08/10/2026
Construction is underway for Imagination Place renovations to include exhibits featuring our local history and waterways! 🚧🏗️🦺
Thanks to a gift from the estate of longtime board member and arts supporter Elisabeth Hardin, the Foundation has now began construction on a second floor above the current children’s museum’s ground floor and mezzanine.
The highlight of what is being called the “River Room” will be a large interactive water table, designed around the Coosa’s contemporary uses for hydroelectric power, sportfishing, and watersports. Children will be able to direct and alter the flow of the water as they learn about currents. Small boats and a fishing activity will also be included. The water table will be surrounded by actual full-size vessels that children can climb aboard, strap on a personal floatation device, and pretend they are cruising on the Coosa.
To reference the river’s past, a half-scale replica of the “City of Gadsden” paddle wheeler steamboat that once travelled the local waters transporting cotton and goods will be included. Visitors will be able to ascend to the pilot house and steer the big wheel while text panels explain the river’s historic role in commerce that led to the development of Gadsden.
The Foundation is partnering with Coosa Riverkeeper who will be providing content for text panels and video monitors about aquatic life that only exists in the Coosa River. They will also help plan interactive stations to teach children about conservation, water safety, and how important it is to protect the local drinking water source.
Read more here: https://culturalarts.com/ipexpansion/
The goal is to have renovations complete by March 2027! Don’t worry, Imagination Place main section you know and love will remain open during expansion! Any temporary closures will be announced on social media and website.
