One of Hall County’s local treasures, the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids suffered a massive flood on Sunday, September 9th. Investigation is still taking place and clean-up of the museum has begun. Officials at the award winning children’s educational attraction were notified of a water incident by neighbors in the Featherbone Communiversity building. After an initial inspection by safety officials, it was determined the flooding was caused by sprinklers that engaged due to a small fire in the pottery studio area.
Exhibits at INK (the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids) including the airplane and train areas have been severely damaged with flood waters reaching several inches deep throughout the neighborhood. Damage to neighboring businesses in the complex was minimal. Power and water were cut to the building by Brenau University Maintenance and the Gainesville Fire Department who worked to minimize damage and ensure safety for everyone.
INK Founder, Sheri Hooper is understandably devastated by the news of the damage to the museum, “This is such an unfortunate event in the life of INK. Our dreams have been challenged for the moment. However, with the help of our loving community we will return to continue our mission to create a unique environment in which children of all ages, abilities and experiences can feel free to imagine, create and explore beyond their dreams."
Damaged area includes exhibits, museum storage of future exhibits, electronics, and pottery being fired in coordination with the Georgia Mountain Food Bank’s Empty Bowl Luncheon Auction.
INK is known for its resilient spirit and has grown from a tiny improvised diversion for mothers with toddlers to a professionally staffed, widely attended regional tourist attraction. It is no surprise that INK officials sprang into action, ready to put in the sweat equity needed to bring the museum back online for their guests, “We will rebuild. This will not stop us from helping the children in the community have a fun place for educational learning.” Stated Mandy Volpe, Executive Director of INK. Mandy noted the museum’s evolution of growth through community support and thanked those who have already reached out with offers to assist with physical and financial support for the beloved children’s museum.
Local tourism officials are optimistic about INK’s ability to rebound from this disaster. “INK is a great tourism partner and we are saddened to hear about damage to their exhibit” stated Regina Dyer, Tourism Director for the Gainesville Convention & Visitors Bureau. “They are a resilient group and we believe the museum will fully recover and potentially expand following this event since they always go above and beyond everyone’s expectations in everything they do. We encourage the community to continue giving support to this educational and entertaining tourism attraction.”
INK was birthed from an idea from Sheri Hooper, a community philanthropist, who saw a need to equip the community with a place for children to grow and develop their full potential through hands on exhibits. The museum started as a bible study for mom’s in her basement and then with the support of the community, she was able to launch into a small museum with 6 exhibits in the Arts Council Building off the Gainesville Square. Sixteen years later, the museum is located in the Featherbone Communiversity with 25,000 square feet of professionally staged exhibits. The museum welcomes an average of 75,000 guests a year. Consistently awarded for its innovative approach to exhibits, education and community engagement, INK has been named the Best of Hall County for children’s activities for multiple years, featured in multiple children and parents publications as an Atlanta regional favorite and has been the recipient of many funding grants to further their programs.
INK has been undergoing a capital campaign to fund a new building to accommodate the growing demand for increased exhibit space and a larger capacity for groups including school field trips. Their current space has been used to its maximum potential and the museum often has a wait list for groups wishing to bring children to their hands on neighborhood of educational exhibits. Plans have been underway to relocate the museum to a much larger facility with about half of the campaign goal being reached so far.
Concerned fans of INK can help by making donations (http://www.inkfun.org/donate/) to the museum, visiting the gift shop which will remain open and staying tuned to the museum’s Facebook Page for other opportunities to lend a hand. INK exhibits will remain closed while the staff works to recover from the flood damage.
Interactive Neighborhood for Kids (INK) is a 501-(c)3 nonprofit children's museum located in Gainesville, GA. The mission of INK is to encourage children of all ages to develop their full potential through exciting hands-on learning. INK strives, through the exhibits of our Museum, to create a unique environment in which children of all ages, abilities and experiences can feel free to imagine, create and explore beyond their dreams. We are a one-of-a-kind museum, serving hundreds of thousands of families, all the while celebrating childhood, family and community.
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For more information contact, Mandy Volpe, Executive Director
Interactive Neighborhood for Kids
999 Chestnut St, SE, #11
Gainesville, GA 30501
770-536-1900 Cell:404-956-0791
