Children’s Museum Looks to Double Its Space

Photo courtesy of the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum.

The Betty Brinn Children’s Museum (BBCM) is looking for a much larger new home.

The nonprofit publicly announced Thursday that it has launched a large-scale, multi-year master planning process aimed at doubling the size of the museum and creating what CEO Tina Quealy calls a “completely reimagined” facility. The organization hopes to identify a new site in 2026.

Urban Milwaukee exclusively reported in May 2025 that BBCM would need to relocate from its longtime home on the second story of the Miller Pavilion at what is now called Museum Center Park. The space is owned by the Milwaukee Art Museum, which purchased the lakefront complex from Milwaukee County in 2017. At the time, museum leadership informed BBCM that it would not receive a new long-term lease.

In its announcement this week, BBCM said its current lease expires in 2032 and that a task force is developing a comprehensive master plan to guide the move.

Outgrowing the Lakefront Space

Since opening in 1995, BBCM has welcomed more than 4.9 million children and families. It averages about 170,000 visitors per year at its current location at 929 E. Wisconsin Ave. But it has outgrown its space.

BBCM currently operates with about 10,500 square feet of exhibition space, significantly smaller than peer institutions in comparable metropolitan areas. Even including the additional 7,000 square feet of “funky” space in the building resulting from the pavilion’s design constraints, the facility remains modest by national standards.

By comparison, children’s museums in similar and smaller markets operate at a much larger scale. In the Kansas City region, Wonderscope Children’s Museum of Kansas City opened a new 54,000-square-foot facility in 2020 with expanded early learning classrooms and outdoor play areas. The Madison Children’s Museum operates about 35,000 square feet of exhibit and program space in a renovated downtown building, while the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire offers about 25,000 square feet of hands-on exhibit space following a recent expansion. Even in Sheboygan, the Above & Beyond Children’s Museum spans more than 10,000 square feet across three floors. And in St. Louis, The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum encompasses roughly 55,000 square feet of interactive exhibit space, making it one of the largest and most visited children’s museums in the Midwest.

Quealy said the new museum will likely double BBCM’s size and include outdoor exhibits, rotating exhibit galleries and expanded early learning and play-based programming. The organization is working with MC Group, Colliers International and other consultants to evaluate potential sites within the city of Milwaukee.

“We’re being completely reimagined through a multi-dimensional, holistic master planning process,” Quealy said in a statement. She described the future museum as a “bold expression of our mission” designed with “intention, warmth and accessibility.”

The Betty Brinn Children’s Museum was previously part of early plans to co-locate with the Milwaukee Public Museum in its new downtown facility, now known as the Nature & Culture Museum of Wisconsin. Initial concepts for the project included space for the children’s museum within the new building, and a site was publicly identified. But in 2022, BBCM withdrew from the partnership, citing financial and long-term cost concerns tied to the scale of the project.

As it plans its next chapter, the museum says access will remain central to its mission. Between 32% and 35% of visitors currently attend through free or significantly reduced admission programs, mirroring the percentage of children under 12 who live below the federal poverty level. “Remaining true to our mission of equitable access for children and families of all cultures, abilities, and socioeconomic backgrounds is foundational to the Master Plan,” Quealy said.

MAM Shuffling Space

The BBCM announcement comes as the Milwaukee Art Museum is spending $800,000 to convert the Miller Room event venue in the pavilion into office space, consolidating staff onto museum-owned property. The wedding venue is located on the lower level of the building BBCM occupies.

While MAM previously told Urban Milwaukee it had “no plans” to take over BBCM’s space, BBCM leadership last year acknowledged it would need to relocate. The museum’s current lease runs through 2032, providing runway for planning, fundraising and site selection. It represents a four-year extension from its original 2028 expiration date.

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