Good times roll at Marbles Museum

Exploris and Playspace successor draws 10,000 visitors

RALEIGH -- The grand opening and name unveiling for downtown's new children's museum began Saturday with a thunderous roar as three mascots arrived on motorcycles.

They were each dressed in marble costumes, giving away the museum's new name: Marbles Kids Museum.

Sally Edwards, president and CEO of the museum, said that marbles refers to one of the museum's unique features, a three-story wall with more than a million marbles that light up at night. It also means brains.

"You can come to the museum to use your marbles," she said.

Marbles is a hands-on, interactive museum with "learn and play" areas designed to let kids create, think, explore and build self-esteem, said Edwards. It is located on Hargett Street across from Moore Square in the space of the former Exploris, the struggling museum about world cultures that merged with Playspace to form the new museum.

Within two hours, more than 4,000 visitors had passed through the doors of the Marbles Kids Museum. The large crowd put an end to any worries Edwards had that the third annual Ray Price Capital City Bike Fest covering several city blocks nearby would deter people from coming. Edwards decided to take advantage of both events by inviting members of Bike Fest to drive the museum's marble mascots to the opening ceremony.

"The crowd was so thick, they could hardly get through," Edwards said.

By day's end, more than 10,000 people had visited the new museum. Each of its five galleries bustled with kids' laughter, crying and nonstop chatter.

In the Around Town gallery, 3-year-old Grace Widman manned the cash register at the make-believe grocery.

"She has been in the same area for hours," said her father, David Widman of North Raleigh. "I've tried to get her to go to other areas, but she says, 'No.' "

Hundreds of kids explored the Around Town gallery, which also featured a boat that kids could sit in and fish using magnets to hook stuffed fish on their lines. Dozens of kids climbed the tree house where they could look down on a stage where other kids put on costumes and impromptu performances.

Around the corner, there was the Splash gallery with water painting and other water games, along with a two-story pirate ship.

Upstairs in the Build It gallery, children used building blocks and recycled scraps to create buildings and other structures.

A long line swirled near the entrance of the 2-B-Me gallery as kids waited to get their faces painted. Inside the 2-B-Me gallery, four young girls were on the center stage singing into microphones, while parents and others looked on. There were computers, musical instruments and an outdoor garden for those who wanted to get their hands dirty.

For many families the day at the museum turned into a double treat as they walked across the street to Bike Fest on Blount Street.

"Look at this one," Ryan McCarthy, 11, said pointing to a sleek black and silver Harley Davidson.

"We are getting two for one," said Ryan's father, Kevin McCarthy of Raleigh.

"I didn't think I would want to come here and look at the bikes," said Ryan's mom, Jamey McCarthy. "But it has a more family atmosphere than what people realize."

John and Becky Visser of Raleigh thought the two events brought life to the otherwise quiet downtown. After touring the museum with their two kids, Charlotte, 3, and Christian, 4, they were ready to walk through Bike Fest.

"There needs to be more activities like these to get people downtown to the art galleries and restaurants," Becky Visser said.