Staff at The DoSeum anticipated that its millionth guest would walk through the children museum’s doors on Monday – so they prepared a surprise reception for the unsuspecting family in the lobby that afternoon.
The Rogers family – Garrett, Rachel, and their 5-year-old daughter Ellie – along with Garrett’s sister Sarah O’Donnell and her 7-year-old daughter Olivia, were welcomed inside with a shower of confetti and a chorus of noisemakers by DoSeum employees. Board member Ty Edwards presented the stunned family with a placard bearing their title of honor in the DoSeum’s history along with a gift card to the museum store.
“We are so excited and so incredibly thankful to the community of San Antonio because in just two years since our grand opening in our new location, we officially welcomed our one millionth guest today,” said Sandra Garcia, vice president of marketing. Though they weren’t technically counting each visitor, Garcia said, museum estimates put the total at 1 million on Monday.
The San Antonio Children’s Museum was located on East Houston Street from 1995 to 2015. In 2013, construction began on the new $46 million facility designed by Lake|Flato.
Since re-opening in its new location off Broadway Street on June 6, 2015, the DoSeum has continued to provide youth education and community involvement in the city. The museum has hosted about 28,000 Bexar County children through school field trips and has reached more than 5,000 children through summer outreach initiatives, according to museum officials. It also launched its own state-licensed, on-site preschool Little Doers.
The interactive museum has been recognized as one of the Top 20 Kid Friendly Destination by USA Today, received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, and been chosen as an Autism Friendly Business by the Autism Society for its Sensory Friendly Hours program.
The DoSeum’s ongoing Summer of Tech exhibition features interactive STEM activities, such as the Kids Coding Challenge, which foster creativity through technology. The museum will host its Future Now! Tech Fair August 12 with a scavenger hunt and makeshop for children, and a series of talks by tech industry leaders for parents.
“There’s so much for the kids to do. … You feel safe here, so your kids can run around,” Garret Rogers said. “It offers a lot of interaction for the children and a lot of education, especially the small market where they can run around, do the mail, and shop. It’s just really good for the kids.”
