Children’s Museum nears launch

Construction is set to begin on the Bronx Children’s Museum this year, according to organizers.

They say the design phase is near completion and the groundbreaking will soon commence for a 12,800-square-foot space at the Bronx Terminal Market Powerhouse at Mill Pond Park.

The facility will have a wide range of arts, music and science programs for young children. So far, a range of elected officials and non-profits have sent $10 million toward the museum.

“A decade ago, a small group of people who lived or worked in the Bronx began with a dream. Others flocked to the idea, made a plan and spent years developing it and now the NYC Department of Design and Construction will officially submit our design for bid by the end of this month,” Museum’s Board President Hope Harley said in a statement. “O’Neill McVoy Architects have created a marvelous adventure space from what was essentially a raw loft in a building shared with the Parks Department — our landlord — and Stadium Tennis Center.”

In recent years, the museum has operated out of a converted school bus. Organizers said it has visited more than 15,000 children per year at Bronx schools, community agencies, and at festivals in after- and in-school programs.

“For many kids, it is in places such as The Bronx Children’s Museum where they first attain their appreciation for the arts,” Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who has allocated $3.5 million toward the project, said last week in his state of the borough speech.