New CEO of Marbles Kids Museum finds the fun every day, right outside his office
Being the CEO of a children’s museum means sometimes the CEO gets to play at work.
Jonathan Frederick, who became CEO of Marbles Kids Museum this summer, spends ample time working at his standing desk, he says, with a walkie-talkie nearby so he can tune into what the museum teams are dealing with.
But visitors may just as easily find him cheering on children at the imagiFab exhibit near his office or at the welcome desk checking in people, all while sporting a colorful name tag displaying only his first name.
“Marbles is a microcosm of the community at large,” Frederick tells The News & Observer. “Seeing the way the team engages the community and the visitors and seeing just how much fun happens — I’m loving it. It’s been so much fun.”
Since June, Frederick has been at the helm of the Downtown Raleigh museum — often one of the most visited museums in the region. His predecessor Sally Edwards announced earlier this year that she would be stepping down from the role after 15 years.
Frederick, hired in May after a nationwide search, is now working with the Marbles board and others to help set the vision and strategy for the museum’s future at a time when visitor levels are climbing again.
Coming out of the worst of the pandemic, “we are approaching everything with empathy and kindness, and are seeing folks are ready to have fun and to play,” Frederick said.
And that means everyone. Julie Paul, chair of the Marbles Board of Directors, said Frederick “really leans into inclusion and accessibility and opportunities for everyone.”
“He reminds us what’s important in this business of children’s museums and always finds a way to bring it back to the kids,” Paul said.
Before Marbles, Frederick served for over a decade as the director of the NC Science Festival at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. He got his start in experiential learning at The Florida Aquarium in Tampa, and has worked in science education and the museum world ever since.
“Human beings are naturally innately curious and wired to learn,” Frederick said. At Marbles, where there are no hard and fast rules on how to play or interact with the exhibits, he says, “families can just do what makes sense to them. Children can lead people around and show them the way, and we are always delighted to see how kids play in those spaces.”
Envisioning the future of Marbles
Before the pandemic struck, Marbles, facing ever-growing demand for its offerings, had been looking into expanding and renovating the museum. Now, as Marbles sees around 2,720 guests coming to the museum per day, leadership is considering how to adapt and grow Marbles to remain responsive to the community.
“Marbles is committed to serving our children and families in Wake County and beyond. To that end, we are strategically exploring several opportunities to expand our footprint in the county while at the same time reconfiguring” the museum’s current space, Paul wrote in an email to The News & Observer.
On a philosophical level, Marbles is evaluating what guests and community members want in terms of play, whether through “big, fun spectacle” or ways to connect with one another, Frederick added. The team plans to hold stakeholder meetings and conversations with community partners to “see what they want Marbles to be in the new normal.”
The museum is designing a water play exhibit that it hopes to unveil next spring, according to Frederick. Marbles is also thinking about expanding its outdoor play options in its central courtyard, and renovating the building to create space for new exhibits.
One new exhibit in development will center around career exploration. The exhibit will highlight trade jobs around Wake County, in addition to new jobs that kids may have in the future, Frederick said.
In the meantime, guests can explore the museum’s current exhibits, which range from Moneypalooza, an exhibit that teaches children about money and earnings, to Around Town, where kids can dress up and role play in a miniature community.
A lifelong love of learning
Frederick attributes his excitement about learning and museums to his father. Growing up, his father, in his off hours, would help a local museum with the computer elements of its science and discovery exhibits and bring Frederick and his sister with him.
“I got to play in a dark museum and run around and explore. It was my playground,” Frederick said. “That’s where I caught the museum bug and fell in love with this — a well-curated, intentional experience and how much fun that can be for folks.”
His background in science education and experiential learning informs his passion and approach. At the NC Science Festival, which broke a Guinness World Record in 2020, “we always got to do fun and extravagant things through the lens of science while … reducing barriers to participation and really thinking about inclusion and access,” Frederick said.
Frederick’s approach to leadership rests in empathy and humor, especially in the context of the pandemic. One of his priorities as CEO is expanding accessibility, he said. What that looks like in a children’s museum relates to both the exhibits and offerings at the museum, in addition to Marbles’ presence in its surrounding communities.
“It’s about approaching everything from the visitor perspective,” he said. At Marbles, “you’re thinking about the smallest visitors to the caregivers. … We really want to make sure this is a welcoming space for everyone.”
From his standing desk in his Marbles office — a desk that allows him to “jump around” — Frederick can hear the squeals and laughter from the Moneypalooza exhibit nearby.
“That’s what recharges my batteries,” he said. “We have all the standard problems any organization or business has … but all that’s easier to do when you can see the joy that’s on the exhibit path.”
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 1:36 PM.