The Curious Kids Museum in St. Joseph is dreaming big as it prepares to begin renovations to the Pricilla Upton Byrnes Center, the soon-to-be-former home of the Heritage Museum and Cultural Center at 601 Main Street.

Curious Kids announced last week it’s buying the building and planning to make a move to the center. Curious Kids Director Lori Marciniak tells us the new facility brings the museum’s square footage from about 9,600 to 13,000, meaning they’ll be able to have more things for the kids to do.

“We want to use the space so that kids can explore and do things they can’t do at home, and so lots of design work to be done on the building and then exhibits,” Marciniak said. “We’ve heard from some people that we haven’t replaced the exhibits in Memorial Hall quite at the rate people would like to see us do.”

Marciniak says one feature they’re planning is a two-story T-Rex that will rise from the ground floor up to the second floor in the current ballroom area. Curious Kids also wants to put in some flooring to expand available exhibit space in the second floor of the ballroom.

Marciniak says this all came together when the museum’s attempt to purchase its current building, Memorial Hall, from the city of St. Joseph fell apart. She says the city has been a great landlord these past 30 years, but the museum wants to grow, and it can’t in its current location.

“We have donors that have expectations that didn’t agree with part of the deal. The city didn’t like some of what we wanted. So it just didn’t happen. And that’s okay. And my board of directors said, ‘Look, we’re not going to let go of this dream, but we’re going to get the museum open.’”

Marciniak says it felt “perfect” to share news of the move with longtime donors at the museum’s annual gala last week.

The museum is launching a capital campaign to get funds for the renovations at the new building, and the goal is for work to start around March. It would move in sometime in 2026. In the meantime, it will need a permit from the city and to close the building sale. You can also expect to see some exterior work there as Marciniak says they want to fun the building up for its young clientele.