The North Shore Children’s Museum received a welcome shot in the arm Thursday, thanks to a $100,000 donation from North Shore Bank.
The announcement was made at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday at the museum, which opened last month.
The funds will be used to sponsor a new banking exhibit projected to open in early 2023.
The exhibit is being designed by the NES Group, a bank and credit union design firm. The exhibit will include a piggy-bank “Plinko” board, a drive-through ATM, play-teller lines, and cash registers with pretend money.
The museum is located in a former bank building at 10 Main St.
North Shore Bank Chief Executive Officer Kevin Tierney said the building’s former use made it easy to use the one-time bank teller line for the new exhibit site.
“We’re proud to be a part of this wonderful project. When we toured the museum in August and saw that the teller line from the former bank was still in place, it was obvious to us that the space would be perfect for the banking exhibit,” Tierney said. “The North Shore Children’s Museum offers unique and hands-on educational opportunities, and this banking exhibit will allow children to have a truly authentic experience.” He added, “We’d like to congratulate Mayor Bettencourt, and all the city officials, on their achievement of bringing this museum to our downtown.”
The donation will also be used to supplement hundreds of income-based discounted tickets offered by the museum. One such program is the EBT Card Discount, which allows families presenting an EBT card a $3 entry to the museum, as part of the Museum’s For All initiative.
“Access is a fundamental part of our mission at the North Shore Children’s Museum,” said Executive Director Ali Haydock. “We want every child on the North Shore to benefit from the museum – and that cannot happen without philanthropy. This donation from North Shore Bank will have a profound impact on our ability to serve families at all income levels.”
Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt brought the museum downtown as part of his long-standing vision to revitalize downtown Peabody.
The museum began as the CuriousCity pop-up pilot program in 2019. After seeing its success, Bettencourt secured about $500,000 per year from the City Council last February to rent the former TD Bank location and fund an annual operating budget.
“Partnering with local businesses will be mutually beneficial and important for both the museum’s success financially and the impact that the museum can have on the local economy,” he said. “We are thrilled to receive this generous donation from North Shore Bank, who has been an amazing community partner since day one.”
The museum maintained the original footprint of the former bank with office spaces allowing for 14 different exhibit rooms with themes ranging from trains to outer space to storytelling and everything in between. The museum also includes a large workshop and party space, which is used for additional programming and birthday party rentals.
The museum is open for general admission on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m and 1-4 p.m; Fridays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m and 1-5 p.m.; Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sundays from 12-2 p.m.
Tickets cost $12 per child over the age of 12 months and adults. Admission is free for children under the age of one.
