Children's Museum to Open in Bend Central District - The Source

A non-profit plans to open the doors of a new children’s museum in the Bend Central District in 2027, after two years running mobile pop-up events.

With its new brick-and-mortar location, the Children’s Museum of Central Oregon is also rebranding itself as Ruckus: A Children’s Science Museum.

The new name is a nod to the nature of kids at play, said Erica Segal, museum director, in a press release on Wednesday.

“Ruckus is the sound of kids building, exploring, experimenting and learning, and this building gives that energy a home right in the heart of our community,” Segal said.

The nonprofit is fundraising $3 million to create exhibits and make modifications to a building on the corner of First Street and Irving Avenue — the former offices of electrical contractor Tomco Electric. Segal said the museum will begin renting the building from Taylor Development, a commercial property developer, on Jan. 1.

The building at 850 NE First Street in the Bend Central District, previously home to Tomco Electric, is slated to become Ruckus: A Children’s Science Museum. Credit: Clayton Franke

Segal said the nonprofit is 15% of the way to its fundraising goal, and hopes to open “as soon as possible” in 2027 although there’s no set date.

Segal told the Source the 8,000-square-foot space is “perfectly suited” for the museum’s programming, with a classroom space and an open warehouse to host exhibits, and will need some “minimal” improvements to the tune of about $500,000. The museum will offer 6,000 feet of indoor exhibit space and 3,000 feet of outdoor exhibit space, filled with interactive showcases on geology, forests, physics and engineering and local industries like agriculture and aviation.

According to the announcement, the museum is working with an “immersive experience” design firm founded by former Walt Disney creatives, along with other regional partners, to create the exhibits.

The location is just east of the Bend Parkway and south of Greenwood Avenue, in the Bend Central District, an industrial area where the City hopes to create a new urban core using millions in public and private investments. The museum will be a block away from the landing spot for the City’s Hawthorne Overcrossing, a planned $30 million footbridge that will span U.S. Highway 97 and connect the area with downtown.

Segal estimated the museum could draw between 34,000 and 50,000 people each year.

“We see it as a catalyst for the area in a big way,” said John Winters, board chair for the museum non-profit, in a presentation to Bend Economic Development Advisory Board on Oct. 5. “There’s so much support and demand, we feel like it’s going to grow rapidly.”

Children’s museum location

More than 24,000 people have participated in the nonprofit’s Mobile Museum since 2024, according to a press release. The pop-up events brought interactive exhibits to gyms, classrooms and libraries across the region. Those will continue after the museums open, the release said.

According to the press release, Central Oregon is the largest metropolitan area in the state without a brick-and-mortar children’s museum. Bend had a children’s museum in the Old Mill District about 20 years ago, but it closed in 2009.

In 2024, the Children’s Museum of Central Oregon picked out a site in north Bend, near the Cascade Village Shopping Center, to build a brand-new 25,000-square-foot museum. But Segal said the popularity of the mobile exhibits showed there was demand for a brick-and-mortar museum sooner than the larger project would’ve allowed.

Children play at a Children’s Museum of Central Oregon pop up event. Credit: Erica Segal

Segal said the bigger building could still be possible long term, as the museum grows. She also acknowledged the Bend Central District property could be redeveloped, and the museum would hope to use the space in the future.

“The City and the landowners down there have a vision for the future for that place,” Segal said. “We are hopeful to be part of that long-term vision.”

Taylor Development couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.

To help with its project, the museum hopes to capitalize on a new City policy waiving System Development Charges — or development fees — for some commercial reuse projects in the City’s Core Area, an urban renewal area that includes the Bend Central District. According to Segal, the non-profit and its architects estimated the fees would amount to about $160,000.

Jonathan Taylor, the City’s urban renewal manager, told the Source the City hasn’t officially waived fees under the new policy, which begins Jan. 1.

She called waiving the fees “absolutely critical” for the project.

The museum also plans to seek grant funds from the City’s urban renewal agency to go toward the building, Segal said.

When asked about other barriers, Segal mentioned the Bottle Drop Redemption Center two blocks away on Second Street, where people can recycle cans and bottles for a 10-cent deposit through the Oregon Bottle Bill.

It’s not the first time the Bottle Drop has been named as a snag in the revitalization of the Bend Central District. Nearby property and business owners have pushed the City to help relocate the facility, which tends to attract unhoused people. Some turn in cans as their sole source of income. Police have also reported frequent calls for drug use, intoxication and property crimes.

Segal told the City committee that the museum property will have a fence around it and a gate for secure entry.

“Depending on the parent and caregiver, there’s going to be different levels of comfort,” Segal said.

Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler told the Source City staff are continuing to discuss relocating the Bottle Drop, which is ultimately up to the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative, a non-profit that runs the facility.

“It’s been part of our goals to help what we can on our side to facilitate that move,” Kebler said.

Kebler said she was pleased to see the children’s museum would be locating in the Central District.

“I think it’s going to be really great for the neighborhood and help us keep building momentum,” Kebler said.

Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to reflect that the City has not yet waived System Development Charges for the museum project. The Source regrets the error.