Lexington Children’s Museum looks to move to new home in bustling downtown location

Kentucky’s only children’s museum is moving forward with a new location and new building thanks to a $5.8 million allocation from the Kentucky General Assembly.

The Lexington Children’s Museum, which opened in October 1990 on Short Street, has been working since 2023 to find land and begin fundraising for a new, expanded location.

In April, the Kentucky General Assembly allocated $5.8 million toward that new building as part of House Bill 900, a massive $1.7 billion one-time spending bill that set aside state money for other Lexington projects, including an expansion of the Blue Grass Airport.

That $5.8 million comes on top of $2 million the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government allocated to the museum in 2025. In addition, the museum has been able to raise an undisclosed amount from private donors, said Colby Ernest, the executive director of the museum, formerly known as the Explorium.

Last year, the group acquired a lease for approximately 2.7 acres from the Lexington Community Land Trust for a location in Davis Park off of Oliver Lewis Way and De Roode Street. Davis Park recently opened a new community center and park after decades of planning.

“Every day, we see the power of play-based learning to build a child’s confidence and sense of possibility,” Ernest said. “We are deeply grateful to the state of Kentucky for supporting this vision and investing in the future of our children.”

Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, R-Lexington, helped secure the state funding. Bledsoe said a top-tier children’s museum will be a boon to Kentucky children and could be a big boost to tourism and economic development in downtown Lexington.

“As someone who calls Lexington home, I’ve seen firsthand how deeply our community values opportunities for our children to learn, explore and grow,” Bledsoe said. “This investment is a united commitment to giving every child and family access to experiences that spark curiosity and build confidence.”

A place for Lexington and KY kids to learn

The new location will allow the museum to greatly expand its outreach and footprint, Ernest said. The current location has 22,000 square feet. The new Davis Park location will also provide something the current museum does not: outdoor space.

The future building will be twice the size, likely around 44,000 square feet, and will have ample parking. Parking at the current location is a problem.

Visitors use The Square’s parking garage on Short Street or find on-street paid parking, which adds to the cost of going to the museum, Ernest said. The museum has multiple programs that can lower entry fees for lower-income families but those programs can’t offset the cost of parking, Ernest said.

Lack of easily accessible parking is particularly problematic because so many of the museum’s visitors come from across Kentucky. To boot, school buses can unload and load on Short Street but have to find parking elsewhere in the city.

“Lexington is in our name but the majority of our visitors come from outside Fayette County,” Ernest said. For kids in central and Eastern Kentucky, the Lexington Children’s Museum is the closest museum of its kind.

“We had to turn away more than 50 field trips last year because we just don’t have the space,” Ernest said. Yet demand for museum experiences and programming continues to skyrocket.

The museum has seen year-over-year growth in visitors each year, Ernest said.

The new location is also easy to get to. Drivers can exit Interstate 75 and Interstate 64 on Newtown Pike and drive directly to the museum. It’s also close to the new Gatton Park on Town Branch on Manchester Street and the Artsworks at the Carver School, a city-owned arts and cultural center. The University of Kentucky also has plans for an expanded entertainment district in that area.

“We really feel like this is the perfect location for us,” Ernest said. With so much to do in a short walking distance, visitors to the museum are likely to stay in downtown Lexington, he said.

Next steps and timeline

The museum is currently undergoing a design and programming study to determine the final costs of the project. Once that is completed, the museum will likely launch a community-wide capital projects campaign.

Programming, what types of exhibits will go into the museum, will dictate the cost and design of the building, Ernest said.

The museum has traditionally centered its exhibits on Kentucky themes -- such as horse racing and coal mining. The space will be interactive to encourage curiousity and learning, Ernest said. The group underwent an extensive master planning process that also engaged the community. That feedback will be used to help design the museum.

A deadline for the design and programming study has not been set. When it is completed, the museum will announce the findings, Ernest said.

The group has set an ambitious timeline to be in the new building by 2029, he said. Meanwhile, the group has also worked to up the programming at its current location to continue to serve Kentucky children, he said.

“We look forward to sharing more with our community in the months ahead as the museum’ sdesign and vision continue to take shape,” said Ernest. “This is a project for Lexington’s future—for Kentucky’s future.”

Beth Musgrave

Lexington Herald-Leader

Beth Musgrave has covered government and politics for the Herald-Leader for more than a decade. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has worked as a reporter in Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois and Washington D.C. Support my work with a digital subscription