Colors, confetti, kaleidoscope — ring a bell? The new Kaleideum building downtown is hard to miss. Located at the corner of Third Street and Town Run Lane, the experiential learning museum is scheduled to open February 2024. The hub will soon become a cultural arts destination in the heart of downtown Winston-Salem. WStoday City Editor Kellina sat down with the CEO of Kaleideum, Elizabeth Dampier, and took a tour of the space to get a preview of what’s coming.
A new beginning
Kaleideum was born out of a merger between the Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem and SciWorks.
“Our idea the whole time was that we would become one location in the heart of downtown,” Dampier said.
It’s no mistake the new Kaleideum looks like a showstopper. Dampier said she wanted the design to be iconic.
“I think that when people say, ‘oh, look for the white building with the triangles or the confetti on front’ people are going to know what that is,” Dampier said. “We wanted to do that for ourselves, but we also wanted to do it for the city.”
Learning Reimagined
When it comes to learning, the five-story building features a range of interactive designs and exhibits, plus hands-on experiences for everyone. Sitting next to Merschel Park and Liberty Plaza, the museum will transform the space into a connective hub for the community.
“I want to see someone who looks like me, but at the same time, to do that alongside people who are different than me so that I can learn new perspective and think about things in a different way and learn from that,” Dampier said.
Forsyth County committed $30.5 million toward the project and the City of Winston-Salem contributed $2 million, which included the Liberty Plaza renovation. Kaleideum is raising an additional $11 million through its “All In” Capital Campaign.
Here are City Editor Kellina’s exhibit picks you can look forward to exploring:
- Rooftop Adventure
- Digital Dome
- Wonders of Water
- By Design
- Storytelling
How do I get involved?
The museum offers various membership levels which can be purchased online or by phone. Kaleideum also offers a Museums for All program that allows anyone who has an EBT, WIC or Link to Feed card through Second Harvest Food Bank to receive discounted admission into the museum. In the meantime, Kaleideum North will permanently close out Dec. 31 after its New Year’s Eve party.