New Name Revealed for Exploris & Playspace Merger

September, 28, 2007 , by Jedidiah

Just kidding. I do know the name and can’t give it away (you’ll have to go to the opening tomorrow), but will give you a hint: the name is related to a prominent material used on the existing building.

Childhood seems to be filled with games and surprises. The artist formerly known as Exploris closed it’s doors a couple of months ago, oh oh oh financial woes, to make way for a new merger with Playspace. With this merger, the two partners have created a game and surprise out of the naming of their new facility. With the marketing driven website Coming929.com Wake County hopes to create a lot of press before it’s opening tomorrow. The surprise is the name and if you guess it, you win a Family 4-Pack to the new kids museum and IMAX Theatre. Enter Here.

Various articles have been written on the opening, new name, and new partnership in the past couple of weeks, read them HERE and HERE.

For this new children’s museum, they have hired a handful of various local design firms and artists to redesign the interior. I was able to get a sneak peak today and the result is a new children’s museum that when first look at the interior, resembles a child’s interpretation of a Dali painting. The new space is full of color, overhead swoops, level changes, tree houses, new wall paintings, a pirate ship, and many other space warping creations. Check out the space, it’s worth it. Take your child along, they’ll think it’s worth it. The only problem this weekend is the Bike Rally crowd that will be along the street. What an interesting juxtaposition, I guess adulthood is filled with games and surprises as well.

The Grand Opening
Wake County’s
New Kids Museum

Saturday, September 29, 2007
10:00am - 5:00pm

Location: 201 East Hargett Street, Raleigh, NC 27601

Created by the merger of Playspace and Exploris, Wake County’s new kids museum will open on Saturday, September 29, at Exploris’ current location, with brand new experiences and a brand new name. This exciting new downtown destination will introduce itself to the community through a free all-day family celebration including performances by children’s bands, such as the Sandbox Band, clowns, magicians and much more. The public festivities will begin at 10 AM with a ribbon cutting ceremony; complete with local celebrity MCs and museum and county officials. The museum galleries will also be host to performers and activities that will keep the fun rolling along! The courtyard will be the place for local food vendors offering a wide variety of lunch and snack choices. This day promises to be a fun community-wide introduction to the new family-fun downtown destination where an otherwise ordinary day will become an extraordinary adventure!