hall's Woodhouse Gallery with seven different activities for the museum's target audience of children through 10 years old.

Victorian House

Ms. Muhlfeld Kazickas said that about half of the gallery space would be devoted to a mock-up of the interior of a Victorian house, one wall of which will feature a large reproduction of a Thomas Moran landscape painting that includes a wind mill.

Children will be able to open doors in the windmill behind which will be drawings and text explaining how a windmill works, and supplying historical information.

Also included in the exhibit are a costume area, where kids can change into turn-of-the-century garb, a "Tile Club" area, where they can design their own tiles using rubber stamps, a puppet area, a farm area, where they can "buy" fruits and vegetables, a seascape area, which will contain "discovery boxes," and a small bridge, where children can "catch" cut-outs of local fish.

"Hands-On" Experience

"What Is Your Community? What Was It Then, What Is It Now" is the name of the segment of the project that presents turn-of-the-century photographs of parts of East Hampton alongside contemporary views of the same places.

Last December, Ms. Latham told The Star that the museum would provide "hands-on" exhibits, a "soft room" with padded climbing areas for toddlers, craft and performance areas, and "sea-related" displays and demonstrations. With its inaugural project, it seems about to meet most of those goals.

The mission statement of the museum avers that "through interaction with exhibits and other visitors, each child's curiosity is expanded, self-esteem is enhanced, social skills are reinforced. A lively and engaging early museum experience for younger children promotes a lifelong love of self-directed learning and discovery in museums."

The other members of the museum committee are Beatrice Alda, Janet Jennings, Jacqui Leader, Bridget LeRoy, and Kari Lyn Sabin.

Search Continues

The committee hopes to "provide affordable activities and programs that will enable children and their parents/caregivers to interact and explore together in exhibits designed to excite, entertain, and teach."

Ms. Kazickas noted that many items in the exhibit have been donated by the community, and that much of the work on it will be done by local carpenters and artists on a volunteer basis. She said that she and her fellow committee members hope "that people get excited about the project, and help us to find a place" for the museum.

An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Oct. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m.

Ms. Kazickas said that most of the new exhibit would remain intact after its initial run at Guild Hall ends on Jan. 11, so that it can be easily transported. Meanwhile, the search for a permanent home continues.