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March 28, 2012
The Bayou Country Children’s Museum in Thibodaux is on track to open in October.
“Construction is going very well,” Executive Director Christy Naquin said. “Our groundbreaking was in November, and the concrete was poured at the end of January.”
The museum, located in the Acadia Plantation subdivision off Percy Brown Road, is in full construction mode. Most recently, the metal studs and steel beams of the building’s frame were put up, gypsum board attached to the frame and the roof over the exhibit area was completed.
“The total cost of the library is $3.4 million dollars,” Naquin said. “We have already raised $1.8 million in cash and pledges, and we have four participation loans with community banks.”
The Kiwanis Club of Thibodaux will host the museum’s next fundraiser, Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, on Saturday at St. Joseph’s Elementary School Cafeteria. Admission is $5, and the event will be held from 7 to 11 a.m. Children will be able to take pictures with the Easter bunny, and there will also be activities for the children.
Tickets for the event are available at Andre’s Baby Boutique, Coastal Commerce Bank, Jude Guidry State Farm, Lynn’s Little Feet, Pro-Tire and Auto Care, and REECO Rental. Tickets may also be purchased at the door.
The new museum, designed by Duplantis Design Group Thibodaux, will be 12,700 square feet and will feature two birthday party rooms, a gift shop, small theater and 6,500-square-foot exhibit space for hands-on, Cajun-themed exhibits.
The museum’s exhibits will feature a sugar cane harvester climbing structure, sugar cane maze, estuary water table, alligator Mardi Gras float, steel legged reef oil derrick structure, toddler reading area, Cajun Cottage restaurant, shrimp boat, duck blind, Jean Lafitte’s Treasure Dig, Cajun musical instruments and a display on bridges. The exhibits are being done by Paulus Design out of Washington D.C.
“The exhibit ideas were brainstormed by a group of concerned citizens, community leaders and mothers about 8 to 10 years ago, before I was involved with the project. These people wanted to make sure that the local culture was preserved and protected,” Naquin said. “We have never steered away from the original concept of a Cajun culture focused museum. These contributors really felt that it is important to teach children and adults about things such as sugarcane harvesting and what oil derricks are, and we are still very focused on that today.”
Once the contractors complete the building in August, exhibit fabricators will create the museum’s exhibits.
“The exhibits will help children ages 2 to 12 learn through play,” Naquin said. “The museum is 13 years in the making and will service children, families and educators in an eight-parish area and beyond.”
Naquin said that the museum will create jobs for five full-time employees and many part-time employees that the museum hopes to fill with student workers from Nicholls State University.
An estimated 45,000 people are expected to visit the library annually.
“The Association of Children’s Museums looked at our local demographics and projected 90,000 visitors, but we wanted to be a bit more conservative with our figures, so we divided that number in half,” Naquin said.
Construction workers from BET Construction in Thibodaux work on the Bayou Country Children’s Museum.
