Cheyenne Children’s Museum Targeting Early 2025 Opening.

After a decade of challenges, including a failed ballot initiative, the COVID pandemic and changes in  plans for a location, the Cheyenne Children's Museum is looking at opening it's doors early next year.

The facility is located at 1618 O'Neill in downtown Cheyenne.

That's according to Executive Director Haylee Chenchar. She was a guest on the ''Weekend in Wyoming'' on Saturday on AM 650, KGAB.

The efforts to build a Cheyenne Children's Museum began in 2014. Chenchar says it started "around a kitchen table of just a group of people who cared to do more for the community...these people have worked so hard over the last 10 years to bring the Children's Museum to Cheyenne, Wyoming, because our community deserves it and our kids our worth it,"

The process was not always a smooth one. Funding was an issue, and in 2016 museum supporters got a quarter penny sales tax proposal before the voters. But it was narrowly defeated, garnering about 48 percent support from the voters.

Following that vote, Museum Board President Caroline Veit said "Just because the tax failed doesn't mean that we quit," adding "We're not giving up on the mission, it just changes the scope immediately of what we have the potential of being able to do."

Chenchar says "We built it without any taxpayer-funded sixth-penny initiative, which I think is huge.'' She says there are some trade-offs, however, including the fact that admission will not be free to the public.

She also says the museum will being selling memberships next month.

Chenchar says initially the museum exhibits will focus on younger children, up to about age 8. But she notes the facility has more space available and the long-term goal will be to expand the exhibits to include items of interest to kids though high-school age. The exhibits will mostly be interactive, offering the opportunity for hands-on learning.

Hear The Weekend In Wyoming Interview With Haylee Chenchar

You can hear the entire Children's Museum interview with Haylee Chenchar here.